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Coleus downy mildew disease

Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on
Sat, Mar 2, 13 at 10:24

While trying to research what might be wrong with someone's plant, I typed "Coleus disease in google. Almost every link is about downy mildew.

This article has no date but is written by pathologists. Here is another article by the same authors that says this disease is a new thing within the past 20 years.

This one has pictures.

Excuse the colloquialism, but holy crap!


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RE: Coleus downy mildew disease

Yes, holy crap!
I checked out the remaining parts of my plant. I don't think this is the problem. I could be wrong, though. Not much left to analyze. LOL!
It's been cut up and rinsed and is in jars of water in the house now. We'll see what happens next.


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RE: Coleus downy mildew disease

I've been watching this over the past few years, but haven't seen anything to get too alarmed over. YET, lol. Downy Mildew strains have been in our gardens for centuries...this one is a newer one that bears watching, and you can see from the articles that it is already under investigation. It appears to be much more aggressive than the coleus DM strain that is already in the field.

One very good point to bring up, however, is that we need to restrain ourselves when it comes to making our plant selections. Too many of one thing CAN be bad, when it comes to preventing a major infestation in our own yard.

The use of monoculture is a poor horticultural practice. Bringing in many diverse species is always good Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This is true for just about all kinds of plants, from turf grass to trees.

At this point, it would be smart to avoid clustering coleus together when we collect them. They are such great accent pieces, it might be good to use them that way. Avoid handling one after another if one is in trouble....isolate the offending plant.

Managing our watering practices may help slow down the spread of this disease, too. Remember, the Downy Mildews can be spread by splashing water. We can't stop the rain, but we might be able to avoid overhead watering. I try very hard to remember that when watering my vegetable plants, many of whom are susceptible to their own strains of DM.

Who knows what might be going on with your plant, shear, but if it continues to exhibit symptoms of some sort, any sort, you'd be wise to discard it.

Have you posted pictures?


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RE: Coleus downy mildew disease

Yes, I've posted pictures under "Less isn't more."
It all happened so fast though, I didn't have a chance to take progressive pictures of the decline.

Good point about monoculture. I'm probably not in any danger of that, since I can't resist buying at least one of everything, LOL!


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