This year seems worse then ever, I have tons of tall pink garden phlox and all of the plants appear to have powdery mildew. Is there anyway to treat or avoid this? We had a lot of rain a week or so ago and I do believe that is the cause. Also, are the seeds from this plant easy to gather? I know it spreads like mad, but I never looked to see where the seeds are.
Kathy Im not sure about the seeds but the powdery mildew seems to be frequent for garden phlox and due to that alot of people stopped growing it. Now though, you can get Phlox that is resistant to the mildew. The ones I know are "David" it has white flowers, & "Eva Cullum" it has pretty pink flowers w/ red eyes. I know phlox grows best in moist fertile well drained soil and spacing is VERY important for the mildew problem. They need partial to full sun. I wish I could help about the seeds but I don't know. I'll try to find out.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13
I will add another question........how about "rust" on hollyhocks? Last year when I moved into my house, the hollyhocks didn't have any rust and the garden was totally overgrown........now that I'm taking care of it.......I get rust. What gives? And how do I get rid of it or control it?
"There is a voice that doesn't use words........Listen."
Georgette, I didn't find it in my book but found it online. It is caused by a fungus and has one known infection stage. To get rid of it you need to cut it back in the fall to ground level. Here is the site http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/hollyhockrust/hollyhockrust.htm Hope it helps
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13