I need help and fast...........

Hi everyone,
My next door neighbor(he's 89 and she's 88) have some of the most beautiful orange honeysuckle trees that are being killed by some type of fungus. This likes like a silvery-gray mold or moss that is growing on some of the branches and killing them. What is this and what will kill it before it destroys the trees? He is almost to the point of cutting them down completely and he has had them for years(about 60 or more). I asked him to wait until I could do some research and maybe with a little help from others who know more about this sort of thing than I do, we could save them. I really would hate to see them lose these beautiful trees after all this time. any help will be deeply appreciated.
Jackie

Is it powdery mildew? Honeysuckles are prone to it. Kind of looks like a whitish grey powder on the plant. Grows when humidity is up. The past two years here in VA it has been rampant staying around even into winter. I could give you some controls, but it would help to know if that is what it is. It normally will not kill a plant, but if it is bad enough it could weaken the plant. At any rate it is very unsightly. The first thing you can do is hose the plant off with a hard spray. Even though it likes the humidity this helps get rid of the spores. Email me if you think this is what you have.

puttyrat

Sounds like powdery mildew as puttyrat mentioned. Can you post a picture, so everyone can get a better idea to help? If the trees are small ornamental ones, maybe you could spray them with an apple cider remedy for powdery mildew, if that is what it is. Can other shrubs/growth around the trees get cut down for better air circulation around the honeysuckle trees, assuming it's PM again? I've used 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar/gallon solution to get rid of powdery mildew on plants. I'm sure other people can give some ideas, however, a picture would be most helpful with this circumstance.
Trish

I was going to suggest the picture as well. There are other home remedies that work as well.

puttyrat

Okay, I am going in the next couple of days to buy a new camera and take pics. The digital camera I borrowed just doesn't take good pics or else I am just too picky, lol. Then someone will have to tell me how to post a pic here. I can't find any info on the site of how to do this and just can't figure it out on my own. So be patient and understand that I need the instructions to be in every day languange. I don't want to seem stupid, but I was in a car wreck a couple of years ago, had a head injury and sometimes just can't seem to get ahold of how to do new things.

So thanks in advance for all your help and hopefully we can solve this problem together.
Jackie

Stormy19,

Rather than go to all that trouble. Here are two sites with pictures and control measures. I feel sure that this is going to be the culpret.

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ipmnet/ny/fruits/FruitFS/tree.fr.dis/pm/pm.html
http://www.gardenguides.com/articles/powderymildew.htm

Let me know how it goes.

I hope your are recovering quickly. I have no excuse about my mind these days it is just plain out to lunch. LOL


puttyrat

Thanks Puttyrat of course old age has a lot to do with it. Since I don't know how to upload pics yet, I'll send you by email. I don't the powder mold is what it is. I took a pic yesterday where it showed up really good on the azaleas as well as the honeysuckle bushes.
Jackie