What effects does rust have on daylilies?
Like most diseases, rust contributes to the general debilitation of the plant; both directly by consuming plant nutrients that could be used for plant growth and indirectly by damaging the plant causing less photosynthesis and increased water loss. Rust does not apparently result in immediate death. However, under some conditions this might cause decline of the plants or predispose them to death from other causes. A report from China does indicate severe setback to production from the plant (10 to 50%, presumably weight of buds). An additional factor is that rust is conspicuously ugly on many daylilies, perhaps much worse than leaf streak.
