My Cannas have an illness. It starts out as yellow spots on the foliage, and spreads until the leave eventually dies.
Every Canna plant, all varieties, have it. Anybody know what it is? Is there a treatment?
The plants die back in the Winter here, but we leave the rhizomes in the ground, and they come up again in the Spring.
If I left them in the ground, would they have the sickness again in the Spring?
Should I pull them all, and start over?
Steve
Looks like Golden Rust, I didnt think that the US had it. You will need to treat it with a fungacide, it is spreads by spores that can lay dormant in the soil from year to year, the growth is activated by summer conditions. Alternate non chemical
preperations include Neem and grapefruit seed extract, here is also a much love and respected gardening show for us from down unders on some home remedies.
phttp://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s241170.htm
Hi Steve, take a look at the link that Rita has given you. The Milk Fungicide Remedy is amazing. I have been using it in my garden for about 10 years now. Does wonders for the Black Spot on Roses, Tomato Wilt and zucchinis. I had trouble with curly leaf on a clingstone peach right from when I brought it 4 years ago, last year I sprayed it with milk remedy, the leaves fell, new ones shot and I had the most unreal crop, I couldn't believe it. At the end of our summer some of my new cannas for the year looked a lot like the ones you showed. I sprayed with Milk Remedy, with in a week they looked so unsightly that I couldn't bare to look at them, I sprayed once again and then left them to go to their dormancy, they are now shooting for this coming season, not sure what the outcome will be, but am holding very high hopes. The remedy is one litre of FULL cream milk to 8 litres of water. 75 mls of liquid seaweed and 1 Tblspn of powdered sulphate of potash. mix the last 2 first then add the milk, then water, I use this through a spray outfit. Do not spray if temp is over 25 deg. not sure what that is over there, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. You'll need a peg on your nose for a few days as the milk does sour. Good Luck. Lyn
Thanks to both of you.
I can't open Rita's link - Page Cannot Be Displayed.
Rita, could you send it again?
Steve
Here's the link: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s241170.htm
Steve-
How horrible!
Sounds like you are getting great advice here but you might also want to post this on the Garden Foes forum.
ROX
Lyn,
Thanks. A good friend sent me links to two articles that dicussed Canna rust. Both articles said that there is no cure, and that the plants need to be destroyed.
I tried cutting some of the plants back to the ground. The new foliage is growing with the rust on it.
Lyn, did the milk remedy help the Canna problem?
Steve
Hi Steve, Firstly, please go into the link that Brian 259 has mentioned, from there go to factsheets, then to Year 2003,scroll down (I think) to 19/9/03, you will find article on Milk Fungicide : presenter is Malcolm Campbell, please read as this will give you an insight as to how the milk works. As I said I started using it 10 or so years ago on my Roses for black spot, got sick of half choking myself with chemical spray and not to mention what I was doing to the frogs and other little critters, One week I would spray with milk the next week I would feed plants with seaweed and S of P. Very time consuming, so mixed both together and off I went. Milk is also used at our famous Flemington Racecourse for the Roses: re the Spring Carnival. Anyway Steve getting back to whether it worked on the Cannas, not sure yet as I was very late in zooming into the prob last year, I thought it was just our hot summer that had affected them, but it was only 3 out of 120 Cannas that had the prob, so I sprayed twice and left them to go to their winter rest. Curiosity got the better of me 2-3 weeks ago so I dug them only to find new shots on their way. We are one week away from Spring starting here, so I will not know the state of the Cannas for a little while yet, but heres hoping. Cheers Lyn. p.s. will keep you posted. Photo of one of the Cannas affected. Started off great in the season then it took a turn backwards.
Lyn,
I'd appreciate it if you could keep me posted. A friend emailed me articles that said they had to be destroyed. If there is no cure, I'm going to pull them all, and start fresh in the Spring.
Steve
Nothing in life is that absolute, at best the statement can go "I know of no cure", there are always exceptions to the rule, gardening is all about plant and soil husbandry, plants and soil like all other elements on earth become unwell, if we are gardeners we accept this condition and attemp to provide the conditions that will allow nature to cure its self and thrive. It is a decorator that expect and tolerates unwavering consistent standards. The ability to recognise and rescue an ailing plant is all about becoming a gardener and not a decorator, and the only way to get this wisdom is to take on what the garden deals to you. You will find solutions, where others fail," if you keep doing it enough it will give up its secrets".
Canna rust has been around as long as cannas have, if its so incurable how come we still have cannas. Go wash and spray those cannas in some good stinky sour milk, could well discover a great cheap easy to make at home non toxic imune boosting cure, Feel free to smak me if I got too preachy, and in any way offended, my aim is to encourage and inspire, those emerging lovers of the land and all that it grows. Cheers Rita
Well said Rita, a woman who thinks along the same lines as me, (that could be dangerous). Steve just hang in there with those cannas, give them a spray when the weather is not to hot , isolate them from your other cannas if you feel you need to, I didn't with mine, as I said new shoot are emerging so time will now tell. Steve when I dug mine 3 weeks ago to check them, before I replanted I boosted the soil with Organic Life pellets, Blood and Bone and sulphate of potash (dry) 4 parts B&B 1 part S of P. Would assume you are familar with these. I feed the cannas every August with these, they are slow release fertilisers which last about 6 months. As the new growth starts to appear I spray every 2-3 weeks with 80 mls liquid seaweed and 1 Tblspn of S&P mixed with water in an 8 litre spray outfit.
Good luck and Cheers Lyn. (there will be a solution out there somewhere Steve so if we all experiment someone will hit the bullseye sooner or later)
Rox has asked me to come and help LOL. Well this looks like canna rust to me and it is a fungi it will usually start low on the plant and work its way up. It would be best to remove the infected leaves and spray any foliage fungicide this may not kill the fungus but slower it down or keep it from spreading. This usually is a problem this time of the year due to cooler nights and wet leaves. Low airflow around your plants can also be a reason. I would say after a few sprays you should see it stop moving up the plant and less of a problem. This usually happens ever year here.
Thanks, Brian. Nopointin stopping it fro spreading - every plant has it.
I'll find a fungicide for them.
Steve
Brian,
Dumb question - when the Cannas come up again in the Spring, will the rust be gone? Does it carry over from one season to the next?
Steve
