Contents
Diseases of chrysanthemums need to be known from photographs in order to recognize ailments on flowers in time. Most illnesses are treatable, provided they are not started too late.
Symptoms of diseases and pests in chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums are affected by a wide variety of fungal diseases and pests. At the same time, the symptoms of ailments are in many ways similar. If alarming symptoms appear on the shoots, leaves and flowers of the plant, then for the gardener this should be a reason for a careful examination of the chrysanthemum.
To understand that the plant has been exposed to pests or fungus, you can by the following signs:
- yellowing and wilting – almost any disease leads to the fact that the foliage of the plant ceases to receive nutrition and dries up;
- the appearance of dark dots and spots, sometimes chrysanthemum leaves become stained due to a violation of vegetation, sometimes the dots are fungal spores or pest larvae;
- twisting and dying of foliage in the lower part of the plant, this often occurs with root rot or nematode infection;
- the occurrence of an unusual plaque on the leaves and stems of a plant, for example, a spider mite leaves a light cobweb on the back of the leaf blades;
- deformation of the buds and lack of flowering, this often occurs when infected with meadow bugs.
With any disease, spots appear on the leaves of the plant.
When the first alarming symptoms occur, it is necessary to examine the plants and determine which disease they suffered from.
Chrysanthemum diseases and their treatment
There are several main ailments that affect chrysanthemums most often. These are mainly fungal diseases, but sometimes flowers can also be affected by viruses.
septoriosis
Symptoms of the disease are spots on the foliage of a flowering perennial. At first they are yellow, then gradually acquire a dark brown and black hue, grow and merge with each other. The disease spreads from bottom to top, first the basal leaves of the plant suffer. If you do not start treating septoria, then it can lead to the complete death of the perennial.
Septoria can be recognized by yellow-brown spots
Getting rid of septoria in the early stages is quite simple. It is necessary to completely remove the affected leaves, and then treat the plant with Bordeaux liquid or copper preparations – vitriol, HOM solution.
white rust
Fungal disease has characteristic symptoms. First, lighter areas appear on the leaves, and orange spots of a powdery structure appear on the underside of the leaf blades. Over time, the disease spreads throughout the flower, the chrysanthemum weakens and begins to fade. Such a plant can no longer bloom properly.
White rust appears as powdery orange spots on the underside and light areas on top of the leaf.
To cure rust, you need to urgently cut off all leaves with light and orange spots. After that, you need to thin out the chrysanthemum bushes to ensure free access of air, and spray the flower bed with Bordeaux liquid or blue vitriol. Subsequently, chrysanthemums must be watered very carefully so that water does not fall on their leaves.
Fuzarioz
Fungal disease affects the root system. But the first symptoms become noticeable on the leaves, they turn yellow and turn brown, begin to dry out and fall off. The nutrition of the plant is disturbed, the chrysanthemum ceases to receive nutrients from the soil in the required volumes and eventually dies.
With fusarium, the leaves become covered with dots and turn yellow
To cure the disease, you need to remove the affected leaves and flowers. Plantings of chrysanthemums are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, and the soil is shed with solutions that increase acidity. for example, potassium sulfate or ammonium nitrate. It is better to eliminate individual plants that have suffered too much from the disease; it is almost impossible to save a seriously affected root system.
Mučnistaâ rosa
The fungus very often infects chrysanthemums in damp and warm weather. The disease manifests itself with a recognizable plaque on the leaves, whitish, ash-gray, with a powdery structure. As the disease progresses, the leaf blades begin to wither and die, the plant’s vegetative processes stop, and it dies.
Powdery mildew leaves a whitish-gray coating on the foliage
You can cope with powdery mildew with standard fungicides – copper sulphate, HOM solution, the drug Fundazol helps well. Before spraying the flower bed, it is necessary to first remove the affected leaves from the chrysanthemums, as well as completely eliminate heavily affected plants.
Bacterial root cancer
The disease is classified as incurable, although it does not affect chrysanthemums very often. The most striking symptom of bacterial cancer are growths on the stems of the plant. Cancer develops rapidly, the chrysanthemum not only stops blooming, but also completely dies.
Bacterial cancer is manifested by growths on the stems
When alarming signs appear, the diseased chrysanthemum must be removed from the flower bed entirely, it is impossible to save it. The plant affected by the disease is burned, and the soil in which it grew is treated with Formalin solution. It is impossible to plant other plants on this site for at least a month.
