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Sooty mould

chrissi25chrissi25 Posts: 1
edited April 2021 in Problem solving
hi there I have a very large old rhododendron that has sooty mould. It appeared last year but after drenching it in soapy water and blasting it with a hose flowered though not as it used to. This year there are only about 4 buds on it and the shrub is black both on bark and leaves. BT erected a pole in the garden and painted it with creasote (which we never knew about) and feel this caused a problem. Should I cut the rhododendron down? If so would the soil be infected? Any advice welcome Christine   

Posts

  • Robert WestRobert West Posts: 241
    Sooty mould is usually caused by honeydew from small insects eg. Aphids. I would doubt the creasote would have caused it. Did you manage to shift it from the leaves completely? If not it might have affected the plants ability to photosynthesise maybe. I had a Holly with black soot on parts of it, which I then ignored for too long. I have cleaned it all off now but should have done it a year ago before it got so bad. I used warm soapy water and a nail brush. 
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