My daylily has an inexplicable growth!
Fortunately, this is (more or less) normal, and it's called a "proliferation".
Some varieties are more prone to this than others, and the frequency of proliferations may vary year to year.
What is a proliferation?
Basically, it is a clone of the mother plant, which grows from the scape of the daylily. Sometimes they get so developed they can even form their own scape and flower.
While not the best photograph (hey, I took it myself), you get the idea....
Proliferations are a GREAT way to make more plants from your garden. Here at our home, I cut/ pull the daylily scapes late fall and look for proliferations. If I see one, I'll cut the scape just above the growth, and again perhaps 3-4 inches below the growth.
After cutting the scape, I place the cutting in water and leave the watered proliferations in a sunny space. NOTE: Do not let them dry out, keep the water level just below the proliferation growth on the scape!
After a few weeks, the proliferations "should" reveal roots. Once I see roots, I re-pot the proliferations in moistened potting soil and place them under grow lights for the winter.. Note: if taken early enough in the Fall, you "could" place them outside, and let them grow on from there. Ours usually aren't discovered until just before frost, so we root them indoors here in zone 6B.
Here's a photo of some cuttings taken in October, rooted in water, and now growing in soil under the lights. Next year they'll flower as expected, and voilà...free plants!
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