"MFF has the active ingredient propiconazole" OK, well it was stated otherwise in this thread, I didn't look at the label, I don't have the product presently. On the other fungicides mentioned, commercial products are not available to me, but I know sometimes alternatives can be found. Thanks for the info. Sulfur can also be used for scab, but should only be in addition to another product. Well I guess if you use thiophanate menthyl, you should probably only use one application. Chances are any scab around here is not resistant, I'm 50 miles from any actual orchard. I like the fact one can use it on grass and ornamentals. I have a few problems ones. I ripped a magnolia out this year due to continuous fungal problems, and also the fact I wanted to add an edible tree in it's place, the fungal problems was a good excuse to remove it. It was a lousy magnolia anyway the flowers were ugly and not well formed. I didn't like it. A Weeping Santa Rosa Plum was put in it's place. All this work for these trees make me appreciate trees like paws paws and mulberries, where nothing is required to be done. Also dogwood cherries (Cornus mas), I have 15 of them, 14 are a hedge. One as a specimen (yellow fruited Cornus mas). I actually prefer berries to anything else, and glad I do, easier to handle, grow faster, mostly no spray. Sweet corn too, a spray or two for bugs, and the cobs are protected against any residue. Super easy to grow etc. My little experiment here might turn out to me dropping stone fruit all together. More room for blueberries! Naw, I'm always up for a challenge, no big deal. Strawberries can be a challenge too, but man they are so good! I'll never stop growing them. I expanded for next year. Adding many more Pineberries, which are excellent strawberries. I even like the little alpines, Harvested some today! Yeah as far as what I will use exactly is undetermined. I need more experience to observe results here, all the input helps a lot, thanks! . This post was edited by Drew51 on Mon, Nov 11, 13 at 7:25

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I realize that cutting the foliage has nothing to do with the plants going dormant. But my reasoning is that since they grow continuously in my climate, it would be a "loss" for me to cut them down, whereas in a temperate region, they would have died back and regrown the next spring anyway. 1. The source of infection is probably the wind, since canna groves are very common in this region, and I have yet to see any *without* some degree of rust. This is why I have avoided wetting the foliage, but the occasional rains are beyond my control. 2. As far as I know, the cannas manage to survive even severe rust infections due to their hardy and vigorous growth. However, the rust makes the foliage terribly wretched, and I don't see any reason to just let it be *if* there exists an effective fungicide. 3. The only thing I can think of is to avoid foliar wetting, as stated above. Any other suggestions? 4. I have been doing this religiously ever since I put them in the ground: ammending with compost, humus, using compost teas and spraying with seaweed/fish emulsion. 5. Doesn't seem to be helping so far. Or maybe it is, and the infection would be much worse had I not done the above :P Still, my aim is to attack the fungal growth as early as possible while the plants root and build up their natural resistance.

Wooooooow, so I left this post for a while and look at what it turned to, LOL OK, so, let me clarify a bit, I sprayed again. But this is because the day I sprayed the plants on, was very wet and the plants were dripping. The mistake I did here was spraying dripping wet plants. Shortly after, like 20 minutes, it rained again and this time the rain was heavier that the previous time so I think the insecticide was all cleaned off and yes, it was all gone because the days after the continuous rain, Aphids attacked.Again. But after spraying the plants, there have been little as to no aphids anymore. :) I also took another measure to reduce aphids; I removed all weeds around. Another thing is that right besides the house next door to mine, there is this neglected tree, not grown by the government or public. It is one of those trees with winged seeds (Not like literally, "winged") which is, as I said, neglected and collects all diseases and pests known to plants. I wish I was exaggerating, but on that tree, each and every leaf has more than 500 aphids feeding on it and this is a big tree we're talking about. I cut off all branches reaching into my home and thus, the aphid problem has decreased. The reason that tree is not gone is because (It grows on the edge of a wall) if they cut the tree off, it will fall right on my neighbour's home. haha I just want my roses to be healthy and happy, and not looking as bad as every other rose in the neighborhood which are all, Aphid infested catastrophes. Thanks for all the replies!

