mildew on shrubs

nessthehat said:

Hi folks. I have been assessing the winter damage in my garden, (don't you just hate this time of year when you can see the dead bits but its too early to start cutting them off!). I have noticed that many of my evergreens which have escaped frost damage now have a bad case of mildew. Its particularly bad on the euonymous. I assume its because of being under a blanket of snow for so long. Has anyone else noticed this and should I be doing anything about it? Cheers, Ness.

 

Hi Ness,

I have to say that my garden is a right mess at the moment due to the inclement weather we've had recently. Having moved last Feb for a bigger garden mine is an ongoing project and although I did a lot of planting last year it's no where near established yet!

I'm no expert but I know when I've had mildew on plants such as euonymous I've generally trimmed it off for fear of it spreading. Usually evergreens are pretty robust so will take a little pruning although I imagine that it wouldn't pay to go too mad? As stated I'm no expert and someone else might give you a better and more definitive answer...

Having done so much work last summer and autumn I have literally just used the winter months to sit back and enjoy watching my feathered visitors!....I have to say that I haven't been disappointed and have had some lovely photo opportunities also!....Just recharging my batteries until it all starts again in a couple of months is my excuse!

Cheers

 

 

 

I think mildew is usually associated with lack of air circulation through the plant and also unusually dry conditions but I could be wrong about the dry conditions. The usual advice is opening out the shrub by judicious pruning to allow better air circulation and clearing away any leaf litter that might harbour spores. Also I've heard it said that it does no permanent damage and will disappear if conditions improve, i.e more rain, mulching and better air circulation. I do hope it clears up.

Hi a mild brushing with diluted jeyes fluied helps. Alan

hi Ness,

My euonymous tend to look truly awful by the end of winter, even losing all their leaves, but soon perk up in the spring. I'd be inclined to leave them personally as they are living as nature intended and see what happens - just don't give up on them too soon, they may just take longer than usual to come back good and strong.

The idea about selective pruning could be useful too, but you might want to wait and see whether all the branches survive first and then prune lightly later in the spring.

Good luck and fingeres crossed that they sort themselves out...

DM

Hi maisie, diluted jeyes is a good disinfectant, tat will not harm the birds. Alan

Hi ness

Is it still to early to cut off dead bits of shrubs? I would cut them off now before any birds start looking for nesting spots.

I'm not sure what is safe to use for mildew on conifers, it's best to check immediately before you buy a particular brand that your stockist has on offer.

Hi folks. Thanks for the feedback. I've never bought Jeyes fluid as I've heard its harmful for dogs but I think I'll give it a go on the patio euonymus as I can move them out of the way. I've been clipping them trying to make a smart ball shape for ages and I've just got them right, don't think I could bear to start hacking chunks off them. Big thankyou for the heads up re nest building - I hadn't thought of that aspect. I'll risk the late frosts and cut all the mildew off the ones in the main garden. Thanks again, Ness.