i have several types of buddleia in my butterfly garden. one plant started going brown and crinkly on the end of the leaves, the blooms getting smaller and smaller, now the whole plant seems to be drying up. it is not for lack of water, has anyone else had this proble? all the other buddleias in the bed are doing well. dooley worth saint simons island, ga
buddleia trouble
Check to see if it is getting watered deeply enough and often enough. Here in Florida we have to contend with rootknot nematodes which make it look like it's rotting but the nematodes are actually killing it. I can't even grow any in my butterfly garden, excepst this old chines variety which is naturally resistent. The gingers I grow are also naturally resistant to rootknot nematodes. John Banta told me it was becuase of the odor of the roots.
Liz
Rootknot nematodes? That's weird. I'll have to research that. I learned last year that they don't need as much water as I think they do.
I had one die for no apparent reason last year. It started looking bad then I noticed it oozing something black from the stalk! I tried hard to save it then just decided it had some disease and I wasn't going to waste any more time on it so I pulled it up. It sure was a lot less stressful to just get rid of it.
I did lose another one later tho due to lack of water! I learned what end of my beds NOT to plant them on.
konkreteblond: i too have pulled the plant which has since died but another one in the bed has the same leaf problem. the people at the local ACE think it is a fungus so i am using an environmentally freindly fungacide to see if that will stop the brown edging on that one and keeping my fingers crossed i can get this bed established, the butterflies love it. thanks, dooley worth, saint simons georgia
I've had several die from Verticillium wilt, at least that's what I suspect. They wilt and look like they are dry but they aren't. Eventually they die.
Oh really? I'll have to research that too. Do they ever ooze with that VW? I was convinced mine had a disease but I just couldn't figure it out and it was stressing me out. I took the easy way out.
Later in the season Lowe's will put some on clearance and that's when I usually grab an extra one. Although my Lowe's has had a terrible selection of plants this year!
Good luck with this other bush! Keep us updated since this seems to be something everyone has dealt with.
This message was edited Jul 8, 2006 12:03 AM
fly-girl: i am going to check on that, still on watch after applying fungicide to the replacement and one next to it with some tip browning.....they said to do it three times. i am thinking maybe i should get more mexican hyssop, it and a native verbena are doing great, and the butterflies seem to like them even better than the buddleia, dooley worth,saint simons island.