Knowledgebase
Is this aster yellows on my echinacea? :( #872556
Asked June 11, 2024, 9:23 AM EDT
Baltimore City County Maryland
Expert Response
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.