Why phlox leaves dry (turn yellow): photos, reasons, treatment

Content

1 A list of reasons why phloxes turn yellow and dry
2 What to do if phlox leaves turn yellow, and the reason is not established
3 Prevention measures
4 Conclusion

Phlox leaves dry - this symptom cannot be ignored. First of all, it is recommended to increase watering and feed the flowers with nitrogen fertilizers. If this does not work, most likely the bushes are affected by the disease. Then it should be treated with a fungicide. In some cases, the bushes have to be dug up and burned, since diseases are incurable.

A list of reasons why phloxes turn yellow and dry

The reasons for the yellowing of leaves in phlox can be very different, but most often they are associated with improper care - a lack of moisture and insufficient fertilization. If normal care is provided, the leaves dry out due to diseases (for example, root rot, mosaic) or pests (spider mites, stem nematodes, and others).

Violation of landing rules

Very often phlox dry out already in the first season. The most likely reason is related to non-compliance with the landing rules:

Phlox leaves dry out due to the hot sun, so they should be planted in partial shade from shrubs or trees. Otherwise, the foliage gets burned, especially after watering, when drops of water fall on it.
Moisture stagnation negatively affects. Phloxes dry up and gradually die. This is often seen if the seedlings are planted in a low-lying area. Therefore, it is advisable to make a slight slope so that the precipitation flows down.

Phloxes prefer partial shade, so it is better to plant them near shrubs, trees or buildings

Violation of the rules of care

Phlox leaves turn yellow and dry due to improper care:

Lack of moisture: flowers need to be watered early in the morning or in the evening at the rate of 2 buckets per 1 m²... In this case, water is given directly under the root - it is important to ensure that it does not fall on the leaves. The frequency of watering depends on the precipitation: in a drought - 2 times a week, in a rainy period - 1 time in 7-10 days.
Lack of loosening can also lead to leaf wilting. The land needs to be loosened 1-2 times a month, especially after fertilization. Then the nutrients will quickly reach the roots, and from there will be distributed throughout the plant.
Another reason is poor soil and a lack of fertilizing. If the leaves dry out and the phlox grows slowly, then they are deficient in nitrogen. Such dressings are usually applied in April or May. You can use urea, ammonium nitrate, or compound fertilizer. An alternative is organic (slurry, mullein, or bird droppings). In all cases, follow the instructions. It should be borne in mind that fresh manure should not be used - it will certainly lead to root rot.
Often, the lower leaves of phlox dry out due to lack of care: when weeds constantly appear around the plant, they inhibit its growth, take away moisture and nutrients. You can fight them by weeding and mulching the roots.

Advice! If phlox leaves dry out from lack of moisture, and it is not possible to water the soil often, a layer of mulch will help keep it moist for as long as possible.

Hay, sawdust, needles and other materials at hand are suitable for covering the trunk circle.

Weather

Most varieties of phlox are undemanding to care and weather conditions. They tolerate heat quite well, especially if, after abundant watering, a layer of mulch is placed on the ground.

However, during prolonged drought, the leaves begin to dry out and turn yellow.First, they wither, then the plant tends to the ground. If nothing is done, the bush will die. To prevent this, it is necessary to ensure timely watering. Moreover, in the heat, it can be increased up to 2 times a week (1.5-2 buckets per 1 m² flower beds).

Very often, phlox leaves dry due to lack of moisture.

Attention! If in hot weather, watering the bushes with too cold water (from a well or water supply), this can lead to cracking of the stems. As a result, the pathogen can easily penetrate into the exposed tissues, which can lead to drying of the leaves and the death of the plant.

Pests

Pests are especially dangerous, because they not only turn yellow and dry leaves, but the entire plant can die. In some cases, insects cannot be dealt with. Then the bush should be dug up and burned so that neighboring plants do not have time to suffer.

Nematode

Sometimes the appearance of the stem nematode leads to the drying of the leaves and the general wilting of the plant. This is a very dangerous pest that affects the entire flower. External signs are as follows:

leaves dry and curl;
the tops of the shoots become weak, thinned;
growth slows down, the plant withers;
inflorescences are formed ugly, flowers are small.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely destroy the nematode. Therefore, the bush is simply dug up, carried away and burned. The place where he grew up must be disinfected. To do this, you can use a 1-2% solution of potassium permanganate or any copper-containing agent. Each square meter of soil is poured abundantly with the resulting preparation. Then, the very next season, the soil is dug up and nasturtiums or marigolds are planted.

Important! If phloxes have been affected by a nematode, they should not be planted in the same place for 4-5 years.

Spider mite

The spider mite is a very common pest, due to which the leaves dry not only in phlox, but also in many other plants. Signs of damage to these insects are easy to determine:

small light dots appear in large numbers on the inside of the leaves;
gradually the leaf plate begins to turn white and dry out;
with the naked eye, colonies of ticks on the shoots, as well as a thin cobweb on the foliage and on the stems, are visible;
phlox noticeably lags behind in development, for example, inflorescences do not form, growth is greatly slowed down.

To cope with this unpleasant pest, it is recommended to cut off all yellowed leaves and take them outside the flower garden. It is better to burn them there or place them in airtight bags and throw them away. The plant itself must be treated with an insecticide, for example:

Actellik;
Fitoverm;
"Neoron";
"Skelta" and others.

It is enough to choose one of these means. You need to act according to the instructions.

A clear sign of the appearance of a tick is a thin silvery cobweb on leaves and shoots

Important! Processing is carried out in calm, dry weather. It is advisable to do this late in the evening, otherwise the sun's rays can burn the leaves of the phlox, which will leave yellow spots on them.

