Fungus? Insect damage? Something else?

Murphysboro, IL(Zone 6b)

Cross-posted from the Daylily Forum, where we don't have a solid answer yet....

There's this white stuff that's been growing on two of my newly acquired daylilies for several days now. It started out as a thin white net-like pattern on the leaf surface. In some parts that has increased to a thick, cream-colored goop that hardens to a yellowish crust (especially on the leaf edges and the underside of the leaf midrib). The ground beneath each affected leaf is also stippled with tiny white dots, which do not appear anywhere else in the flower bed. There is some erosion along the edges of the affected leaves, but I don't know if that preceded the white stuff, or followed it.

I can't get my camera to take a focused picture of the dots on the soil, but I did get one decent shot of the white netting pattern and some of the thicker goo.

Any ideas? Some people suggested slug trails, but if so, these are like no slugs I've ever seen in my garden before....

Thumbnail by Loligo
The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

Daylily leaf miner became a problem in 2009. This may be what you have...a severe case of it!
http://www.daylilies.org/ahs_dictionary/leafminer.html

Murphysboro, IL(Zone 6b)

Hmm, I don't think it's leafminers. The stuff is only on the surface of the leaf and can be wiped off.

The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

You can wipe it off? All of it? Definitely not leaf miners then. That back leaf looks so like leaf miners. I'd wipe it off and put some iron phosphate (Sluggo or Escargo are two) around the base of the plant. Just in case it's slime trails from slugs or snails. Can't hurt; might help.

Murphysboro, IL(Zone 6b)

Whatever it is, it's been spreading outward from the initial two plants, showing up on more plants each day in an expanding circle (and now it's not just daylilies, it's on some violets and a pineapple sage). My gut is telling me it's fungal -- the goop on the leaves really reminds me of a yeast infection, like thrush!

So I've removed as much affected plant material and soil as possible, and doused everything with a neem oil & baking soda solution. Guess we'll see what happens.

Santa Ana, CA(Zone 10b)

Loligo, it does sound like a fungus of some kind. If the neem/ baking Soda doesn't work, get a bottle of Physan20 and follow the directions for spraying. It's kind of expensive, but it goes a long way. Keep us posted in any case!

The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

Fungi that attack plants are more plant specific than you describe. They don't go to different kinds of plants. And you can't wipe fungus off leaves. I would be very surprised if this were fungal.

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