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controlling mildew on pulmonaria

pje4of11's picture

controlling mildew on pulmonaria (post #18966)

pje4of11 on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 14:42
in

Help!  My pulmonaria were gorgeous this spring and now they all are suddenly covreed in a whit powder.  How can I get this under control?  Do I need to destroy these plants or just remove the foliage?

-A +A
goodearth's picture

Controlling mildew on pulmonaria (post #18966, reply #1 of 2)

by goodearth in reply to pje4of11 [original] on Wed, 06/01/2011 - 13:06

In S.E. PA, I have found that this happens every year with my pulmonarias.  After flowering, and when I see the powdery mildew appearing on the leave, I cut off all dead flowers and any affected leaves.  The plants resprout new leaves within a few weeks.  Not sure WHY this happens, but getting rid of affected foliage as soon as it's noticed keeps damage to a minimum.

BombasticTurtle's picture

Hi! I am curious! At the time (post #18966, reply #2 of 2)

by BombasticTurtle in reply to pje4of11 [original] on Thu, 11/24/2011 - 18:46

Hi! I am curious! At the time of watering your plants do you wet the leaves / foliage? Or are you watering too frequently? I had a powdery mildew problem with a coppertina nine bark. On inquiring with several horticulturists and garden centers I learnt that that particular plant had issues in our region. Nothing seemed to help! I considered what causes the problem in the first place. This year I begun deep watering the plant at the roots being careful not to wet the foliage. Also, begun letting the soil dry out between waterings. This seemed to resolve my problem. Very little signs of powdery mildew from previous years and the plant grew healthy high, wide and beautiful. You can also try dry mulching around the roots. By that I mean, newspaper, cardboard, etc for lowering watering needs and better moisture retention. If this does not work ... Contact any good nursery around you or a horticulturist!!! Good luck!!!