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Brown spots on all species of plants - decimating the garden #637750

Asked May 19, 2020, 9:08 AM EDT

Last Thursday (5/14) I noticed brown spots on the all the plants in a section of the garden, was waiting for nursery help with a fungicide and they said they were not comfortable diagnosing correctly. These spots are attacking and killing: foxglove, camellia, hosta, peony and several others whose names I don't know. You will see them in the photos attached.

Anne Arundel County Maryland

Expert Response

While we cannot concretely diagnose the issue from the photos, it may be one or more forms of "leaf spot," including the commonly-occurring anthracnose: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/fungal-leaf-spots-annuals-bulbs-groundcover-perennials-and-vines. Digitalis is a short-lived perennial, so treatment isn't warranted. Epimedium can be long-lived but is fairly resilient and the leaf spotting should have negligible impact on its health. As the weather turns drier, the spread of these spots should slow and stop. Affected leaves cannot heal, but new growth should emerge unscathed. Particularly unsightly leaves can be trimmed off. If needed, fungicides labeled for leaf spot diseases can be used as preventatives, but again, we are moving out of the weather conditions conducive to this disease's spread.

The camellia spots are more difficult to discern. Is this residue that wipes off? There is a parasitic alga that can colonize camellia foliage, but this isn't commonly encountered and we do not know how widespread it may be in our area. You can compare the spots on your plant to the information on these pages: https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2017/06/29/algal-leaf-spot-common-on-magnolias-and-camellias/ and https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/algal-leaf-spot/.

Although they can be unsightly, leaf and algal spots should not be killing the plants. If any of your plants are dying completely, another issue the cause. Are the roots staying wet from drainage issues or a water leak? Was weed-killer used in the area recently?

Miri

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