phlox leaves yellowing

my phlox are spindly and slow. I've removed lower leaves that keep turning yellow. They are next to a wall that has been white-washed--could the lime be a factor? Or does this sound like a disease?

now after reading nett's "Hollyhock rust??" posting, I think it must be the soil. Hollyhocks in this patch used to do poorly, too, lower leaves yellowing. I started them in another place, where they thrive. These phlox in the old patch show the same symptoms. In whitewashing the base of the house, it was first scraped, little white flecks of old whitewash falling into that garden. Maybe that qweered the soil. But if the problem is "rust", what's that come from?

me again, after finding nsgardenqueen's post, answers to which offer more food for thought. Isn't Dave'sGarden a great site? Thank you Dave, I'll bet you're monitoring us.

I have Rose of Sharon where my leaves are turning yellow and come to find out they where low in iron so talked to a Nurseryman and he told us to use some green sand and sprinkle around the plant and water in and it is helping. All it takes is just a handfull. You might want to give it a try. My Rose of Sharon's are looking much better.

CoCo,
Do you think green sand would help lilies? I have Asiatic lilies and Oriental lilies (in the same garden bed) that are both suffering from yellowing leaves. The Asiatics bloomed fine, but the Orientals are suffering. Is green sand readily available?

Green Sand you can put on basically anything. I put it around the Crape Myrtles, roses and yes even on my Lilies that I have. Even good for your lawn. It comes in a 40 pound bag. Just make sure you water good once you put this around your plants or what ever.

Could you use "ironite" as well, or would that be too much? And say, where can one buy green sand? Thanks =) ~ Irene

Can buy Green Sand at a local nursery that sells organic material.You might want to call around in your area to see if they carry it first.
Irene, as for using'ironite' I really don't know.Best to read the directions about that or call your local nursery. Sorry I couldn't be of more help on that one...I have never used it so don't know.

I went and read the box -that works sometimes.. yes it can be used on plants. It's funny, I buy this stuff for the lawn (which I don't care too much about )and didn't even realize I could be using it on my pretties! Thanks for the post! I'll try it and let you know.

Learned a new one day. Green sand. Never heard of it. I will try it around my Cape Jasmine that has leaves that are turning yellow. It always turned yellowish at the end of blooming season. Thanks for the posting. Jim