Viewing post #1207328 by jrbales

I had to scroll back to see if I'd started this thread and forgotten to check it This has been an incredibly bad year for fungal leaf streak, not just in one bed but in all the beds around the house. We had a long, wet, cool spring which is when the problem started. Then within maybe two weeks the weather transitioned to hot, humid, and dry. (Also had a lot of problems early on with black spot on roses but began using the drench version of Bayer 3-in 1 Rose Care which has slowed it down). Foliage has been ugly, ugly, ugly. However, it hasn't stopped the blooms, almost all plants being unusually prolific producing scapes. Even reblooming has been heavier than usual. So now the main blooming season is passing and the leaves are browning and drying out. I'm working at getting the beds thoroughly cleaned out but quite a few plants are looking kind of 'spare' of leaves, some almost disappearing entirely (though I'm beginning to notice new fans popping up). I'm thinking it's probably time for a light application of fertilizer after the heavy blooming season and spraying the clean plants with fungicide when the temperatures moderate again late in the summer. So has anyone else experienced more than usual leaf streak this year???

There definitely seem to be certain cultivars that are more resistant to the fungus than others. For example, "Prairie Blossom" has had a few streaks but considering the plants around it seem to have it pretty heavily, the plants are looking really nice and are even beginning to put up new scapes for a rebloom cycle. On the other hand, "Mexican Maiden", about 10 feet away, every plant was heavily infected and after the blooms finished, some of the plants have almost disappeared when the dried foliage has been removed (though the worst are beginning to show new leaves popping out of the ground). Both cultivars are in full sun and I water both the same way. I need to take a notebook out and begin noting the cultivars that seem to be resisting the fungus and which have it bad. One think I have noticed, the ones with the small, grass-like leaves has not been showing it as much as the broad-leaf varieties. Don't know if there's a connection there but something to watch and note in the future.