Cercospora Leaf Spot . . . bad

10 years ago

I posted this in the hydrangea forum, but I don't know how much time people spend there now that it's colder... I think my problems are bigger than my hydrangea anyway. So... here goes.

A few months ago I posted some pics of leaves from my sick hydrangea, and everyone was kind enough to help me determine it was leaf spot. I tried taking everyone's adviceÃ¯Â¿Â½and clean out the area well, but my hydrangea looked mostly dead for the rest of the summer. Any new green it put out quickly turned brown-black and died. My neighbor has suggested I cut it back to only a few inches high and see if it comes back okay in the spring. I don't know how old the plant is, but it was here long before I moved in six years ago.

After the hydrangea developed the leaf spot, I started noticing the same spots on other plants throughout my yard, the annuals in the hanging baskets on the porch, the mandevilla, two small, new rosebushes, and even my rubber tree and peace lily houseplants that I put in the backyard in the shade for the summer away from everything else. It seemed to affect one plant, but not necessarily the one next to it. Very scattered. Nothing immediately close to the hydrangea was affected though. And only the hydrangea looked like it was close to dead.

How do I keep this from cursing me next year?? And is it a good idea to cut the hydrangea down almost to the ground?

Thanks! I really need help!

Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
my hydrenga.. here in ice cold MI .. dies to near the ground every winter.. on its own ...

but since you dont ID the specific H .. it might be hard to compare ...

without a link to your old post.. its hard to argue with your recollections of what third parties said ...

use the GW search engine.. to find your own name.. if you dont know the post title ...

ken
TNflowerlover Zone 7a
10 years ago
I know the stuff you are talking about. Here is what I have done...now is the best time to start over.

I did not cut mine down/trim them. If you do that now, you will be cutting off buds that are already forming.

Remove all leaves once frost has killed them. (Does frost kills your leaves?)

When the leaves start coming in the spring, spray with the stuff I linked to below. Do it every 7-10 days for the rest of the season. It is a bit tedious, but it helps a lot! It will not get rid of/prevent all of it, but it slows it down tremendously. Mine looked great until I slacked off...then the cercospora returned.

Try to not water overhead...it spreads the spores onto other leaves. Try to water closer to the ground.

My understanding is that this stuff is pretty much always present....it is just a matter of trying to control it. My understanding is that it also will not kill. It sure looks unsightly, though.

Far as other plants.....I am not sure if this exact same thing can spread or not. I have noticed similar things on random plants, but I cannot decide if it is the Salem thing or a similar fungus.

Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Spectracide
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sara82lee
Original Author
10 years ago
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydra/msg082241474892.html

Ken,

I'm so sorry I dropped out for awhile. Here's the link to the other thread, if you still want it. I don't know the exact hydrangea I have, but it's some kind of ES. They're everywhere here. Thanks for your input.

Carolina, I think I'll try the spectracide. I don't want to use a lot of chemicals (mostly I just want to spend my money on plants, really :), but that seems very affordable compared to some things and every week or so doesn't bother me at all. Its depressing to think I'll never be completely rid of it though.

My only question is, then, I wonder why the Daconil didn't work? I sprayed it with that religiously. It still looked completely zapped. Part of me thinks I should rip it out, let that spot sit empty for a year, and plant a new one after that. But it was here before I came and I would hate to do that.

It has frosted here a few times, but there weren't any leaves left to pick off honestly :( I'll never stop being amazed at what's still green in the ground here in December, though! A few petunias and random annuals leftover from the summer that somehow survived the few freezes, some confused bulbs that have popped up already, foliage left over from summer bulbs that I wish would just die back already!, some volunteer seedlings... Virginia is nothing like Ohio where I'm originally from!