moist weather blues

well, i just got done firing off emails to my ‘representatives’ in congress.  have you seen the fuckery that is passing for health care reform from the democratic congress?  it has been a high blood pressure week for me- a ‘representative’ from my area to the state government in albany staged a coup d’etat and took control from the democrats and put it back into the hands of rethuglicans- circumventing the will of the people and democracy.  the ramifications of this are scary.  these people will stop at nothing to get back into power- and that’s pretty obvious.

but i digress…. this is a post about powdery mildew.  what in hell is powdery mildew? , you may ask.  it is a fungal infection that plants get when there isn’t adequate air flow to keep them dry in warm, moist environments.  can happen to a variety of plants- it happened again to my rose bushes out in front of the house.  the people who owned this house before me didn’t know much about anything- tile, roses, etc.  i will transplant the roses in the appropriate time- so, i may have to wait- depending on which type of roses i have- and i certainly didn’t want the bushes to die- the roses are gorgeous.  now, the picture i am posting is not of my roses.  i don’t know that i have a picture hanging around of them- i’ll check… nope.  i’ll have to take one.  this pic is one from iowa i guess.  anyhoo…

fungus infections can devastate a plant- it can actually kill it if left untreated.  so, here’s what ya do- no, don’t go to your local agway or home improvement store- unless you need some pruning shears.  you prune away the affected areas- leaves, buds, flowers, stalks, etc., and then you take 1 tsp baking soda to 1 quart of warm water and add in 1 tsp of dish detergent (helps the baking soda stick longer) and you spray both sides of the leaves and the whole plant.  it works as an antifungal- doesn’t cure the plant but prevents more from developing.  you really have to prune away the affected areas.  i don’t even compost that.  i set it out at the curb.

the best thing is prevention- put roses where they have adequate air circulation and prune appropriately.  i ended up also having black spot which is also a fungal infection- and the baking soda mixture will take care of that too.  i’ll let you know how that goes.  the other preventative measure- spray at the beginning- when plants are just beginning to bud.  i forgot- and this is how i got fungi.  i should have sprayed at least a couple of weeks ago.  i will have to continue spraying all summer as long as the humidity and rain persists.  hopefully, i have the fungi under control.

now, i just have to watch out for japanese beetles.

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