Fungus or what??

Gloria, here is a picture, though it isn't very clear, of what I was talking about on two of my brugs. Hope someone can come up with a diagnosis.

Shirley

An afterthought.....the stuff on the brug stalks resembles a black mold or mildew, but permanent. Now that those two stalks have warmed in the house it is beginning to excrete a tiny bit of black juice. If you know what this is, will it infect other plants, is there a cure, etc.? My book won't get here until the end of Jan. Sure could use it right now. Also, the Chs. G. blooms were too far gone to try to pollinate. :-(

This message was edited Wednesday, Jan 2nd 2:28 PM

in preissel's book theres a picture that looks simalar to that."symtoms of stalk wilt are light brown spots surrounded by a waxy blackish edge.Can't say for sure.

Shirley,
Maybe Tonny will be around soon....I'm sure he might know exactly what it is. Send me this picture and I'll forward it to Rich ....maybe he can also find out what it is.

Thanks Gloria,

It is in the mail.

S.

Brugie
It looks like some kind of bacterial problem. Bacteria can cause leaf spots, wilts, rots, and blights. Bacterial leaf spots usually appear as circular or angular water soaked areas. They may be light green or yellow, becoming brown or black as the disease progresses. Some spots may exude ooze of various colors, and the spots may eventually coalesce. The veins leading from these lesions may be discolored as bacteria spread through the vascular system. Cut thru the stem and check for dark discoloration in the vascular tissue.

On above-ground plant parts, bacteria require free moisture for infection, which can be provided by condensation, overhead watering or splashing water. Bacteria are spread during pruning, propagating, and by splashing water. Pruning and propagating are particularly effective means of spreading disease, as bacteria require wounds or natural openings to enter the plant. Most fungicides have no effect on bacterial diseases.

Cala....besides throwing the plant away....what is the best way to get rid of the Bacteria?

You can try cutting below any visible signs of it. I think there may be a few antibiotics for plants, one is abermectin(I think) When trees have a bacterial infection, some of the arborists give it injections. I don't know if that would work with brugs. Be sure to wash hands and tools after handling/using on infected plants. I will check my books and see what I can find.

Since I have cuttings in the house that I took back in Aug, or Sept, I'm just going to toss the plants. I don't want to take any chances of infecting the new stuff I have and will be getting.

As long as it is all away from my indoor plants, I might go out and cut them all back to only year old growth and see what happens when new growth shows up. I'm not very upset about this, but would just like to know what it is so I don't have more of it.

S.

Be sure to wash the pruners with soap and water then disinfect with bleach or alcohol. Pruners need to soak in alcohol at least 20 minutes to be completely disinfected.Laying in bright sunlight to dry should help too. Sunlight is a good germ killer.

Thanks Cala,

I was just going to take a sharp knive to them as the stalks are too big for my shears. Guess I could use the tree pruners. Will sterilize no matter what though.

S.

Cala and others,

What do you know about Botrytis cinerea? I think this is the fungus that is on my two brugs. The picture I saw of it on another plant was identical. I know from what I read so far that it is treatable, but can one get rid of it. What I read is that it is almost always present in the environment and basically needs ideal conditions to get started. I must have had them. I'm sure that the cold in the garage hasn't helped either. I'm still going to get rid of any plants that have this just because I don't like the idea of plants with disease or fungus being around all my other stuff. Comments????

http://www.apsnet.org/online/archive/1-22.htm This shows the fungus on another kind of a plant. It looks just like what is on my brug stalks.

This message was edited Thursday, Jan 3rd 11:18 AM

Brugie
You are right, botrytis is always there just waiting to attack. It likes it cold, so it should be really happy now, lol. It is treatable, you can use chlorothalonil (daconil). Sulfur or copper might work, but I'm not sure. We usually toss anything that has botrytis.

Thanks Cala,

That is still my plan. It is easier to toss and replace than to mess with treating. Especially since I already have the replacements.

S.