Diseases

If the care is good enough, watering is moderate, fertilizing is applied regularly, but the leaves still turn yellow and dry, the reason may be associated with infectious diseases. Depending on the type of pathogen, they are divided into viral, fungal and mycoplasma.

Viral

If phlox leaves turn yellow (and not only the lower ones, but also the rest), this may be due to viral diseases. The most common cause is the common mosaic caused by the pathogen Pisum virus 2 Smith.

The first symptoms can be found even in young phloxes. Their leaves become slightly lighter along the veins. Then pale yellow rings and spots appear. Over time, they turn green, resulting in the entire surface becoming one large "spot". As a result, the leaves dry out and the phloxes die off. The problem is that no effective treatment for mosaics has yet been found.Therefore, the plant is simply dug up and carried away or burned.

Important! It is necessary to remove the phlox affected by the mosaic as early as possible so that it does not have time to infect neighboring plants.

External symptoms of tobacco mosaic: leaves become covered with yellow spots, dry and die off

Fungal

If the lower leaves of phlox turn yellow, the cause may also be associated with a fungal infection. One of the most common diseases is root rot. The fungus settles on root fibers, most often in the neck area. The roots begin to rot and then die off, which can kill all plants.

External signs of phlox damage by root rot:

first, the lower leaves dry and turn yellow, then the upper ones;
foliage is covered with brown spots;
the plant becomes very lethargic and literally lies on the ground;
even if the plant does not wither, its growth rate slows down, despite watering and feeding.

Important! Root rot actively develops in the case of excessive watering of phlox. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the topsoil remains slightly damp. An excess of water is often even more harmful than a lack of water.

Phomosis is another common fungal disease that causes the leaves of phlox and other crops to dry out. Fungi begin to spread during bud formation. External signs of pathology:

The lower leaves curl and dry.
The skin on the lower part of the stem (up to 15 cm high) becomes brown, the tissues become friable.
Also, the shoot is abundantly covered with cracks, after which the stem weakens and breaks even from a slight touch.

It is quite difficult to deal with phomaosis, therefore it is better to organize prevention in advance, for example, spray the green part with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid. It is better to dig up the affected bush and burn it.

Sometimes plants are also affected by such a fungal pathogen as septoria. The second name of this disease is leaf spot. Its main stages:

First, small spots of a light gray color appear on the sheet. They are often rounded, but there are also other shapes.
Then the spots increase and turn yellow, a burgundy border appears around them.
The infection quickly spreads throughout the phlox, its leaves dry out, and the stem begins to die off.
If half of the bush is affected, its death is inevitable.

Rust also shows similar signs - in this case, brown spots appear on the leaves, because of which they begin to dry and die off. Most often, rust affects dark phloxes, so they are monitored with special care.

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease of phlox. It usually appears in early August. Stages of defeat:

Pale spots appear on the lower leaves of phlox.
At first they are small, then they increase in size and begin to merge.
The infection spreads to the upper leaves.
If the disease is neglected, the leaves begin to dry and the plant withers.

At this stage, nothing can help the phlox. The flower has to be dug up, carried away and burned.

Powdery mildew can be recognized by the appearance of a white coating on the leaves.

Mycoplasma

Mycoplasma diseases are a type of fungal infections. One of these is jaundice. External signs of damage:

phloxes are lagging behind in development;
leaves begin to curl and become pale;
many small lateral shoots appear on the stems;
if the flowers have already formed, their petals and stamens "merge", turning into a kind of "leaves".

Defeating jaundice is not so easy; the affected bush will have to be dug up and destroyed. As a preventive measure, phlox should be treated with any fungicide.

What to do if phlox leaves turn yellow, and the reason is not established

In such cases, it is advisable to make sure that the plant is not affected by a dangerous infectious disease (otherwise it must be removed, otherwise neighboring phloxes will become infected). Then you can experiment with watering and fertilizing.

Surely, if the bushes lack moisture or nutrients, these measures will be enough. The first signs of improvement will be visible within a week. But if even after this there is no effect, it may well be that phloxes suffer from heavy clay soil. Then the flowers can be transplanted to a new location. In the hole, you must first seal up fertile soil from a mixture of well-loosened garden soil and humus. It is better to do this in late summer or early autumn.

Important! If the soil and care are good, but phloxes turn yellow, this is sometimes associated with the development of a dangerous disease. This is especially true if the surrounding plants remain healthy. Then the affected bush must be quickly dug up and burned.

Prevention measures

Leaf yellowing and other abnormalities are easier to prevent than combat. In many cases, phlox treatment turns out to be impossible. Therefore, it is advisable to immediately provide the flowers with normal care - regular (but moderate) watering, top dressing, and also take preventive measures against diseases - in April or May, treat with any means (one to choose):

Bordeaux liquid;
"Ordan";
"Maksim";
Fitosporin;
"Skor" and others.

Secondary processing can be carried out in a month. If in the previous season the plants have already suffered from fungi and other pathogens, it will be necessary to carry out a third treatment (also with an interval of 1 month).

Important! In the spring, you should mulch the roots and feed the phlox with nitrogen. It is necessary to act exactly according to the instructions, since an excessive amount of dressings negatively affects the state of the culture.

Conclusion

Phlox leaves dry out most often due to illness, but the reasons can be very different. Novice gardeners do not always correctly calculate the amount of watering and fertilization, so the seedlings may dry out and disappear. It is important to carry out timely prevention. Treating bushes is very difficult and not always effective.

Why do phlox lower leaves turn yellow, what to do