Powdery Mildew - too late to save? - Ask Extension
Hi there! Two ornamental shrubs in front of our library have a lot of what looks like powdery mildew and dead leaves. (found out what id was by search...
Knowledgebase
Powdery Mildew - too late to save? #875169
Asked June 28, 2024, 7:11 PM EDT
Hi there! Two ornamental shrubs in front of our library have a lot of what looks like powdery mildew and dead leaves. (found out what id was by searching your site!) It's been like this a few years, but looks worse this year. I don't garden, and our city workers don't do a lot of landscape management, so I'm wondering how much effort it would take to save the shrubs or if I should just ask them to pull and plant something new (there's a lot of healthy milkweed growing up behind...pollinator garden, anyone?)
Stearns County Minnesota
Expert Response
The shrubs you have are Ninebark and they do not look healthy. Ninebark are prone to powdery mildew but these also look like they are suffering from iron chlorsis.
I would remove them and replace them with something else.
https://trees.umn.edu/little-devil-ninebark-physocarpus-opulifolius-donna-may
Since you are a public library, you may want to contact the Stearns County Master Grdeners for some recommendations and help.
