| How to tell if your spirea shrub has a disease or if it has been over watered? |
| Plant pathologists usually group causes of plant failure into two categories: infectious (that is caused by a pathogen(s)), and noninfectious (caused by environmental stress or improper cultural practices). Identifying whether a problem is infectious or noninfectious is the first thing to determine when we diagnose a plant disease sample. Environmental stresses and improper cultural practices that can lead to plant failure are numerous. They include too much or too little water, soil or water that is too salty, pH that is too high or low, use of excess fertilizers or nutrient deficiencies, or chemical injuries (from herbicides, pesticides, runoff or other pollutants). As a general rule, noninfectious disease symptoms are distributed evenly over a large area or over several different plant species. They may also be associated with some specific location(s) or cultural practice, such as where herbicide applications were prepared, or with some environmental events, such as frost or a hail storm. In contrast, infectious disease symptoms develop sporadically, are distributed unevenly, and usually are restricted to a particular plant species, or even cultivar. So, if your spirea is affected all over, suspect a cultural problem; if only part of the plant is affected, it's probably a disease (which may eventually spread to involve the entire plant). |
