My sunflower plants were doing very well up until this week. Now the lowest leaves died, and the lower levels of leaves have brown spots on them. The upper leaves still look healthy.
Any idea what the problem is, and how to correct it?
Thanks!
Help! Sunflower leaves dying from the bottom up!
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The flower hasn't even opened up yet. I showed the pics to the folks at a local nursery, and they think it's fungus? They recommended either cutting off all affected leaves or using a fungicide (which I'm hesitant to do, as the flowers are planted very near to cucumber and summer squash).
Does fungus sound possible? And if so, any recommendations for organic (or at least not toxic!) treatment?
Does fungus sound possible? And if so, any recommendations for organic (or at least not toxic!) treatment?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Fungus is very possible. You didn't say where you are located. If you are in a humid summer area, fungal infections are a chronic issue.
Remove the affected leaves (as long as that doesn't defoliate the plant), then spray all the rest (especially the undersides of the leaves) with baking soda solution or hydrogen peroxide. Test on a couple leaves first to be sure it doesn't burn them.
Baking soda solution:
1 tablespoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of liquid soap
tsp vegetable oil
1 gallon of water
Be sure the soap is soap, not detergent, which can harm your plants.
The spray will have to be re-applied every couple weeks or after it rains.
Remove the affected leaves (as long as that doesn't defoliate the plant), then spray all the rest (especially the undersides of the leaves) with baking soda solution or hydrogen peroxide. Test on a couple leaves first to be sure it doesn't burn them.
Baking soda solution:
1 tablespoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of liquid soap
tsp vegetable oil
1 gallon of water
Be sure the soap is soap, not detergent, which can harm your plants.
The spray will have to be re-applied every couple weeks or after it rains.
Thank you for the responses.
I'm in Southern NM - high desert. I've lived here for a few years, but this is my first year attempting a vegetable and flower garden.
I have a drip irrigation system that waters morning and evening (to try and keep the water levels more even). It's been crazy hot here (100+ degrees for a couple of weeks) with no rain. The nursery worker suggested that the evening irrigation was creating humidity, as the water 'steams up' from the heat of the day. She suggested irrigating morning and possibly afternoon, as long as the leaves don't get wet, to avoid moisture at night.
The lowest leaves are dead, and the next 3 tiers of leaves are affected. I think I'll remove the most damaged, and try the fungicide solution on the rest (after testing).
Thanks for help!
I'm in Southern NM - high desert. I've lived here for a few years, but this is my first year attempting a vegetable and flower garden.
I have a drip irrigation system that waters morning and evening (to try and keep the water levels more even). It's been crazy hot here (100+ degrees for a couple of weeks) with no rain. The nursery worker suggested that the evening irrigation was creating humidity, as the water 'steams up' from the heat of the day. She suggested irrigating morning and possibly afternoon, as long as the leaves don't get wet, to avoid moisture at night.
The lowest leaves are dead, and the next 3 tiers of leaves are affected. I think I'll remove the most damaged, and try the fungicide solution on the rest (after testing).
Thanks for help!