Knowledgebase
aster yellow disease? #872532
Asked June 10, 2024, 11:03 PM EDT
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
Additionally, Aster Yellows is an incurable disease that will worsen over time, whereas the mite population can rise and fall and won't always reach damaging levels. If you prune off suspicious flower heads (sanitize pruner blades afterwards, just in case), you can limit a mite outbreak, but that would not reduce the incidence of Aster Yellows symptoms, so that can be one way to help tell which condition is present. (An overlap between the two is certainly possible, but most symptoms will probably be attributable to one condition or the other.)
We see no reason to remove any plants at this time, but just monitor them for any more distinctive or worsening symptoms.
Miri