Drat. I saw something on one of my peonies a couple weeks ago and I thought it was someone who had tossed a beverage on the plant or something (it’s right by the sidewalk).
Then last night I got a good look at it when weeding and I see powdery mildew. Boo!
It’s not super bad yet, so I am hoping I can stave off any more damage and prevent the other peony from getting it. The funny thing is that the peonies are in the ideal situation. Full sun, lots of air circulation because they are by themselves. Not sure what caused it.
I am going to make up a spray of:
- 1 gallon of water
- 1 tablespoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon of dish soap.
That will hopefully prevent any new stuff. I will cut the worst of the leaves out and see what happens with the spray. I think I will also preempt anything on my monarda by spraying that as well since I will have the spray made up.
Hi Lori, that mildew is weird stuff. Last year, when we were deep in the drought, I had it on a lot of plants that were in full sun, including my flowering almond bush. This year, with a lot more rain, not a sign of the mildew on the bush. My nursery girl explained it to me last year, but I can’t remember what she said. In any case, I am so glad the bush is healthy this year.
The mildew will appear around here after the hot and humid weather. The good news is that it hasn’t spread after I sprayed the baking soda soap mixture on it, so I need to remember just to be proactive with it next year.