I'm spraying my plants today and I noticed rust spots on my hollyhocks (even though I've been spraying regularly) and some spots on my cannas. I have 3 questions: 1. What are the spots on the cannas? 2. How many spots warrant removing a hollyhock leaf - percentage wise I guess? 3. Can anyone recommend a sprayer that has an adjustable nozzle that will spray upwards so that I can better reach the backs of leaves? As always, bless you and thank you for your help. Terri.

Have you been spraying with water daily?

Hello,

No I have not, however we have had a lot of rain lately after a two week drought.

Terri, I use a 2gal. hand pump sprayer by Gilmour. They're available from any Ace (or DG) hardware store and come with a lifetime warranty, made in the USA for about $20. Also available online. The spray is adjustable from a fine mist (good for getting the backs of hte leaves) to a coarse shower. I do lots of spraying because I grow orchids, which are hanging up in my pool cage, so they get watered and fertilized regularly by spraying.

That does look like a fungal blight of some sort to me. My cannas usually get a rusty fungus though, not as large or black spots as yours.

Thanks for the great info Elaine! I seem to be dealing with fungal issues on many of my plants this year and the real Georgia humidity hasn't even set in yet.

I am just this past year attempting to grow orchids - 2 off them. So far, I have not killed them. They are indoors. Is spraying (misting) them a good thing to do? How often?

Yes, if you're growing your orchids indoors, it's a great idea to spritz them to keep the humidity up around them. Once you're running the a/c in the house, it gets a little bit dry for them so anything you can do to keep humidity up a bit is helpful.

Their care really depends upon the type of orchid you have. If you've got more questions there's tons of info over at the Orchids forum.
http://garden.org/forums/view/...