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What’s going on with my wilting Cosmos?

Neil81BNeil81B Posts: 34
in Problem solving
My two cosmos in pots are both wilting, with leaves having white flecks over them before turning brown and crumbly. I had similar issues with African daises in the same pots beforehand? Any clues?


Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    That looks like powdery mildew which often occurs on plants stressed by drought. 

     Without seeing the entire plant and pot I can only guess that at some time it's been allowed to dry out, either because it's not been watered, or because the compost is too light, or a combination of both. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Neil81BNeil81B Posts: 34
    Thanks for the likely diagnosis. Can it be rescued? And by soil being too light, what does that means? This is a picture of the whole pot.




  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Some Multi-purpose composts are very fibrous but don’t hold moisture very well. If I have some like that I’ll mix it with a bit of loambased compost such as a John Innes No 2, or even a big of ordinary garden soil to make it a bit ‘weightier’. 

    I think your cosmos will survive as long as the roots don’t dry out again. It needs to be moist but not boggy. 

    It’s a very pretty cosmos 😊 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Neil81BNeil81B Posts: 34
    Thanks very much, great advice! I’ll give it a daily water and hope for the best 🤞
  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    One of my cosmos is doing great, the other one, the flowers are floppy. Same soils, just a few hours less light. Different varieties.
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