Is this powdery mildew? This is a close up of pulmonaria "Mrs. Moon". I have never had powdery mildew before and have never grown this plant before. Don't know if Mrs. Moon is supposed to look like this or not. She didn't look like this when I planted her. We have also had tons of rain in the past week.... 5" this week alone. If this is powdery mildew, how do I treat it? Appreciate any help. Thanks,
GayLynn
Here is another pic.
Looks normal to me. http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/37097-product.html
Powdery mildew not only leaves a white residue on the leaves, it also causes distortion, especially on the young leaves.
The second picture doesn't look normal at all. If it's not fungal,do you have any Cottonwood trees nearby? Their cotton almost covers some of my plants.Lynn
You're right - I should have kept looking.
You could try some baking soda mixed with water (about 1 tablespoon to a gallon) and see if that helps... Since powdery mildew doesn't like water like other fungi, I usually just spray the plant several days in a row with plain water from my hose end sprayer. Works for me...
Thanks.... I've noticed a couple of newer, smaller leaves look distorted. No cottonwood trees near us. I will try spraying the plants with plain water first then go to the baking soda mixure if needed. Thanks a bunch for your help.
GayLynn
What finally worked for you??
I'm wondering,too.
Lynn
The picture I have posted above looks good, they got really bad looking, almost dead. Brown, curled up leaves and all. I kept spraying them with just plain water. I took off the really badly infected leaves that were distorted and turning brown and finally some new un-infected leaves started to grow. Some leaves still have a slight case of mildew but other than that they are looking much better and the newer leaves don't have the mildew. I thought mildew was caused by too much water, but spraying them with the water really helped.
Pulmonaria are very susceptible to powdery mildew. Spray with a fungicide. Water plants deeply at the base, not the leaves. I had it on some of my pulmonaria also a few years back. It can be caused by dry condtions.
Thanks Rosa, I think I will have to get a fungicide for them. I have 2 plants that were affected, one is doing really well now with no signs of the powdery mildew. One of them is looking really bad again. Don't know if it will make it.
They are probably going to come back next spring, it usually doesn't kill the plant,
Good luck
Thanks Rosa, that's good to know! I thought about digging it up and replacing it. I'll let it be until spring and see what happens.
