I often have the bottom leaves of my coneflowers get spotty and look dry and almost crunchy by the end of the season. is this normal? I've looked underneath the leaves for any bugs etc and don't see anything. is this normal for the bottom leaves and can I pick them off without harming the plant? The new leaves that are still coming up look fresh and ok.thanks
Do coneflowers get bugs/diseases?
My coneflowers had itty bitty white bugs and they were in the cone part of the flower. I found them when I started collecting seeds. Your description sounds similar to what the leaves looked like on my plant. Part of the problem with mine was the location. They are next to a small pre-formed pond and they were getting too much moisture. So now I don't let water from the pond flow over and soak the ground where they are planted and the leaves look much better and so does the flower.
I don't have a pond, but maybe they are getting too much from a sprinkler. I'll have to check on that next time it comes on..thanks
I have the same problem with mine too....they looked pretty ratty at the base near the end of the season.
Thanks DawnLL, At least I am not alone in this problem. I have some that are growing in an area that will never get hit by ythe sprinkler so I will see how they hold up next year.
Yeah I too am going to try to water them less and just let nature takes its course unless we have weeks without rain. Hopefully that will do the trick!
Does anybody get worms inside the cones of their Echinacea? They eat the seeds, I think, but for sure, they disfigure the flowers.
Mine had little larval worms last year and I am trying to figure out what they were. When I do a Google search, all I get, no matter what search string I use, is herbal information on Echinacea.
Suzy