Coneflowers: Is this yellow aster, 1 by pennefeather

pennefeather wrote:
I never heard of asters yellow until Paul from Al posted on it this spring. Since that time, it seems as if many of the gardeners are becoming more aware of this, and questioning what is happening with their plants.

My coneflowers are only between one and three years old. All of them have been healthy until just a couple of months ago. I have seen the misshappen flowers throughout my garden. This has affected the older coneflowers as well as new ones that I grew from seed this spring, and some from the spring perennial coop. I am truly heartbroken that this has happened.

Until fairly recently, I don't think that I have ever seen a leafhopper. A couple of weeks ago, we had a deluge of rain that lasted most of the day. Since then, I have suddenly seen a tremendous upsurge in insects. Most of these insect seem to be concentrated around my marigolds, and most of them seem to be leafhoppers.

When I deadhead my marigolds, I get a cloud of leafhoppers jumping around. They are small green insects that hop quickly. The coneflowers near my marigolds are all suffering. The same plants that had beautiful healthy flowers earlier this spring, now have clear signs of asters yellow. I don't know if marigolds are a favorite of the leafhoppers, but this is the only time that I actually see them in action.

Although I am new to coneflowers I love these flowers, and I am determined not to give them up. This spring, I will be starting more from seeds, and I will not be planting them near the marigolds. I am not sure if this will limit the damage, but these definitely seems to be a strong correlation in my garden. The coneflowers that are not near marigolds have not suffered.

Of course, I couldn't find a single picture of marigolds side by side with the coneflowers.