Deformed Hemerocallis flowers....

Sounds like something's laying eggs in the buds and they're growing into larvae, eating the flowers from the inside. Funny how it likes that one plant and not the others. I don't know what it can be, someone else might.

Weird isn't it Bamboo. I'm not sure if the grubs are in there because the flower is rotting, or if the grubs themselves are the problem, if you see what I mean.

This is very odd, Sid. I have been growing daylilies for years, and have never experienced or heard of anything like this. To the best of my knowledge they are not prone to attack by anything bar snails, that sometimes chew the tips off young buds. Even lily beetles leave them alone. I've just been through my tome of plant pests and diseases and can't find anything that answers your description. The closest I could get was Narcissus fly, but that's just too far fetched. This will bug me now (excuse the pun) until I find the answer.
Bbb

There is a hemerocallis gall midge - could that be causing your problems?

I think the next question is...What can Sid do about it?

fraid they are gall midge.
pick off affected buds and destroy them. the larva pupate in the soil and hatch in may to lay eggs and start cycle all over again.
the rhs ask for people to notify them when they find it and on which varieties.
i get them on bonanza but not ariba or chantily lace.

Ah, heck. 'fraid Andrew and Seaburngirl are right. Looked it up on the RHS website and, yup, it's hemerocallis gall midge. :-(

Why does this keep happening to me? So far, I've got lupin aphid, lilly beetle, leek moth and now this...

The RHS says that it's only the early flowering ones that are affected and that explains why the other two I've got are ok so far, as they are slightly later to flower (thank goodness).

Their advice is to remove affected buds regularly in order to break the life cycle of the midge. I think I will also lift and move the plant and clean the area - turning the soil over might bury the so-n'-so's.

Seaburngirl - I have filled in the RHS on-line form for their survey -thanks for that.

i must say that so far the bonanza are looking good but it only takes a couple of days for them to swell. digging will also expose them to birds like robins that seem to spot them easily.

Thanks for your help Sbg. I've since discovered swollen buds on one of my others too :-(

spoke too soon first bonanza bud swollen and crinkly. oh dear never mind.

Oh dear, sorry to hear that Sbg. My 'Stella d'Ore' has it and my 'Elaine Strutt' is slightly effected, but 'Sammy Russell' seems ok so far..........

so far arriba and chantily lace, which are side by side are clear.

I picked off all the effected buds the moment I found out what was wrong.....havn't found any more......yet!

I have just put a search in to find an answer to the swollen bud and tiny 'caterpillars' as I have just found one on my hemerocallis.Thanks to you peeps I am glad about my first reaction to drop it and squish it underfoot lol !