My first recommendation is that you do your research very carefully and be sure to match up the fungicide you decide to use with both the plant on which you'll be spraying it and with the disease or diseases you're dealing with. Some fungicides are only labeled for use on certain vegetables and some fungicides are only effective on certain diseases, so it can be a waste of time and money if you buy a fungicide and take it home only to realized that (a) you cannot spray it on some of the things you're growing and (b) it is not effective on the particular disease or diseases you're dealing with. Also, be sure that you understand which fungicides are organic in nature and which ones are synthetic, if it is your preference to use only organic products. Most of the fungicides that are readily available to the home gardener do not 'cure' a fungal disease once the plant already has it. Most of them can slow down the rate at which the disease spreads and that can mean your plants may live long enough to produce a crop. Most of the home gardener-type fungicides work by coating the plant, in effect sealing it, so that the fungal spores cannot attach to the plant parts. In order for them to be as effective as possible, it is best to carefully remove every diseased leaf from every plant and then to spray. However, in a rainy year like this, the fungal diseases can spread very rapidly and you may find yourself in the position of having to leave some diseased leaves on the plants to prevent the crop you're growing from sunscalding and being ruined. One of the best multi-purpose synthetic fungicides available, sold under such names as Daconil or Ortho Disease-Control Spray, is chlorothalonil. It is most effective, though, if sprayed on the plants from Day 1 that they are put into the ground (or sprout, if grown from seed) and then re-sprayed at regular intervals per the label direction. Beginning to use it well after plants already are infected will help a little, but not as much as using it regularly from Day 1 would have worked. Other synthetic fungicides available for use on some vegetables include Maneb and Mancozeb. Some of the organic fungicides available include Green Cure (Potassium bicarbonate), Serenade, neem and copper. To answer your question, no it does not harm a plant to be sprayed with fungicide IF that fungicide is labeled for use with that plant. It is important to read and follow all label directions. Some fungicides will help many veggies but harm or even kill others. Some fungicides are fine to be used at any reasonable temperature, but others burn plants and can kill them if sprayed in hot weather. Some fungicides cannot be applied within a certain number of days of some other products (like oil sprays) being sprayed. Some fungicides cannot be combined with other products (like an insecticide or water-soluble fertilizer). Do I think fungicides are worth the time and expense? To me, it depends on the time of the year. I sprayed my tomatoes with Daconil once or twice in May in an effort to slow down the spread of fungal diseases. It worked okay but not great (totally the result I expected given that we over 25" of rain in May alone and everything in the garden stayed wet 24/7). I am not sorry I did it as we are getting a gigantic harvest of tomatoes. Would I do it again? No, now that we are in mid-June I wouldn't spray the tomatoes again. First of all, I don't like eating any food crop that's been sprayed with anything. Since I am a realist though, I do know that in a year like this, spraying once or twice with a fungicide gives my plants the best chance of survival. Secondly, when you read the MSDS on any given product and see that it is considered a possible carcinogen, you ask yourself "Do I want to use this on plants I'll eat?". Also, notice my remarks are confined to tomatoes. It is very hard to keep tomatoes happy here all summer long. In a dry year, the stink bugs damage the fruit heavily and the spider mites sometimes damage the plants heavily. So, I'm content to harvest tomatoes early and often from late April through late July or early August and then to let the plants go. I'd rather be starting over with fresh new tomato plants for fall tomatoes. My decision on whether or not to use a fungicide depends on the plant being affected, how well it will produce if it survives, etc, and whether or not there is a safe organic fungicide that I can use in high heat. Also a part of the equation is whether the rainfall is continuing. Rain will wash fungicide off the leaves of your plants pretty quickly, so it can be hard for them to remain effective in rainy years. LSU has a great document that gives very detailed info about the garden fungicides generally available to the home gardener. It includes a chart showing which fungicide is effective on which diseases. I'll link it below. Hope this helps, and there's no need to apologize for discussing a garden-related topic on a gardening forum! : ) Having said that, I do feel bad when I focus too much on my poor garden and forget the plight of others who have been badly affected by the floods. I keep telling myself that if the garden's issues are my worst problem, then I'm pretty lucky indeed. In a few minutes, our son will be arriving home with a friend of his who is going to move into our guest room and live with us for a while. This young man is fiercely independent and has been trying to stay afloat financially by selling all his personal belongings after losing his job when his employer (a golf course) was shut down after suffering massive flood damage. My heart goes out to him, and I am happy we are able to offer him a place to stay. I wish he'd told someone he was having trouble before he sold almost everything he owned. When I think of what he has been through and how upsetting it must be to find oneself in that position, and how he was just planning to live in his car, I feel immensely small for worrying and fretting over spots on my tomato leaves. I am going to try really hard to bite my tongue and not complain about any of my garden problems (which ALL are so minor compared to what he is going through) to him. His situation helps me put my yard and garden issues into perspective, you know? Now, the great LSU link is below! Dawn LSU: DIsease Management in Vegetable Gardens