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What is going on with my helenium - PIX?

Posted by grandma_gardener_02 PA - zone 5 (My Page) on
Tue, May 29, 12 at 11:20

My helenium mardi gras was doing beautifully until a couple of weeks ago. Don't know what is going on so I can treat it. It looks like it is some kind of insect, but don't know what kind if it is.


Pix of whole group.


Close up.

Any ideas?


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: What is going on with my helenium - PIX?

is it only the leaves near the ground????

go out at night and look for slugs ...

and those would be the oldest leaves .... so the culprit may be gone.. if the newer leaves are not being eaten

any hail storms back when they were smaller???

ken


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RE: What is going on with my helenium - PIX?

Slugs since it's near the group? Toads in my area takes cares of those, so I never had to put out some sort of slug bait. Try looking at them in the middle of the night and see if you can see slugs.

Paul


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RE: What is going on with my helenium - PIX?

Thanks for the thoughts. Yes, it is only on the leaves near the ground which are obviously the oldest. I was afraid something would end up creeping up the plant. It started with one plant and then gradually spread to all of them which is why I got concerned. Never thought of slugs. I did spray with insecticide and it didn't help. No hailstorms, but we have had a lot of rain and high humidity. When you mean go out at night, I assume you mean a couple of hours after dark and look with a flash light. Will see if I can spot slugs.


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RE: What is going on with my helenium - PIX?

Thanks for the thoughts. Yes, it is only on the leaves near the ground which are obviously the oldest. I was afraid something would end up creeping up the plant. It started with one plant and then gradually spread to all of them which is why I got concerned. Never thought of slugs. I did spray with insecticide and it didn't help. No hailstorms, but we have had a lot of rain and high humidity. When you mean go out at night, I assume you mean a couple of hours after dark and look with a flash light. Will see if I can spot slugs.


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RE: What is going on with my helenium - PIX?

Yes, a couple of hours after dark. I guess you can put out some slug repellent products. My sister said her plant leaves kept getting chewed up. It turns out that slug came out at night, munch on the plant and then went back into hiding in the morning.

Paul


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RE: What is going on with my helenium - PIX?

It could be an earwig problem. See link below. I have a feeling I have the same problem this year because of all the rain we've been having. Since these are night feeders, it might be worth checking out after dark.

Kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Earwig


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