Please tell me what's wrong with Amora

This is a picture of the leaves right now on my beautiful Amora. Well it WAS beautiful.

Now the leaves are like this and then they fall off. Is it a disease, an insect, a fungus??? Not happy!!!

The leaves also start to roll up along the edge.

Susan
=^..^=

another picture

So sorry for you!
This looks like som kind of fungus, but I've never seen this behavior on coleus.

I'm sure you already thought of it, but if not: Take some cuttings of parts of this plant that still looks healthy so you don't loose your Amora (in worst case).

Could be sunburn also?

There never get enough sun here in Sweden to burn coleus - but it may very well be the cause.

Hi Susan, great to see you again!

I've had this on a few of my coleus this year and I really don't know what it is. But I would suspect that it's due to all the rain/humidity we've had. I've noticed that I've had problems with all my cuttings getting some sort of fungus. But this didn't happen til the last couple of weeks when we've had so much rain.

I would do what Alice says. And I'd also do what Sidney suggests. She uses rooting hormone to help with the fungus. Best of luck.....and don't be a stranger around here!

I also suggest if it's in a pot you try watering with H2O2 water. 1/2 cup Drugstore Hydtogen Peroxide in 1 gallon water. Also ifin a pot, pull it out and let it sit till some of the existing water drains off.
I find some growers use so much spangum moss in their growing mixture that if I put the plants in the ground with that mixture still on them I better make sure they dont get dry. It's a hard soak to get it wet again. In the meantime the plantt gets very confused.
If thats the case, gently rinse the growing mixture off in a sink or dish pan. Then repot in some Miraclegrow potting soil or something along those lines.
I also use the MG Moisture cintrol for rooting cuttings.
;)

Thank you so much for the advice. We got yet another inch of rain last night. Can't believe I am complaining about rain for goodness sake.

I will take some cuttings for sure.

Susan
=^..^=

I am still looking at solutions, but here's a link to explanations and even pictures of downy mildew. i'll post if i find any treatments... i do only organics, but i'm sure there are chemicals to fight this... baking soda might help...

good luck!

joy

that was quick. i found some info on this product, which was developed at cornell unversity. it's a potassium bicarbonate-based product which supposedly coats leaves more thoroughly that homemade baking soda/soap/oil/water mixtures. it's approved for organic use when mixed to the proper dilution. whether it treats coleus downy mildew specifically, i don't know.

but i've got a ton of coleus that i don't want to lose, and i think i saw this on one of my plants, so you better bet i'm looking it up this weekend.

if i read all the literature and like it, i might order it from worm's way... i've ordered from them before and they've shipped quickly and reliably.

as with any product, make sure you read thoroughly about dilution rates and follow directions. don't spray in in hot sun and don't overdo it. more is not better! you may end up with a bunch of fried and dried coleus!

http://www.greencure.net/default.asp

sounds like a co-op opportunity LOL...

joy

But this doesn't look like downey mildew to me. I have had that on monardia, lilacs and it looks nothing like this.

This almost looks burnt. This stuff looks like it is good for a lot of things. Now to figure out how to get some. LOL

Susan
=^..^=

I checked every supplier and it sells for $14.35 at http://growers.harrisseeds.com/cart/detail.asp?subcat=581&product_id=40194-900

I ordered two containers. Sure hope this works!!

Thanks Joy!!

Susan
=^..^=

Here's my addition and final cost.
09992-00-00: Harris Seeds' Bedding Plant Cultural Guide
1 Count
$0.00 1 $0.00
Subtotal: $14.35
Handling: $3.50
Grand Total: $17.85
Can't beat that.
Sidney

Susan,
Joy is correct. That is definitely downy mildew - a new disease from Europe (thanks alot, Wouter and Alice). One of the remedies we use is Milstop, for professional growers only, but it sounds like the same stuff that Harris has. It works well and is very mild to plants and people.
Good luck,
Chris

Hmm.. Alice, what should we do with that guy? Ok, we got some very nice cuttings from him, so let's forgive him LOL Personally I only like fungi that you can eat. The further other fungi are away the better (Amerika is far away enough :)
I still think it could be sunburn also. I get similar leaves sometimes when I put plants from my greenhouse outside in full sun, but mainly on the light colors (like Amora). Differences with downy mildow:The last one is not so pickey, can affect many cultivars. You can often see some fungus at the bottom side of the leaves if you look closely. Burned leaves often 'wash out' colors also, they bleach.

