It struggled last year for lack of sun and was very leggy. In our new home it gets plenty of sun and it started the spring very healthy, so I thought it was going to look great this year, but instead the leaves are discolouring...
...some of them have black crispy patches on...
...all the lower leaves are dropping off...
...and the stems have a white bloom.
My first thought (before I noticed the white fungal stuff) was that it lacked food or water, so I watered it more and fed it some fish, blood and bone. But first advice on the interent was that monarda thrives on neglect and was probably overfed and watered! Oh noooo!
I tipped the whole thing out of its pot to make sure it wasn't too wet, and it doesn't seem it. Not sure what I can do to reduce the soil's fertility now! And I've misted it with a sodium bicarbonate solution (1/4 tsp to 1/2 litre) to try to tackle the fungal infection. It's not looking any better so far.
Any ideas? I want me some more of these this summer!
2 comments:
Carl has retweeted your post so Hi! I have these in the garden, they are very prone to mildew. I cut them right back when they get leggy and they seem to come back each year> I think they are a perennial but I've never grown them in a pot, so maybe repot in fresh soil, water well and cut back? If they get dry and a bit too crowded they get mildew I suspect. Useful article in the Telegraph google 'mildewed monarda and hopeless hollyhocks' Hope your plants get better soon. Cheers!
What about taling it out of the pot and planting it in the ground.
I'd be tempted to cut it back if it were mine but I don't want the responsibility of telling someone else to do this to their plant - just in case
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