beckygardener said:I had read that it is best to cut off scapes when dividing and transplanting daylilies. I didn't know if that were true or not?
It's more the foliage than the scapes that should be cut back when dividing and transplanting, you can leave the scapes on. Nurseries that "dig on demand" cut back the foliage but leave on the scapes. The reason is transpiration. Most of the water a plant needs is used for transpiration (cooling mechanism). When you dig and divide you damage the roots and so they can't supply the same amount of leaf with enough water to stop them wilting. So we shorten the leaves to reduce the water demand so that they don't wilt and the plant is also less shocked.
I know a lot of people say one shouldn't cut back leaves because they feed the plant, which is absolutely true, but dug and divided plants are an exception. If the leaves wilt because there aren't enough roots to supply water then they are not effectively photosynthesizing in any case. Edited to add that's budded or flowering scapes that I'm referring to but you probably meant scapes with pods from the context?
