Decado
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Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 10:52 pm
Location: Crystal, MN (Zone 4)

Weak And Wilted Annuals

For the first 4 weeks I've had my annuals planted they've been doing great, but for some reason in the past week or 2 they've become extremely wilted and weak. Some have died altogether, like this one:
[img]https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/wrathloki/6-23-2009/DSC01846.jpg[/img]
I was looking around it for weeds, I barely pushed it aside and it broke off, almost like it wasn't connected to the roots. What's causing my flowers to do this? I've never had this problem before.

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Kisal
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Location: Oregon

That looks to me like damping off disease, or one of the other types of root rot. :(

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rainbowgardener
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Are you in one of the parts of the country that had rain, rain, rain all spring? Many of us did. Weather like that is conducive to the growth of fungal diseases like the ones Kisal mentioned.

If you think that might be it, you can try spraying them with a 1:10 solution of (organic) milk and water.

Decado
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Posts: 480
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 10:52 pm
Location: Crystal, MN (Zone 4)

rainbowgardener wrote:Are you in one of the parts of the country that had rain, rain, rain all spring? Many of us did. Weather like that is conducive to the growth of fungal diseases like the ones Kisal mentioned.

If you think that might be it, you can try spraying them with a 1:10 solution of (organic) milk and water.
Actually we had a spring of almost no rain at all, record breaking, then it was cloudy and rainy for about a week and a half straight, could that be it?

The Helpful Gardener
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Crown rots at the collar of the plant are not uncommon; lost one petunia to just that earler this year. A little mulch to allow the crown area to drain more freely can help; I also find that fertilizing with the fish hydrolysate and wetting the whole plant every time helps a great deal with preventing fungus. I also add a teaspoon of the fish to a hose-end sprayer full of milk and water beds and veggies with that; milk stimulates [url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/327373/Lactobacillus]Lactobacillus bacteria[/url] that have anti-fungal properties (which is why humans have been using this genus of bacteria to preserve food for millenia, from salami to yogurt to kim chee). It can be a valuable ally in the garden (not to mention your digestive track; Lactobacillus acidophyllus is pretty widely acclaimed as beneficial THERE).

Working with Nature beats fight her every time...

HG



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