Tropicals & Tender Perennials: No luck propagating, 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
You are right on garden phlox, monarda, and lilacs being sensitve to mildew especially in hot humid regions so the solution is not to grow them or get cultivars that are resistant unless you want to spray on a regular basis. Same thing for roses, tomatoes, and a bunch of other plants for that matter.

Begonias do very well during hot humid days - it is the indoors that they have problems with unless you want to grow them indoors year round thereby minimizing exposure to spores of mold/mildew. I cannot imagine watering and caring for them 12 months indoors - 6 months of winter care is too much at times.

Let us know how the tanker works out - I kind of doubt you will sway many people over with milk spray but who knows. You could also try athlete's food powder and see if that works too (just kidding) or baking soda. I have used Lysol Mildew Spray in the past with limited results. If the leaves have spots on them then this method may stop the mildew but it sure makes the leaves look terrible.

Here is another mildew magnet - 'Benigo' While it looks great in summer, it is totally defoliated now in the garage with mildew entwined around most of the stems and the top half of the stems appear dead. If it croaks I will just buy another one next year for $5 if it becomes available.