Dusty Miller

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vballz WALNUT SHADE, MO Jul 16, 2012

We have planted several dusty miller's around several trees. It is curently very dry in Missouri and I water them every other day, if I don't, they get "wilty".

Two of the plants have died recently. It appears that one of the stems and all of the leaves will wilt, then the other 8-10 stems follow, and then the entire plant is dead. I have pulled 2 out of the ground. Now, under a different tree, one of the plants is doing the same thing. One stem and leaves wilted, just like the other 2 plants. I am thinking the plant will die.

I am a beginner, and am not sure what to do. These plants are all about 2 years old. 6-8 hrs sun per day. Right now the weather is 90's plus, but this started occurring with the 1st plant when temps were in the 80's.

Thanks for any input.

Post #9207924
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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 16, 2012

You might be watering too much--symptoms of too much and too little water can be very similar so wilting doesn't necessarily mean they need water. Dusty miller is fairly drought tolerant once established (whch they should be after two years) and can take the heat, so watering every other day could be too much for them unless you have really sandy soil.

Post #9207930
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vballz WALNUT SHADE, MO Jul 17, 2012

Thank you for your reply. I pinched the flowers off this morning....and watered-prior to reading your post. Since I have them in different beds, I may experiment with the amount of water each bed gets. Wish me luck!!

Post #9208805
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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 17, 2012

Before you experiment, I'd try the "finger test" before the next time you would normally water. Stick your finger down a few inches in the soil (or use a wood skewer or something that will show moisture) and see how wet it feels a few inches down. Especially if your soil is on the clay side, it can stay pretty wet for a while a few inches down even if the surface looks dry.

Post #9209378
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