Help with sick Brugmansia

The other day this B sanguinea was fine and a lovely shade of green ... suddenly it looks like this ...



Does anyone know what it is and what I can do to counteract the problem? I do not have any chemical cures as I only use natural products in my garden.

Thank you in advance.

 

Hello you.
I think it may be powdery mildew,you could try a dilute mixture of Bicarbonate of Soda as I did quite successfully on my Courgettes.
It depends if you consider this a Chemical,it is used for Indigestion in humans .
That is just a possibility,by no means conclusive....

 

Sorry to see that Victoria. As Roders said, it could well be powdery mildew.

Some comments here Powdery Mildew: Info on cause & treatment - The Garden's Cure where it suggests Roders treatment. It also says that rain and wet leaves are unfavorable to the growth , so even spraying with just water and perhaps a little detergent could help.

They say that powdery mildew is everywhere in the air, but tends to strike if plants are stressed - perhaps a bit short of water. Mine need huge quantities.

 

Hello Rod and Peter

My initial thought was Powdery Mildew as I suspected I had it last year as our grapevine was also affected which clambers above and over this Brug. This year the grapevine does not have it but loads of grapes with no Mildew either.

I posted this query also on UKEG and both responses were the same there ... Red Spider Mite! :( I remember last year that our pete suggested I might have it (well, rather my Brugs) but I could not detect it last year, nor this even using a magnifying glass.

I have no problems using Bicarb, Rod, always have it here ... I use 'human' Calcium and Magnesium tablet solutions on my plants when required, so may give it a go.

Too humid, too wet, too dry ... it is all mind-boggling ... Our current temperature is 27,4c with 58% humidity and our barometer is saying rain (well, that's a joke and a half). We water daily, sometimes twice ... in the mornings just in the pots and in the evenings spraying the entire plants for moisture.

So, not surprisingly I am no wiser ... ... but thank you both for your thoughts. xx

 

Certainly looks like red spider to me Victoria.

You need a lens of at least 10x magnification, well I do these days.
A few years ago I could see them with the naked eye, but not anymore.

Can be difficult to spot but webbing, very close to the leaf like a whitish covering, between the veins especially on the leaf under sides, is a sign of advanced RSM.

 

:D Hiya pete ... hoped you'd pop along ...

Now I've had an even bigger shock with this plant just now as I went to investigate again with the magnifying glass (sorry, I don't know what power the two we have are but I am sure the one is 10+ or more).

This was NOT there yesterday evening when I picked those leaves ... believe me ...



I am so bewildered I have done the photograph 'properly' for my records. I shall be hovering with the camera umpteen times a day now for my first ever bloom ... RSM, mouldy mildew or whatever ...

 

Victoria, if you missed that, I can quite understand why you cant see the RSM.

 

Looks like Red Spider mite ..
If they are as infested as they look you should se the mites on the undersides of the leaves . usually worse in dry weather ..

Dave

 

The magnifying glass was aimed elsewhere Pete .. :o

Dave, at this time of the year we ONLY have dry weather so we hose daily or twice a day ... :WINK1: