Major powdery mildew problem

9 years ago

Hi all, hopefully someone can help me. About a month ago a few of my roses started to show signs of powdery mildew. That is if I diagnosed it properly, a white powdery like substance on mainly the petals. Since it was late in the year I left it alone. It wasn't long before I seen it in parts of the lawn and on some perennials. Now it has spread to nearly everything and I am not sure what to do about it. I would honestly do anything to get rid of it now.

Here is a wide shot of the backyard to give you an idea of how bad it is. The roses are hard to see as they are small but they are on the fence line.

Thanks for taking the time to assist me with this problem

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Comments (15)

FrozeBudd_z3/4
9 years ago
Shucks, looks like you've got it bad, it's even affecting the conifers! I did some research on the problem and the best treatment is the usage of heat from an intense ultraviolet source. I apologize that I won't be able to assist with the condition until about mid April, though then the cure, albeit temporary, shall be quick and effective and will also help to clear up any complexion problems you might have ... though, I can only guarantee an approximate six to seven month suppression period, as treatment is longer lasting in more southerly regions rather than within your zone 4 that you wishfully think of as zone 5. The "problem" is guaranteed to return, so no warranty is expressed or implied.

This post was edited by twrosz on Mon, Nov 10, 14 at 20:34
marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
9 years ago
My sympathies. You have it way worse than we do. Although i call it powery something else, not mildew! :>
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To directly answer your question on whether you can pick the green fruits from the plant the answer is yes, you can. It comes at a cost though. If the fruits are completely green, they won't ripen off the plant. If there is even a little blushing to them they likely will. There are a number of chemicals that contribute to the overall flavor of the ripe fruit though and removed from the plant, they don't make it to the fruit so there is often some flavor loss when ripening off vine. I am really sorry to hear about your experience, but I would recommend the same thing as Raybo, find a fungicide that is food safe and seems likely to be effective against common foliage pathogens like PM and use them as needed. There are organic and synthetic options, but I don't know what is available to you where you live. It sounds like your one plant is too far gone to be saved, but you might wish to use a fungicide you are comfortable with as a preventative on the ones remaining so they don't suffer the same fate.
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Thanks, I have them in pots (ranging from 15-18 inches) with supports and some have grown really tall (all the way to the top of the supports) while others seem to be more of ground spreading type (really big leaves rather than long lengths of vine). This is my first time growing different types of squash (zucchini, scallop, kabocha and an Asian variety). When they were small, I used a sprinkling watering can but now I just use one with an open spout on one end and try to avoid any leaves. What I should have done was to continue to use Neem oil after my first treatment, but that single treatment in April seemed to have done the trick, but now that I recall, it got really hot and sunny after that treatment and that is probably what helped more than the Neem oil. It was the last few days of relatively low temperatures and cloudy skies that seems to have re-energized the mildew. The current problem is on the lower leaves which are shaded out by the upper leaves. Will have to hit them with Neem oil every week I guess.
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Konrad___far_north
9 years ago
LOL, I have good news...you're not alone!
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
Original Author
9 years ago
twrosz - thanks for the offer. I decided to spray garden sulfur which made it disappear immediately. Problem is the stuff compacted my dirt, so severely I can't even get a shovel in now.

Marciaz3 - I had a feeling this was something else that started as mildew on some plants. It is very vigorous and has taken over most of the neighbourhood. We have found that this strain dislikes heat and while a tedious task I am slowly clearing patches of the yard with my heat gun. Why can't gardening be easy?

Konrad - sorry to hear you are also in my shoes. I am sure the heat gun or blow drier will work for you to kill it too. I am a tad bit frightened that because it is so vigorous that it will return. Did it make your soil unworkable too?

SCG
FrozeBudd_z3/4
9 years ago
Mmmmm, well, just trying to help ya out just a bit, lol ... though, this northern location has it's own even more severe and accumulating powdery mildew issues to deal with, just look what has occurred over the last few days.

From this ...
FrozeBudd_z3/4
9 years ago
To this ...
Konrad___far_north
9 years ago
Severe transformation, it also grows in minus 15C today,...lol SCG

Hunker down and wait it out!

Have a nice Memorial Day!
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
Original Author
9 years ago
twrosz - It is quite obvious by the look of your lawn that we both missed applying the proper fall fertilizer. I still have the bag of 21-10-10 with 10% Spring sitting on my shop floor. I failed to use it last year and we had a miserable cold spring. Unfortunately the stuff is extremely slow time release and it can take 4-5 to do anything.

konrad - It is very evident that powdery mildew has the ability to suck the heat out of the air. We were +8C on friday then about 4pm the mildew started to show and we dropped to -16C. Don't have to be a genius to figure this one out!

SCG
FrozeBudd_z3/4
9 years ago
SCG, my soil is very lean and requires copious use of triple 20 to obtain a lush lawn, otherwise it's a thin and sparse looking nasty chartreuse colored powdery mildewed mess. Next year, I'm gonna attempt to get it all fertilized, sure it'll then require frequent mowing, though we intend to update the riding mower and get a good bagger installed so I can use the clippings to smother weeds in the flowerbeds. We hope to have ALL the lawn looking like the backyard. I take that your soil is also rather lean and rocky?
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
Original Author
9 years ago
Twrosz heh I was just kidding actually. My yard is kind of tricky, I either have a couple inches of top soil on extremely hard hard-pan or it is compacted sand that has a nice 4-5" of organic topsoil. I, too, have to fertilize lots although I didn't get around to it this year and only had to mow the lawn 3 times LOL......

Your backyard is beautiful.

SCG
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
what a hoot ...

i have the same problem ...

fortunately.. it cures itself.. in later march or april ... lol

ken
franked1
9 years ago
Are you sure it is'nt globel warming & the cottenwoods are blooming again
FrozeBudd_z3/4
9 years ago
fez920 ... yes, the black poplars here sure can turn the ground white with seed fuzz. Several years ago, a fire had zipped through a nearby area when someone had been burning debris and the poplar fluff became ignited, I guess the stuff is very flammable and the fire raced along as if gasoline had been poured on the ground.

Had some radiant +8 C heat treatment occur the other day that did a fine job of clearing up most of the white stuff ... though, yet another 4" of thick "mildew" had fallen the past few days to cover up the nice green that had been showing.

This post was edited by twrosz on Sun, Nov 23, 14 at 21:14
Konrad___far_north
9 years ago
Have you noticed...more powder we got lately!
FrozeBudd_z3/4
9 years ago
Yes, we got a dump of about 16 inches of snow the other day and I'm glad we now have this thick blanket to protect the plants from the bitter cold of late.

Major powdery mildew problem

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FrozeBudd_z3/4

marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario

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Major powdery mildew problem

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