What are the key points of spring management techniques for daylily

Daylily, also known as golden needle vegetable and lemon daylily, belongs to the order Liliales, family Liliaceae, a perennial herbaceous plant, with roots nearly fleshy, often spindle-shaped and swollen in the middle and lower parts. The flower scapes vary in length, the pedicels are relatively short, and the flowers are numerous, with perianth in pale yellow, orange-red, and black-purple; the capsule is obtusely triangular-elliptical, and the flowering and fruiting period is from May to September. Its nature and flavor are sweet and cool, and it has effects such as stopping bleeding, reducing inflammation, clearing heat, and draining dampness. It is rich in pollen, sugar, protein, vitamin C, calcium, fat, carotene, amino acids, and other nutrients essential to the human body. It is mainly distributed in China. Daylily is sweet and cool in nature and flavor, with effects such as stopping bleeding, reducing inflammation, clearing heat, draining dampness, promoting digestion, improving eyesight, and calming the nerves. It has therapeutic effects on vomiting blood, blood in the stool, difficult urination, insomnia, and insufficient lactation, and can be used as a tonic for recovery after illness or childbirth.

How should daylily be managed in spring?

Daylily has fleshy roots, and only fertile, loose soil conditions can favor the growth and development of the root system. Therefore, timely intertillage is very important. Spring rainfall, together with warming temperatures, makes the soil prone to compaction, and weeds are prone to growing.

Intertillage should be carried out promptly on sunny days. From late January to early February, before the spring shoots have emerged, carry out the first intertillage and loosening of the soil. First spread open the “foreign soil” that was banked up over the top of the plant clumps in winter, so as to facilitate the emergence of spring shoots. Carry out full intertillage between the rows to a depth of 10-13 cm, break up and rake the soil level, and remove weeds. After the daylily emerges, another 3-4 shallow tillages should be carried out on sunny days. Among them, the shallow hoeing after bolting is especially important because it can both remove weeds and prevent drought. Especially when there is little rain in the north, the drier the weather, the more frequently one should hoe weeds and loosen the soil, so as to preserve soil moisture and enhance the plant's drought resistance.

Four measures for spring management of daylily

First, propagation, namely propagation and planting

Daylily is mainly propagated by division, with the time after the flower buds have all been picked and before the winter shoots sprout, or also during the period after the winter shoots wither and before the spring shoots emerge, but the former is better. When digging and dividing the seedlings, try to damage the roots as little as possible; dig, divide, and plant the seedlings at the same time, so that the seedlings are vigorous and recover quickly. Take every 2 to 3 tillers as one clump, break them off from the plant clump, remove the diseased and old roots from the lower part of the rhizome, leaving only 1 to 2 layers of new roots; then cut the overly long roots to 10 cm, and they can be planted in a triangular arrangement, with 3 clumps per hole.

Second, digging, namely digging the soil and intertillage

① Digging the soil. Digging the soil early can bring emergence 15 to 20 days earlier, produce 2 to 3 more batches of flowers, and increase yield. In spring, before the seedlings emerge, use a small hoe to gently dig away the soil on top of the clump. After the bud tips are clearly visible, use a bamboo stick to open the compacted old soil around the young buds, expose the buds and seedlings, and after they turn green, through hardening, improve their cold resistance. ② Intertillage. Timely intertillage improves aeration and can raise soil temperature and eliminate weeds. During intertillage, it should be shallow around the clump and appropriately deeper between the rows.

Third, prevention, namely controlling the “three insects” (namely red spider mite, white aphid, and green striped worm) and the “three diseases” (namely leaf spot disease, rust disease, and root rot disease)

For red spider mite, use 50 g of 40% dimethoate emulsion diluted with 100 kg of water and spray, once every 7 days, for 3 consecutive times. For white aphid, use 30 g of 40% dimethoate emulsion diluted with 100 kg of water and spray; generally one application can kill them. Green striped worms bite and eat tender leaves, and can be eliminated by hand-catching in the morning and evening. Bordeaux mixture can be used (self-prepared with 0.5 kg copper sulfate, 0.75 kg quicklime, and 50 kg clean water) and sprayed once every 7 days, for 3 to 4 consecutive sprays. After rust disease occurs, use 200 g of 95% fenaminosulf or 65% zineb per mu with 50 kg of water, and spray once every 7 days, for 2 consecutive times. For root rot disease, use 200 g of 40% kitazin emulsifiable concentrate, diluted with 30 kg of water and sprayed, once every 5 days, for 3 consecutive times.

Fourth, topdressing, namely proper topdressing of fertilizer and water

In spring before emergence, carry out intertillage between the rows once, to a depth of more than 13 cm, and at the same time break up and rake level the banked fertilizer soil and other mulch. Each topdressing should use a quick-acting complete fertilizer of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.