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New England Gardening

Monarda Looks Sick

15 years ago

MY Beebalm, which I have growing in 2 separate beds, looks horrible. It's growing thin, not full the way it always has. I know I have some powdery mildew, but even as the plants were first setting out earlier this spring, they didn't look right. Was it too wet this winter, or someting else. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks

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Comments (5)

terrene
15 years ago
I am also having problems with a fungus or mildew on my Monarda and Phlox. Not all of the plants, but a lot of them. A few other plants here and there have a stalk or tip that is wilting, or an outer stalk is collapsing. I have lost a couple plants and almost lost a few others. Yikes! This has never happened before so early in the season.

It took me awhile to figure out it was a disease, some kind of fungus or wilt. It's not powdery mildew because it doesn't look powdery, and that usually comes later in the season. I think it's due to the very dry spring we had here. Dry conditions and drought weaken plants and make them more susceptible to these mildews, which is weird.

I have taken to spraying with a product called Soap Shield by Gardens Alive, which is an organic copper fungicide that controls fungus and mildew. It seems to have stopped the progress of the disease but it has to be reapplied after a rain.
annedo
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks. I've seen that spray, but never purchased it.I'll go to the feed and grain store and see if they have something comparable,and start spraying my Bee Balm. Do you think cutting them back to the ground will help? If I spray the new growth and water well, maybe I'll get a second flush of bloom? I've never had trouble with Monarda before, it's weird. Anne
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terrene
15 years ago
I've never had these problems so early in the season either. Of course they get powdery mildew by the end of the season, but that's after bloom so it's not so bad. I'm not sure what would happen if you cut them back to the ground - but I'll find out, because the storm we had last Friday snapped a couple lovely bushy Monarda Raspberry Wine clumps right over. These had not been bothered by any fungus yet, but now they're just stalks with a couple leaves left.

It's been a tough year for the Monarda...
evonnestoryteller
15 years ago
Monarda likes a lot of water and often grows by water. Dry soil actually encourages powdery mildew since the plants get under stress.

Since it has been rainy, I am guessing that the clumps may be more dense than usual. To help prevent powdery mildew, you want to thin them out to promote more airflow.
kallen305
15 years ago
I make my own spray using 2 ounces of dish detergent (make sure it isn't anti-bacterial), 2 ounces of baking soda to one gallon of water. I put some of it in a spray bottle and mist my bee balm and phlox(sp?) once a week and this seems to help.

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