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white loose powder on hedge

dave56armstrongdave56armstrong Posts: 50
in Problem solving
hi all, on one bush only, not a privet which is next to it and which seems clear, but almost every leaf on the problem bush has a very loose powdery stuff on it, it doesn't seem unhealthy but we have had a very dry spell. I have cut off most of the affected leaves and used a fungicide but wondered if it was something other than mildew. Any ideas please?

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Bit difficult to diagnose a problem without seeing it.
    to put a photo on you need to click on the little square with the mountain scene and follow instructions from there. Make sure it’s the right way up by previewing it first. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • dave56armstrongdave56armstrong Posts: 50
    Thanks, hope this is clear enough, I do get some mildew usually on calendula but never on this bush and it was really powdery, falling like spilled flour. 
  • dave56armstrongdave56armstrong Posts: 50
    seemed to have lost the image first time. 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    It is one of the few diseases which has a name to match its symptoms - Powdery Mildew:

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    You don't need to spray. The plant just got too dry.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    It looks like one of the evergreen euonymus. They can be quite prone to powdery mildew, much more so than privet, anyway. It tends to be worse when the roots are dry, and also when there's not much air circulation around the branches which will tend to happen when it's clipped as part of a hedge.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • dave56armstrongdave56armstrong Posts: 50
    thanks, so if I water it is it likely to go away? I was worried ab
    out it spreading.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I'd be surprised if it spread to the privet. If I understand it correctly, powdery mildews are actually a lot of different diseases, each one being specific to a group of related plants, so if you have other euonymus it might spread to them. Watering the afflicted plant will help it to fight off the mildew, but no guarantees.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • dave56armstrongdave56armstrong Posts: 50
    thanks, the privet looks fine and I have started watering. 
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