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Penstemon Mildew

SmudgesDadSmudgesDad Posts: 61
in Problem solving

I bought these Penstemon plugs from a well known online retailer a few months ago. They’ve been brought on alongside penstemon cuttings from the garden which so no sign of the disease.
Do you think they’re beyond redemption or can they be saved? The retailer doesn’t want to know.

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    They don't look too far gone.  You could try a fungicide spray, and if possible space them out a bit more to improve air circulation.  Picking off the worst-affected leaves might also help (you don't want it spreading to your healthy plants).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I think they'll be fine too if you can get some air around them as JennyJ says, and they'll likely soon shrug off those mildewed leaves and be growing strongly.
    I left my cuttings from last autumn in an open cold frame over winter, they're all fine.
    I'd suggest pinching out the tops to make them bushy.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • SmudgesDadSmudgesDad Posts: 61
    Thank you both.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Don’t worry, mine are the same, in March just cut that right off, you’ll see new shoots coming from the base soon.
    i do dozens of cuttings, nothing to worry about, the new growth will be fine.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • SmudgesDadSmudgesDad Posts: 61
    Cheers Lyn. Beautiful weather down here in Devon isn’t it?
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    It would be it there wasn’t a nippy wind, been freezing every night and early morning. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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