Do I need to worry about this? - Ask Extension
I have several plants that are wilting and have yellow leaves near their base. One plant with an insane looking base. Last year I had black eyed Susan...
Knowledgebase
Do I need to worry about this? #874421
Asked June 24, 2024, 12:13 PM EDT
I have several plants that are wilting and have yellow leaves near their base. One plant with an insane looking base. Last year I had black eyed Susans get aster yellows and it spread a bunch before I learned what it was that was causing it. I removed all of them last year and disposed of them. They tried to pop back up this year until recently and I’ve removed them as they try. I replaced them with culvers root, blue vervain, and hoary mountainmint. I put some herbicide along the edges of my garden last year as well. Recently (a month or so), the hoary mountainmint started first with the base looking brown and the leaves turning wilted and yellow then dead. Overall the plant looked fine but today I looked and one stalk is wilted looking but still feels soft to the touch. The spotted beebalm that is semi near it looked like it has a bunch of wilting with yellow and brown leaves. That is a 3 year old plant that hasn’t had any issues before. I also have 2 blue aster and they’re having brown crunchy leaves near the base. A red cardinal flower be between them is also looking rough and the base of that looks insane, I don't know if its uncovered roots or an odd growth. I did give the whole garden night time water about a week ago and it rained here mid afternoon yesterday. Other then that ive only given the red cardinal flower some water periodically because the ground is way drier than normal and all of them have been wilting. The pictures I'm attaching are- the base of the hoary mountainmint, a shot of the spotted bee balm and the base of the red cardinal flower.
St. Mary's County Maryland
Expert Response
As you noted, we are becoming abnormally dry, and last year most of the state experienced some degree of drought for most of the growing season. You mention watering a couple of times, but have the plants been monitored for watering needs since before they started to wilt? (Feel the soil about six inches down, and if somewhat dry to the touch at that depth, a thorough soaking is probably needed. If damp when checked, watering is probably not needed yet.) In this weather, even established perennials may benefit from a once-weekly (or more) watering, depending on soil type, sun exposure, and drainage. The symptoms pictured look mostly like drought stress, so maybe they are being under-watered. Do they recover after being soaked well?
The growths at the base of the Cardinalflower are adventitious roots, a normal occurrence on a variety of plants, and which might be encouraged by dark, damp conditions like stems buried in leaf litter or mulch. They are not harmful to the plant.
The plant in image 3361 appears to have foliage damage caused by either mites, thrips, leafhoppers, or some other sap-sucking insect. All cause a kind of "stippling" damage we see in the photo. By itself, this isn't always troublesome or needing to be treated, but coupled with drought stress, might lead to premature leaf loss. You can inspect the leaf upper and lower surfaces for indications of any of those pests. A blast of plain water from a garden hose can dislodge most of them, if abundant, but any other appropriate management tips are included in the linked pages.
Damage to lower leaves on Aster and other members of that family tend to be from lace bugs (Chrysanthemum Lace Bug in particular), and enough feeding damage will give leaves a "bleached" look before they turn brown and shrivel, usually from the lower portions of the stem upwards. This is a common and native insect, and also can be sprayed off with plain water. (It won't remove all of them, but enough, if done repeatedly, and natural predators will help take care of more of them.) Insecticide use is possible, but few options exist for avoiding harm to pollinators and other beneficial predators.
Wilting can be cause by poor drainage or over-watering, infections like Southern Blight, and other causes, but being widespread and seemingly unassociated with other concerning symptoms, our best guess is that the roots are still getting too dry, at least occasionally. If you see other symptoms, feel free to send more photos.
Miri
The growths at the base of the Cardinalflower are adventitious roots, a normal occurrence on a variety of plants, and which might be encouraged by dark, damp conditions like stems buried in leaf litter or mulch. They are not harmful to the plant.
The plant in image 3361 appears to have foliage damage caused by either mites, thrips, leafhoppers, or some other sap-sucking insect. All cause a kind of "stippling" damage we see in the photo. By itself, this isn't always troublesome or needing to be treated, but coupled with drought stress, might lead to premature leaf loss. You can inspect the leaf upper and lower surfaces for indications of any of those pests. A blast of plain water from a garden hose can dislodge most of them, if abundant, but any other appropriate management tips are included in the linked pages.
Damage to lower leaves on Aster and other members of that family tend to be from lace bugs (Chrysanthemum Lace Bug in particular), and enough feeding damage will give leaves a "bleached" look before they turn brown and shrivel, usually from the lower portions of the stem upwards. This is a common and native insect, and also can be sprayed off with plain water. (It won't remove all of them, but enough, if done repeatedly, and natural predators will help take care of more of them.) Insecticide use is possible, but few options exist for avoiding harm to pollinators and other beneficial predators.
Wilting can be cause by poor drainage or over-watering, infections like Southern Blight, and other causes, but being widespread and seemingly unassociated with other concerning symptoms, our best guess is that the roots are still getting too dry, at least occasionally. If you see other symptoms, feel free to send more photos.
Miri
