Is this aster yellows on my echinacea? :( - Ask Extension
Is this aster yellows forming in our echinacea bed? Four plants are pictured. One has started blooming a bit weird, and I can't tell if the other flow...
Knowledgebase
Is this aster yellows on my echinacea? :( #872556
Asked June 11, 2024, 9:23 AM EDT
Is this aster yellows forming in our echinacea bed? Four plants are pictured. One has started blooming a bit weird, and I can't tell if the other flowers immediately next to it are potentially infected. :(
Baltimore City County Maryland
Expert Response
It's too early to tell. The unopened buds and flowers in the lower left photo appear to be normal. The opening bud in the upper left photo is showing potentially concerning symptoms, but we can't tell at this stage if it's Aster Yellows, a virus (Aster Yellows is a phytoplasma, which is like a virus, but not quite the same), or just the early stages of a Coneflower Rosette Mite outbreak. The linked page has a good overview of the symptoms the mites can create, along with a comparison to Aster Yellows. It's always possible both conditions can be present and overlap in one plant, but generally, you're probably going to see mainly one or the other.
If you cut off and dispose of suspicious-looking flower heads (sanitize the pruner blades afterwards, just in case), you can reduce a mite population, but would not reduce an infection, so that can be one way to determine which issue a plant might be dealing with. A virus or phytoplasma infection will only worsen over time, whereas a mite outbreak might wax and wane depending on the weather that season, or if you've been pruning off flower heads that have abundant mites in order to limit their spread.
Miri
If you cut off and dispose of suspicious-looking flower heads (sanitize the pruner blades afterwards, just in case), you can reduce a mite population, but would not reduce an infection, so that can be one way to determine which issue a plant might be dealing with. A virus or phytoplasma infection will only worsen over time, whereas a mite outbreak might wax and wane depending on the weather that season, or if you've been pruning off flower heads that have abundant mites in order to limit their spread.
Miri
Thank you! I'm so glad I asked before ripping out all of these. I will cut off the suspicious-looking ones just in case and continue to monitor.
You're welcome.