My honeysuckle was planted last year. It grew vigorously and bloomed
wonderfully. However this year it appears to be covered in a sort of
fungus/mould - a powdery grey looking stuff with some brown patches. This
seems to have spread over virtually the whole plant in the last couple of
weeks. Will I have to dig it out and start again?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Jo

On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:53:45 +0100, "Jo"
wrote:

My honeysuckle was planted last year. It grew vigorously and bloomed
wonderfully. However this year it appears to be covered in a sort of
fungus/mould - a powdery grey looking stuff with some brown patches. This
seems to have spread over virtually the whole plant in the last couple of
weeks. Will I have to dig it out and start again?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Jo

Mildew. I had one do that last year. Quite a lot of foliage died as a
result. I could have sprayed it with a fungicide, but didn't. It's OK
this year.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:53:45 +0100, "Jo"
wrote:

My honeysuckle was planted last year. It grew vigorously and bloomed
wonderfully. However this year it appears to be covered in a sort of
fungus/mould - a powdery grey looking stuff with some brown patches.
This
seems to have spread over virtually the whole plant in the last couple of
weeks. Will I have to dig it out and start again?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Jo

Mildew. I had one do that last year. Quite a lot of foliage died as a
result. I could have sprayed it with a fungicide, but didn't. It's OK
this year.


--
Chris

As Chris says you could spray but if you just cut it back to tidy and wait
till next year it will be fine, you can prevent it happening sometimes! by
giving a good mulch and watering in dry hot weather, (last year you were
probably watering it as it was newly planted?)

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

I forgot to mention that last year there was a tiny bit of what was probably
mildew towards the end of the summer. I cut back the affected parts but
this year it is ten times worse. Is it OK to cut back vigorously now even
though the plant is flowering?

Jo


"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
...

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:53:45 +0100, "Jo"
wrote:

My honeysuckle was planted last year. It grew vigorously and bloomed
wonderfully. However this year it appears to be covered in a sort of
fungus/mould - a powdery grey looking stuff with some brown patches.
This
seems to have spread over virtually the whole plant in the last couple
of
weeks. Will I have to dig it out and start again?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Jo

Mildew. I had one do that last year. Quite a lot of foliage died as a
result. I could have sprayed it with a fungicide, but didn't. It's OK
this year.


--
Chris

As Chris says you could spray but if you just cut it back to tidy and wait
till next year it will be fine, you can prevent it happening sometimes! by
giving a good mulch and watering in dry hot weather, (last year you were
probably watering it as it was newly planted?)

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

In article ,
Jo wrote:
I forgot to mention that last year there was a tiny bit of what was probably
mildew towards the end of the summer. I cut back the affected parts but
this year it is ten times worse. Is it OK to cut back vigorously now even
though the plant is flowering?

Please don't top post and leave all the old message in.

It depends on the honeysuckle. You can certainly cut back hard,
but the new wood of the more tender species may not ripen enough
to survive the winter. With honeysuckles that shoot from the
base, this will not matter; with those that don't, it may.

As the mildew might be powdery mildew (i.e. an insect, not a
fungus), I would cut out the worst parts and saturate the rest
with soft soap or detergent solution.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 07:33:01 +0100, "Jo"
wrote:

I forgot to mention that last year there was a tiny bit of what was probably
mildew towards the end of the summer. I cut back the affected parts but
this year it is ten times worse. Is it OK to cut back vigorously now even
though the plant is flowering?

Jo


Why cut it at all? It'll survive perfectly well, if a little
unsightly. If you don't like its appearance, spray it with a
fungicide.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net