Little help please ...Powdery mildew on Phlox

slp0100

14 years ago

Maybe be in the wrong forum ... but I trust you guys...

I found this recipe for control of pw :

To control powdery mildew on plants, mix together:

1 tablespoon of baking soda

Â½ teaspoon of liquid soap

1 gallon of water

2 questions:

Has anyone tried something like this?

Can I use Murphys oil soap for the liquid soap?

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Comments (5)

gayle0000
14 years ago
I've tried a few concoctions for powdery mildew (PM) on perennials in the past. Do they work? Not really, in my opinion. I've had some slight results where I thought it might slow the overall infestation...but nothing where I could make it go away or keep it away.

If the conditions are right for PM, and especially if the plant is naturally susceptible to PM, I don't think the recipes do much good.

As for Murphy's...I know of many people who use it for various reasons in the garden...I don't. I'm of the opinion that Murphy's just coats the plants and leaves with a residue. Stops the plant's ability to breathe, in a sense.

That's my opinion.
User
14 years ago
Try milk. I had a terrible problem with my clematis and we also had a patch in the lawn in deep shade. Milk diluted 9 water to 1 milk dispensed from a garden sprayer had dramatic results for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Milk for mildew
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mildew is a function of wet tissue in the dark on hot nights ... sooooo no watering late at night on the leaves.. increase air circulation so that the leaves dry more ... spray them with baking soda [i think it is] .. full fall cleanup so there is no overwinter diseased leaves laying around ... or better yet.. get rid of them.. and get a newer.. more resistant strain ... when i was in the city .. with high organic soil.. less air movement.. retained city heat late into the evening ...i ALWAYS had a mildew problem .. the ambient dampness ... i moved out into the country.. pure sand. always dry .. houses 500 feet apart.. lots of wind .. and bingo.. much less mildew .. if none at all ... bottom line .. get rid of them .. you should be able to get a resistant type for under $10 or so ... life is too short to fiddle with this problem ... ken
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I was hoping to get some feedback from other people who have "David" to see how it performs for them. Rhizo, 10% infection would be pretty darned good if this were July or August, but here in PA May is not even powdery mildew season. Phlox normally does not get hit til near the end of summer, even the non-resistant varieties. My plant has severe enough infection to have total dieback on the bottom of the plant, and in the midsection of the plant the leaves are spotted. Only the very top is free, but we have 4 full months left to go. When I go online and read studies of powdery mildew, generally you don't see the studies make claims about resistance of plants or effectiveness of control products until late in the year; they are usually ALL fairly resistant/effective this early on in this climate. I spoke to the woman at the nursery and she was visibly surprised that I had that problem with that plant. She suggested trying to move it, but it doesn't have any place else it could go where it would be happy. When I pulled off the infected leaves at the bottom, it made the plant top-heavy which caused it to open up a bit as the stems all lean outward. That should help, but I am disappointed. My mother does not treat her phlox. She has some old unnamed garden phlox that is not meant to be resistant, her plants are huge and full and the earliest in the year they ever get a speck of mildew is mid-to-late summer. In a very bad year she might have dieback, but in many years they hardly get any and never once has she had it in the spring.
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My phlox plants, as opposed to creeping phlox, came back this year, and were thriving. Now the leaves on a group of phlox have become white with what I would call powdery mildew. On some other plants in another spot in the yard, the plant is rather defaced with a reddish cast - like possibly a fungus. The ones with powdery mildew are quite tall, maybe 4 feet. The white substance begins at or near the ground. Also the stems seem to be rather weak. Could any of you tell me how you grow your phlox, and what you do to make them look pretty in your yard? The ones with powdery mildew are three years old. Many others I bought last year or this year. I know the spring has caused the damage, but I am not sure what to do about it. On my roses, I just let them go. They eventually seem to drop the leaves, grow new ones and are ok. Please do not suggest a chemical spray. I would prefer to throw them away, and purchase something else. Sammy
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
PM is a problem when the plant.. goes into darkness.. and the night is warm and wet ...

insure the plant is dry at dusk ...

remove other things to increase air movement ...

and frankly.. get over them.. and either:

find resistant varieties...

or compost them and plant more hosta ....

i was a big chemical warrior... when the kids came along i basically stopped... and just got rid of the problem plants ... that hour a day you are spending 'milking???' your bee balm.. can be better spent ...

and i am much happier now..

and the hummers and the butterflies come to the hosta flowers ...

just get rid of it

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
what the heck ....

i answer a post about phlox coming to conclusions about bee balm or monarda .. what a hoot ...

doesnt matter.. they are both PM magnets.. and not worth the investment in cure.. IMHO ....

either ignore them.. or get rid of them ...

BTW ... in dank suburbia.. both suffered horribly with pm ./... put them out here in the country.. on dry yellow sand.. and 9 weeks of drought.. spotless ...

out here in my prairie.. there is always a breeze ... and things dry in the evening.. go figure

ken
slp0100
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for all the advice...maybe I will send them down to Ken's for for a week or two.

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Little help please ...Powdery mildew on Phlox

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gayle0000

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Little help please ...Powdery mildew on Phlox

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gayle0000

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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