Had to yank my 'Bon-Bon orange' Calendulas already ...

This is how I will describe the plants that were previously growing and responding to my cutting their spent blooms. They started losing the color in their leaves so that almost every good-sized plant had "green veins on the leaves with yellow and/or NO color on the outside edges of the leaves". Strange looking!!! Then the leaves nearest the soil got brown and crinkly and died off naturally. The changes were gradual and started in July. They finally looked so ugly that I didn't want to look at them anymore. They were near the street ... between the street and the public sidewalk. Does anyone know what might have happened to them?

Karin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't think calendulas are supposed to bloom all summer long in Ohio -- too hot, and maybe too dry. Pansies are the same way, along with a bunch of other ones. They are cool season annuals.

On the otherhand, the symptoms you mention indicate spider mites on the undersides of the leaves...they are invisible, but if you take some laves and rub them over a white piece of paper, you can see either their poop or them fall to the paper. (I have a plant with the same symptoms and just asked on another forum is how I learned all this.) Someone else emailed me and asked if I had columbine growing nearby (yes I do) but I haven't heard back from them on the siginificance. Probably columbine is a host or attractor.

HTH,
Suzy

My calendulas were very short-lived this year as well. Since they grow on top of the rock pile with the big snake, I'm just leaving them there to die. I'll clean them up on the first frosty morn.