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Shrubs Midwest Gardening Minnesota Gardening

Summer Wine Ninebark and Powdery Mildew (Zone 4b)

Molly D. Zone4B

2 years ago

Still winter here in Minnesota, (Zone 4b) but I‘m thinking about spring and my Ninebarks. Last year we had a drought and I started having a mildew problem on my plant on the right, which I attempted to control with Neem Oil. Of course it spread to the others. Normally in spring, I go in and thin out some of the older branches leaving maybe a half dozen strong shoots? I’m wondering what to do this year…if I cut out all the white, I’ll be removing big chunks of the shrubs. Should I cut them all way down? Try a different fungicide?

Thanks for your help!

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
by opening up the interior.. you will allow more air flow thru the plant .. which might forestall any future mildew issues ...

it looks like you are on the wind blown prairie... it surprises me that you have a mildew issue ... that usually occurs in stagnant night time air ..

unless you wet them every night with sprinklers ..

often.. last years problems disappear on their own .... you may have no further issues with mildew this year ...

btw.. where they new transplants last season??? ... stress does weird things to transplants ...

ken
Molly D. Zone4B thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Molly D. Zone4B
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you Ken-Glad to see your response! Yes, we are on 2.5 acres and pretty open with lots of wind. You are correct, the one that started the problem and spread the mildew was a transplant. The sprinklers dont hit those, but they were all probably under a lot of stress as the summer was extremely dry. I also probably should make sure when I hand water, that I‘m watering the base maybe and not hitting the branches?

If it ever warms up, I will see about opening them up a little more.

Thanks!!
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Hopefully, my experience with Summer Wine was rare, but I mention it because of your damp spot comment. I removed a Summer WIne this year after it got fungus really really bad. The prior year or two, it had a handful of oddball looking leaves, but this year (after a super wet spring), it turned incredibly white with fungus. And the soil and area is average normal soil, nothing extreme. I removed it to protect two other Summer Wine's on the property. I consider my experience rare and as I said I am only bringing it up because of your wet conditions. The risk is there for problems. I would stick with something that absolutely likes wet conditions to increase your chances of success. removing failing plants is no fun.
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PM will certainly appear on Ninebark early in the season, as it is a VERY susceptible host. As a matter of fact, early infection is one of the characteristics for this plant. PM infections tend to be species specific....meaning that the spores affecting your Ninebark cannot infect other plants. Since you have so many of these disease prone plants, have you been attending to the important 'housekeeping' chores that can help mitigate the damage? Fall and winter clean up can be a key step in lessening the PM pressure. Consider select pruning to allow for increased sunlight penetration and air circulation, both of which will really slow down this disease. Sprays of regular water can also help, early on in the season. Washing the foliage can prevent the spores from infecting the internal cells. So, too, can applications of Neem, something that I have had a great deal of success with in the treatment of PM on susceptible plants. Neem can not only prevent infection, but acts as an eradicator, as well. Light weight horticultural oils can be of great help, as well. Without the application of housekeeping tasks, preventative spraying, improved management of sun and air, your fungicidal applications may fall short of success. If you work with ALL of the tools, you can probably control this disease without the need for commercial, chemical fungicides.
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Not sure about dead branches being normal, but for sure this shrub is very, well, "shrubby." Lots and lots of branches, and ninebarks are prone to getting powdery mildew. Maybe you don't have that problem where you are, but it's definitely a Thing here in Minnesota lake country in midsummer. So I thin my ninebarks every year or so, to let light and air in. I always take care annually to remove any branches that have been affected by powdery mildew (because spores persist, and the fewer the better), and in spring just before bud break I'll spray with horticultural oil, to smother as much disease as I can. The ninebarks have been much healthier under this care regimen.
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pennlake
2 years ago
About 10 years ago, I planted some Summer Wine, Center Glow, Amber Jubilee, Dart's Gold and Little Devil ninebarks here in MN. My experience is they always get some mildew, but since the worst seems to hit in June it gets covered up by more growth. Only one year did whole plants get covered in mildew and that was Center Glow and Summer Wine, but they were no worse for the wear the following year. It has not happened since. Last year did seem a bit worse than normal, but it was probably the drought stress. In general, my solution has been to live with it and not fuss too much.
Molly D. Zone4B thanked pennlake
Molly D. Zone4B
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you pennlake! Your experience gives me hope! I was envisioning having to replace them all. i will just have to be patient and hope this summer will be better!

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