Stopping powdery mildew on bee balm

Stopping powdery mildew on bee balm (post #19061)

hollyhock on Tue, 06/14/2011 - 08:55 (updated 06/14/11 - 06:06)

General Gardening

A friend of my mother's gave her this recipe for Chamomile mildew chaser. 4 Chamomile tea bags, 2 Tbs. of Murphy's oil soap, and 1 qt. of boiling water. Put the tea bags in the pot of boiling water and cover with lid. Let it steep for an hour or so till the brew is strong. When it is cool, mix in the Murphy's oil soap. Pour the tea into a sprayer. Spray on early in the day so leaves can dry by nightfall. I have bee balm that usually flower and then the leaves get the powdery mildew. When do you start spraying the above recipe on the plants? Should this solution work? Thanks for any suggestions.

Powdery Mildew (post #19061, reply #1 of 5)

by KimmI in reply to hollyhock [original] on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 08:57

Start to spray as soon as you see the first signs of PM. A couple of easier recipes that I have found worlk very well would be to mix 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda in 1 quart of water, or a 50/50 mix of fat free milk and water, sprayed at the first sign of PM an repeated as necessary every 7 to 10 days.

The sign of a good gardener is brown knees, not a green thumb.

Powdery Mildew (post #19061, reply #2 of 5)

by hollyhock in reply to KimmI [original] on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 14:41

Thanks a lot, KimmI. Your solution does sound easier. I will be using your's.

powdery mildew (post #19061, reply #3 of 5)

by Canadianzone6 in reply to hollyhock [original] on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 07:40

Powdery mildew on some ornamental plants such as beebalm and garden phlox is much more prevalent in dry weather than wet weather , this type of mildew does not need moisture to propagate and wet surfaces actually inhibit growth .The simplest way to control it is to spray the leaves with water, no chemicals or recipes needed,don't let the soil dry out and don't crowd your planting. You can cut back the plant after flowering to promote new growth. Remove all diseased stems and leaves.For further information check this link.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7493.html

Powdery mildew (post #19061, reply #4 of 5)

by mhkilleen in reply to hollyhock [original] on Sat, 08/13/2011 - 17:15

Does this recipe from Kimmi work on other plants besides Bee Balm?

Powdery Mildew (post #19061, reply #5 of 5)

by KimmI in reply to mhkilleen [original] on Sun, 08/14/2011 - 11:39

I've used both on Lilacs, Roses, etc. as well as Monarda (Bee Balm) with good results when the Powdery Mildew shows up during hot, humid weather.

The sign of a good gardener is brown knees, not a green thumb.

Stopping powdery mildew on bee balm