Wouter

Nooooo, it's NOOOOT me! I'm not guilty!!!!! I washed my hands and took a bath before I entered Ohio!

lol

I think it's environmental (sunburn or too much water) and not a fungus. Pick off the bad leaves and wait to see if more healthy foliage develops.

i just bought greencure through harris... i got a discount with a promotional code for being in a gardening club... After shipping it came out to $16.42. not bad...

has anyone tried it yet? i'd love to hear success stories! does anyone know how long it takes to show signs of improvement?

yikes! i can't wait for mind to arrive. i've spotted some downy mildew and it's spreading slowly through my collection, mostly on my indoor specimens. the outdoor ones seem fine for now, but most are growing too large to tell

i will be spraying like a madman when i get the product.


arggh!

joy

I received mine a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately it won't stop raining long enough for me to use it.

I hope the plants can hold out long enough for me to try to treat them eventually.

Susan
=^..^=

I got mine and can't say it helped much, but will try again. I have downy mildew on 4 hydrangias I purchased last year. Jeremy, (JaxFlaGardener) is a 6 block neighbor and a MG too. He cure Downy Mildew on his Dogwood with Copper Sulfate. I will give that a try as I have it onhand.
;)

shucks sugar. good luck!

this weird weather isn't helping. it's hot and humid in the 90's for a couple days, then back down to 70's with cool nights. a good break for people, but a bad break for coleus, high humidity and cool conditions are optimum conditions for the disease.

copper sulfate- i would like to use it but our lot (and coleus garden) drains right into the neighborhood sewage drain and since i am against waterway pollution i can't do it. also it's supposed to be toxic to fish. perhaps my drop in the bucket won't hurt, but just i can't do it. we went all organic in our yard a while ago so it's not an option for us.

btw, from my reading i've seen that the same species of downy mildew that affects coleus affects basil... not so good news for our garden since our raised bed garden sits right next to "coleus row."

i will be committing coleus euthanasia tomorrow morning, but i'd rather lose a few than the whole lot. it seems to spread like wildfire. i have major inspection to do tomorrow...

i hope i don't start humming TAPS in coleus row.

good luck to anyone with this...

more info. as i read up on it. i have seen treatments schedules, but don't know if the treatments are industry only or approved/available for residential use.

joy

Still raining :(

Thanks so much Joy. We are so lucky to have all of these vigorus and knowledgeable friends here to run aproaches by and get others input before we poison the fish. Usually Mr J is very creature sensitive.
I'll give them a good dose of Greencure
Sidney

Oh great.. Just had time to read this whole thread and now I know what is killing at least 35% of my coleus. Think I'll just shoot myself right now and get it over with. Between the fungus and the bugs there isn't much left. Or..I could just guzzle down this Mojito at my elbow and make another. Whaddya think????

Juanita

Guzzle girl, Guzzle!!!
Try the funguscide, even Bayers has some in it. And segragate the clean from the sickos.
Don't I repeat, DON"T shoot yourself.
Sidney

Good air circulation helps. It also helps if you water in the morning so the plants don't stay wet at night. Of course, you cannot control the rain.
Audrey

LOL Juanita, I had to look at the recipe for Mojito. Mmmmmm! I do hope you get it under control soon. I know how hard you have worked and it must be a nightmare for you.

I feel really fortunate that I've not seen anything like this. Especially with all the rain we have had. I've even had coleus in standing water for day due to all this rain.

Sidney, do you know the name of the Bayer product?

Bayer Rose and Flower concentrate, 3 in one feeds, controls blackspot,ie fungus and is systemic for bugs.
;)

Ortho also has a liquid systemic. Have any of you tried it? I've been using it and am curious if the Bayer is better. I use the Bayer 3 in 1 granules on some plants.

I have equal respect for both companies. I use the Bayer sparingly. Usually as a bottom soak before I put them in the sand. I got a cardinal small MG from Jeremy this AM and it was holey, so it's sucking up some right now.
;)

Do you know if this systemic will hurt hummingbirds? Does it get in the nectar? I would hate to hurt my little hummies! Or what about bees?

