get a relevant pic .. i gotta tell you ed... this is the ratty season .... and by this time... i dont really care ... is anything dying???? .. that is my usual line drawn in the sand ... as to when i feel i must take action ... and it rarely comes ... shall i presume.. this has nothing to do with your reforestation of the parents land??? over abundance of green.. vegetative growth ... can be related to too much fert... any history there??? and i do note.. that everything.. due to the horrible winter.. is weeks behind in my MI ... of the things you list.. i really think they are run it over with the truck plants... and a little cosmetic damage.. isnt really going to kill any of them ... so i ... again.. wonder if it is worth spraying for anything ... think about it.. and get us some pix ... ken ps: you arent a real gardener.. until you convince yourself... that next year will be better... lol

I've been having a problem with a fungus on the Phlox, Monarda, Asclepias, Veronicastrum, and some Rudbeckia. I've been spraying with an organic fungicide called Soap Shield by Gardens Alive. It is a copper fungicide without sulfur that breaks down into copper and fatty acids, which are nutrients for plants and the soil micro-organisms. For the most part it has stopped the progress of the fungus. It needs to be reapplied after a rain, which I haven't been 100% diligent about because it rains every 2 days and I get sick of the spraying. Here is a link that might be useful: Soap-Shield® Fungicidal Soap

I'm not sure if that is new growth. It seems a bit early for the plant to be doing that. I enlarged the photo and compared the leaves in the center to the leaves on the blooming stems and they are very, very different. Are you sure something else didn't self-sow right in the middle of the plant? That happens. It's hard to say. I'm aware that new growth leaves look very different from the older leaves, but there's something about these leaves that just doesn't look right - almost like another plant right smack in the middle. There isn't much you can do about it now, but make a note and see what's going on with this plant either after it's done blooming or next spring. You might have to lift it out of the ground to see if something else is growing there. Kevin This post was edited by aachenelf on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 6:34

Texas Soldier Beetle? Looks like it's a good guy: Soldier beetle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The soldier beetles, Cantharidae, are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles, related to the Lampyridae or firefly family, but unable to produce light. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. A secondary common name is leatherwing, obtained from the texture of the wing covers. Soldier beetles are highly desired by gardeners as biological control agents of a number of pest insects. The larvae tend to be dark brown or gray, slender and wormlike with a rippled appearance due to pronounced segmentation. They consume grasshopper eggs, aphids, caterpillars and other soft bodied insects, most of which are pests. The adults are especially important predators of aphids. They supplement their diet with nectar and pollen and can be minor pollinators. Soldier beetle populations can be increased by planting good nectar- or pollen-producing plants such as Asclepias or Solidago. Here is a link that might be useful: Soldier Beetle - Chauliognathus sp.