Mosaic of chrysanthemum
One of the most dangerous diseases for chrysanthemums is viral mosaic. It is quite easy to recognize it – uneven spots of a light shade appear on the leaves of an infected plant. Chrysanthemum begins to grow more slowly, its flowers become smaller, and the foliage turns yellow, as a result, flowering completely stops.
Mosaic stains chrysanthemum leaves and is not treatable
There is no cure for mosaic disease. Affected chrysanthemums must simply be removed from the site so that the disease does not spread to neighboring plants.
Chrysanthemum pests and their control
In addition to diseases, garden pests threaten chrysanthemums. There are several insects that are particularly dangerous for flowers.
leaf nematode
The most dangerous pest of chrysanthemums are nematodes – small roundworms that are difficult to see with the naked eye. They hibernate in the soil or in unharvested plant debris, and with the onset of heat they move to the stems and leaf blades.
You can recognize the nematode by its characteristic symptoms – yellow-brown spots on the leaves, spreading from bottom to top. The spots gradually cover all the green leaf plates of the plant, merge with each other, the affected leaves curl and fall off.
When infected with a nematode, dark spots appear on the leaves
A nematode is a pest, upon the appearance of which the plant material must simply be destroyed. The infected chrysanthemum is removed from the flower bed along with the adjacent soil, the soil is carefully treated with insecticides, for example, Aktara.
aphid
Aphids are a very common pest of flowering perennials. It is quite difficult to notice it from afar, but if you look at the leaves closer, then small green or reddish insects will become noticeable on the back surface of the leaves.
Aphids feed on the juice of leaves and shoots of chrysanthemum. If you do not fight the insect, then in just one summer the aphid will be able to destroy all flowering perennials. The pest is not only very voracious, but also lays eggs several times per season.
Aphids are able to almost completely eat chrysanthemum bushes
Aphids must be controlled by spraying. If the chrysanthemums are not severely affected, then a soapy or onion solution will be enough. With abundant infection, it is better to use insecticidal chemicals – Aktellik, Aktara.
spider mite
Spider mites cause harm to plantings of chrysanthemums. They usually appear in early spring and closer to autumn, it is difficult to notice them at the very beginning. But as time passes, symptoms become noticeable – the foliage that the tick feeds on begins to turn brown and dries up, and a light cobweb coating appears on the back of the leaves.
When a spider mite appears, the leaves from below are covered with a thin cobweb
The fight against spider mites comes down to spraying flower beds with insecticidal preparations or colloidal sulfur. Sanitary cleaning is important – the spider mite overwinters in plant debris and lumps of soil. In order to prevent it from multiplying, it is imperative to clean the site and loosen the soil with the onset of autumn.
meadow bug
The harmful insect causes damage to all green parts of the chrysanthemum. The bug feeds on leaves, buds and blossoming flowers. Under the influence of the pest, the plant ceases to bloom, its buds and flowers crumble, and the leaves are deformed.
The meadow bug harms buds, leaves and stems
The fight against the meadow bug consists in spraying the flower bed with insecticides – Aktellik and Aktara, Skorom. With weak infections, you can use homemade solutions – soap and onion, but they do not always bring results.
Prevention of diseases and pests in chrysanthemums
Many diseases are treatable, but the easiest way is to prevent their occurrence, and not waste energy on fighting ailments. Disease prevention in chrysanthemums comes down to several measures:
- Every autumn, the flower beds are carefully cleaned and all plant debris is removed. In clean areas, fungi and pests appear much less frequently.
- Flowering perennials should be watered moderately, avoiding waterlogging of the soil. In swampy soil, fungal diseases develop much more readily.
- The soil in a flower bed should be regularly fertilized with potassium and phosphorus – these substances increase the resistance of plantings to diseases.
- Every spring, plants should be sprayed prophylactically with Bordeaux liquid, three times after the start of the growing season with breaks of 10 days.
So that diseases do not develop in a flower bed with perennials and pests do not breed, it is recommended to regularly loosen and weed the soil.
To prevent disease, it is important to keep the site in a neat condition.
Conclusion
Diseases of chrysanthemums are easy to recognize by their characteristic symptoms. With early treatment, most ailments can be managed. If some diseases are incurable, infected chrysanthemums should be removed as soon as possible.