Susan
=^..^=

Juanita i'm down with the mojitos! and don't shoot yourself!!! although i know the feeling... i am a little depressed over the downy mildew problem, as i've never seen it before until now, but we'll see.

i still haven't gotten to the garden except in passing. i'm on vacation from work and now at my other full-time job with the munchkin. the hours stink and so does the poop but the benefits are great LOL.

don't know about the hummies and the bees, but would love to if anyone knows. this season again we had a good population of groundbees in the spring (they don't sting us) but they disappeared suddenly, even before the heavy rains came. but the bumblebees are back in abundance in the lavender hedge, which makes the kid in me happy. i took my son to see them and he was thrilled to see them too.
which in turn thrilled me.

but i digress... my amora is gone. i think it started with her to begin with. ..

joy

Well, I really did it now. I had already used some of the Bayer systemic before I read this note. I have mostly containers and I guess despite reading all the instructions I overdosed them with it. Now I have really dead plants, fungus or not. Every container that I used this in had at least one plant that died right where I put the systemic granules in the soil. I tried to sprinkle them around, but I guess I didn't work it in enough and water enough. Spent all morning pulling out dead stuff and changing the soil in a lot of others. Right now I'm too mentally trashed to even think about it anymore.
If anyone is thinking about using this in containers, be advised.

I need to get away for a couple of days.
Juanita

Juanita, I was ousing 'Bayer's All in One' mixed half strength on thursty plants. I also believe my damage is pestered by the medium my plants come from the nursery in. I find the cuttings I start in moisture control potting mix stays more evenly moist and trive more than those surrounded by soiless mix. If that stuff gets dry, I have set it IN water for 2+ hours and it was still bone dry.

Oh no Juanita! I feel so bad for you!!! I know you've worked so hard and my heart breaks for you!

I've used the Bayer granuales, but not on coleus. I was temped to use it last year but never did. I got the liquid and thought I would use it this year for mealy bug problems, but it's just too wet around here for a mealy bug outbreak.

Update Susan? Joy?
I've yet to see anything like this but I'm certain if others have it then I should also, especially with all the rain we've had and lack of wind moving around.

After finding that smoking plant yesterday I'm a bit petrified that I'll have this fungus for sure. Ick!

Haven't been able to use it still. Now I am mostly tied up with our animal shelter flooding.

check us out at http://www.wcspca.org or check the thread in pets about it

I still go out and take my pictures but that's about it. Amora seems to be recovering though it looked a little 'pale' today. LOL

I still have the powdery mildew and the roses are just about one big black spot, but the coleus seem to be doing OK now.

Susan
=^..^=

i haven't sprayed greencure yet. it's been raining too much lately. i did get to do gardening for 2 days, but spent most of the time planting many coleus, spraying diluted fish emulsion for foliar feeding, planting coleus companions and hacking an overgrown rose bush down to healthy canes. i have the thorn scars to prove it LOL.

the outdoor coleus seem pretty ok. most are flourishing, and a few seem to have some mildew, although it's not severe. the amora, which i thought i lost, is now doing fine- lost a bunch of leaves, but no fungus apparent. there's new growth and it doesn't look stunted/abnormal. of course, downy mildew can still be present without causing the telltale brown dead patches and brownish growth on leaf undersides, so i monitor that a bit now.

the indoor coleus seem okay too, and i suspect what i thought was alot of mildew is actually sunburn, as the plants are in a direct-sun area, a southfacing garden window in the kitchen.

i'm a little leery about trading/mailing out cuttings this season until i find out what's going on with the fungus, which is a shame, as i'll have alot of cuttings to go around for overwintering, as many of the plants are almost 2 feet high by now and well-branched. so juanita, if my plants are okay, you can have first dibs on cuttings, that is, after i get lavina's out. i may spray some on sunday, but it depends on the weather and the munchkin. whenever i'm potting, my munchkin is unpotting... and then sometimes eating.

we'll see though. i'm the psycho who scrubbed and picked over overwintered coleus cuttings nearly daily for 3 months to get rid of mealybugs the other year, and so far so good.

i dunno about the downy mildew. most advice to greenhouses is to destroy any plants with it, as well as all potting mediums/containers. does anyone know if oven soil sterilization kills the fungus in potting mix?

good night and good luck,

joy

Joy you can bake soil, it makes the house stink. You can also nuke it, great use for old microwave ovens. I just threw away a working, but paint peeling one. I didn't think about this use.
I am curious as to when is the best time to use greencure? I did mine on a cloudy day and I saw changes in my plants. The 'Saturn' dark ring was suddenly spotted with spots the same pale green as the leaf centers. Some that didn't have fungus appeared to after I sprayed them. I was not handleing the foliage that day. Misting plants in place.
Had to water this morning. Am going to see if I can deliver that 5 minutes of mist to my coleus.

I did dump ole Rusty. Even constant prayer didn't releave me of dread that he would make others sick.
;)