Florists do not pass indifferently by phloxes. Flowers fill the garden with a light aroma, burn with a bright flame, attract attention thanks to overflows in shades of petals and inflorescences. It is customary to attribute these flowers to unpretentious plants. But experienced flower growers know that unpleasant phlox diseases often occur, the treatment of which does not always lead to a positive result.
There are several varieties of phlox. It is awl-shaped, widespread, paniculate. Given the varietal characteristics, phlox can be planted in such a way that flowering lasts all summer. A variety of colors and the cultivation of bright hybrids forces flower growers to acquire new varieties.
But if you do not recognize the phlox disease in time, ignore the focus of the disease, the grower risks losing a whole collection of beautiful flowers.
Phlox flower diseases are transferred to a clean garden with the advent of a new instance. An outwardly healthy plant can carry spores of fungi, infect nearby flowers and gradually, instead of beautiful strong bushes, remain dried up from below, with dark spots on the leaves and poorly blooming inflorescences of the plant. Viruses and fungi cause terrible phlox diseases. They will have a long treatment, not always effective.
Causes
Weather conditions (humidity, cold dew), thickened planting, carelessness of the gardener and untimely prevention lead to the multiplication of fungal diseases.
There are enough of them in our gardens. Spores are spread at high speed from woody plants, vegetable beds, and weeds.
Varieties of Phlox Diseases
The most common and dangerous phlox diseases, the treatment of which is late, can infect nearby plants.
Types of fungal diseases:
- erysiphe cichoracearum, or powdery mildew;
- septoria phlogis Sacc, or septoria;
- uredineae, it is rust;
- phoma phlogis, or phomosis;
- verticillium arboatrum, otherwise verticillium wilt of the stems.
Types of viral diseases:
- variegation;
- ring spotting;
- curly hair
- mosaic.
Mycoplasmosis is dangerous because it spreads even slowly, but if it clings, you need to say goodbye to plants. While this is a rare disease. How do phloxes suffer from illnesses that have been treated for a long time? Steadily, whenever possible, try to console the gardener with flowering. But the appearance of the plant betrays the presence of the disease.
Viruses - what is the danger
Virus diseases are spread by garden pests: aphids, ticks, cicadas, roundworms. Plants infected with the virus cannot be cured. Florists must constantly monitor the situation, inspect their flowers, know the signs of disease and fight for the survival of healthy plants.
So, with variegation, light, randomly arranged stripes appear on the opened flowers. The usual look of phlox changes, they become faded and stunted.
The spotting ring deforms the entire plant in the last period of the disease, and at first the innocent light circles on the leaves give out a viral disease.
Bushes infected with curly virus twist the leaves into a spiral, but such phloxes will no longer please with flowers. The death of the plant is inevitable.
Mosaic “decorates” leaves with irregular-shaped spots, plant nutrition worsens, a lot of effort is spent, phlox gradually dies in an unequal struggle.
Fungal diseases - we will treat
White spotting and rust differ only in the color of the spots. White, gray-brown or bright brown irregular spots appearing on panicled phlox leaves, gradually deplete the bushes, the lower leaves dry out. The disease progresses rapidly, switches to other instances. The fight can be effective, it is enough to process the bushes with a Bordeaux mixture once every 7 days. Florists are studying phlox diseases and their treatment. Photos of affected flowers often help in the diagnosis of viral and fungal diseases.
Gardeners call the vertical withering of stems (wilt) “lightning”. Wilt infects plants during flowering, the leaf dries out very quickly, the bush does not look aesthetically pleasing. The stems are resistant to the disease, and the root system is covered with a white or brownish coating. If you are late, then the disease will destroy the entire flowerbed. The fungus, the causative agent of wilting, enters the soil with acidic sawdust, manure. Propagated on acidic soils. Liming and processing with an ash solution will not allow the development of a wilt. But if this has already happened, you should remove the plant from the ground, cut the bush and wash the roots in a disinfectant solution. Any drug against fungal diseases, for example, Fitosporin, will do.
