Although it is assumed that plants produced by proliferations are genetically identical to the parent plants that is not necessarily correct. Plants can have bud "sports". Bud sports are mutations. They may produce visible differences in some plant characteristic, or not.
In many garden plants bud sports produce many of the different cultivars. For example, at one time (of the survey) one quarter of named carnations had been produced by bud sports. Almost one third of named chrysanthemums were produced by bud sports. Almost three quarters of the florist/greenhouse roses had been produced by bud sports.
Daylilies do not show visible sports at high frequency but they can "sport" (have somatic mutations) .
Just to complete the picture.
Vegetatively propagated daylilies (dividing clumps) also does not necessarily produce genetically identical plants because of somatic mutations (sports) that accumulate with the passage of time (increase of fans).
Example:
I have one fan (a new daylily seedling).
I divide it into two separate fans when the fan increases.
I send one of those fans to a friend.
We both grow the plant for 20 years.
After those 20 years a geneticist takes one fan from me and one from my friend and compares them genetically. There will be differences.
If every few years I had divided my clump and replanted only the fan with the tallest scape then the geneticist will probably find that there are more differences. If I specifically choose to plant the fan that most resembles the original plant in as many characteristics as possible then there probably will be fewer differences.
