Help for MissBatt's Friend!

dear Judith,

Thanks for helping me out. Here's my problem description :




My Brugmansia with white flowers shows very sudden and
aggressive wilting of certain branches. Total wilting
starts very suddenly in certain branches and within a
matter of days spreads to the whole plant, destroying the
whole plant completely. It happened to my neigbours plant a
few days ago and now my own Brugmansia is showing the first
branches that wilt. If I don't do anything my many years
old plant of several meters will die for sure. I've grown
Brugmansias for many years with great success so I'm really
not worrying over some leafs turning yellow or so. Both my
neigbours plant and mine were in really perfect shape,
vigorously growing and blooming until a few days ago. It's
really serious.

The disease is extremely aggressive and fast. It's
interesting that it really sets off at certain branches,
typically one branch completely wilting, another branch on
the other side staying healthy until it spreads everywhere
within days. I think it's due to clogging of the veins and
subsequent wilting of the branches dependent of them. I'm
suspecting a bacterial pathogen such as Clavibacter to be
the cause.

Since I want to save my Brugmansia and help is required
immediately : who can help with good advice. Can I use some
antibiotic or other, if yes which one and how to apply it?
HELP!

I've already tried to treat my plant by spraying vibramycin
antibiotic with some detergent on the leaves. Hope that
helps but haven't got a clue as to its effectiveness.

Thanks for a fast reply,

I have no answers to what cause the wilting. Others may help identify the thing making it wilt, but move fast and try and save some cuttings.

Yes, by all means take cuttings. This happened to me a week or so ago and I lost four brugs. If you check just below the soil line, you might find that the trunk is rotting there. At least that is what happened to mine. I took water and fertilizer away from them until I knew I had to water, and it has stopped. That doesn't mean I am rid of the problem, but I think my brugs were just too wet. In the ground in heavy soil. Earlier this spring I lost one due to borers in the trunk underground. I'm using a Bayer systemic on them now and watering only when absolutely necessary. Everything seems okay except for a huge case of mites. Working on that now with the systemic and sprays.

Bumping!!!

I cant help as I live in an area, where these fungi, causing the wilt are not common. Phythophthora and maybe Phytium, thats all.