The bugs won't do this to your blooms. They normally just eat a petal and leave a hole in it. Don't spray it with the bug spray. I've never had to use bug spray on an Echinacea. This fungus business is different though. It can destroy your plant all the way down to the roots. I use Daconcil and have had no ill side-effects with my plants. Spray it in the evening at sundown and it will dry by daylight.

TY kindly! Hope all is well with you :). I've been on Pinterest looking for gardening ideas. 1 of the 2 little leaves on my plumie turned black & shriveled up but the other is hanging in there & I see a few others starting to emerge. That ugly brown spot hasn't gotten any worse/spread so I'm relieved there. Plumie hasn't been able to sunbathe for a few days due to temps being all over the place & I don't feel safe putting it out unless I know it's going to be 68 degrees or higher with at least 50% humidity. I heard this wkend is supposed to be ideal so I'm looking forward to giving my little "ugly stick" some much needed warmth & sunshine. I'm trying to find/create an alternate method of using a heat mat to sit the pot on when I have to bring it in the house so plumie's roots can get more warmth & grow but all the ones I've seen on the sites have mixed reviews. Any ideas friend? Usually I just use a rock that's been sitting in full sun for a couple hrs & then when that one cools down I replace it with another & keep switching (manic I know but I'm hoping it pays off LOL). You're welcome for the plumie condolences ;). It stinks but it seems the best plumeria growers become experts after losing some. I've been a rosarian & organic veggie/medicinal herb gardener since birth (37 yrs ago - hence my s/n "Miss Mud Puppy" because I'm usually playing in the dirt LOL). My dad got me into it & ever since then I've been hooked. I have quite a few roses that I've collected over the yrs, 3 of my favorites being Taboo, which is a deep maroon almost black rose, John F Kennedy, which is a pure white one, & Joseph's Coat, which is this stunning orange-pink climber that gradually turns to yellow & white as it matures. Then there's the collection of Spanish climbers which I fear might be seeing their last season. We've had them for 20 yrs. My specialty though is organics & herbalism & I'm always scouring books, sites, groups, etc looking for the latest techniques, plants, tools, & scientific research. Last yr is when the plumie bug bit me & now I've become obsessed! If this plumie pulls through this summer I definitely want to get 3 more, preferably an orange, a yellow, & a candy stripe. Maui Gardens has some nice ones & from what I've heard, most plumie people seem to enjoy ordering from them. It's important for me to give this all I've got because I want to prove to myself that it can be done where I live & so I can enjoy as well as share some tropical beauty :). My next gardening adventure will be obtaining a Bat Flower as well as double white Angel Trumpets. Congrats on saving the Ponytail Palm! Those are some nice plants! Ugh, I loathe mealy bugs. & organics don't seem to work at killing them, only repelling them for a while. Going to try the beneficial predator insect control method & see if that helps. ROFL!!! Ya know, I bet your neighbor has indeed peeked over the fence to check out what you've been fussing with! I've seen mine scoping me out with binoculars whenever I bring the plumie outside. I wonder if it's plumie's hat LOL? ;)

Home life is a good life though isn't it? I am considering going on a mass-rescue at our local WalMart. Those dumdums put a whole shelf of 6" minis inside on the bottoms shelf. NO light. And not much water either. Most are crispy and mostly dead. They are all named ones from Kordana. Still the lady said they will be 30% off, which makes them about $4-$4.50. STILL too much. What the heck are they thinking!? They bring stuff in, cram it on a shelf, usually the worst possible place too, and put it on 'ignore' mode. That store has so much stock in it to keep its workers busy a person does not even have time to move those 30 or so pots outside and give them a drink so they don't end up tossing dead plants. And NOBODY is going to pay $4 for a dead 6" potted mini. I don't even know if I can swallow $4 per plant on a mercy mission. With taxes that will add up awful quick.

oh my, what a day. sounds fun By the way if I would let DD to sit on a couch and read she would never get up LOL So I hear you.