Phloxes are picking up buds, be careful
Almost all phlox diseases actively progress during budding. Phomosis is no exception. The plant changes appearance, the leaves dry out, and the stem is covered with cracks. The fungus penetrates the tissues, the branches become brown. The disease recedes if 1% Bordeaux fluid is introduced into the soil in late autumn and early spring. Fomosis can be brought into the soil by manure with mold, untreated sawdust. The fungus quickly infects the plant. Phlox disease is difficult to survive.
Treatment (photos of the treated plants confirms this fact), fortunately, it works. It is seen that the upper young leaves are healthy.
Brown spots and spots on the leaves appear from Septoria. Phloxes turn yellow, the leaves are framed by a brown color or a purple border. The trunk is exposed, the sight of a diseased bush is not happy. But the disease will subside from therapeutic spraying of a mixture of lime milk and copper sulfate diluted in water. Three sprays at intervals of 7-10 days are enough for the disease to go away. Missed a chance, cut the affected stems and burn them. The earth is watered with a copper-containing lime 1% solution. If phloxes receive care, and the diseases recede, and no adversity will interfere with beautiful flowering.
Insidious white dew
Everyone is accustomed to believe that powdery mildew affects the delicate and juicy leaves of peppers and cucumbers. Phlox, although they have a solid stem, but can not withstand this insidious fungus.
White plaque appears on plants in the form of scattered careless flour. It grows very quickly. The color of the dense, suede coating changes. Becomes brown or gray, it inhibits the plant. The leaves begin to dry out, the plant stops breathing. Plants are often affected during wet summers. The infected flowers are sporiferous fungi of the Erysiphe Cichoracearum. All parts of the plant located above the ground suffer from the disease.
The spread of the disease contributes to the overfeeding of plants with nitrogen fertilizers in the spring. Pampered bushes are not able to deal with such a scourge. Any phlox disease is dangerous. Powdery mildew (photo with a white coating on the leaves) is the most dangerous of them.
Care
When creating phlox mixborders, you should first prepare the soil for planting. These flowers prefer the soil loose, neutral, nutritious, breathable. Refueling it with fresh manure is strongly discouraged. These beauties are suitable only for well-rotted, three-year-old manure. Top dressing during the summer in doses indicated on the packaging of fertilizers strengthens panicled phlox bushes.
The benefit of fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is obvious: when plants receive timely nutrition, they get less sick. Elimination of excessive soil acidity, drainage from flower beds in rainy times and watering in the dry period, give plants a chance to avoid insidious diseases.
Prevention
Processing Bordeaux mixture twice a year will prevent the fungi from spreading. Spraying "Epin" will strengthen the immune system. A good result is obtained by trimming the tops during the rainy season. This pushes the flowering period. If the grower provides timely treatment for phlox disease, powdery mildew will not be able to do harm.
Any suspicion of the development of the disease requires preventive measures. Treatment with ash, Bordeaux liquid, antifungal drugs will help prevent the disease.
In autumn, the branches break off and burn, the bush is mulched, and spuds with earth. Damaged by frost, phlox roots protruding from the ground can damage the health of the flower.
Treatment or goodbye
Even the best and most experienced florist has periods when preventative measures are not enough and diseases are won. Intensive, systematic treatment preserves part of the plants. Fungal diseases can still be treated.
If there is room, it is better to plant the bush by transshipment, and treat for 3 weeks. Does treatment fail? Destroy the plant without regret and do not risk the whole collection of your flowers.
We noticed that the culprit of phlox disease in the flower garden is a virus - a plant in the fire. Why is the recommendation so categorical? No other way. Neither the fence, nor the compost, nor the neighbor can transmit the infection. She will return to your flowerbed very quickly.
If fungal phlox diseases are detected, the treatment will be sparing. Flowers recover well with proper care. The main thing is to find the source and destroy it, to disinfect the soil.