Protect Annuals from Diseases

The following chart will help you identify garden diseases and cure common garden diseases for annuals.

Picture of purple flower, mallow or cheese.
Beautiful flowers, like this mallow, may wither
and die because of garden diseases.
Symptom Cause Cure Annuals
Leaves become mottled, curl, and shrivel; plants become deformed
 Blights and Viruses
 Remove and destroy plants; buy blight-resistant strains; do not smoke; wash hands before handling plants.
 Aster, Snapdragon
Newly sprouted seedlings fall over and die
 Damping Off
 Start seeds in sterile soil mix. Dust seeds with Captan* ** before planting.
 All plants
Round, dusty brown or black spots on leaves; leaves drop from plant
 Leaf Spot
 Remove badly diseased leaves; spray with benomyl* or zineb*.
 Aster, Chrysanthemum, Foxglove, Phlox
Lower leaves and stems turn grayish and look slightly wilted
 Powdery Mildew
 Increase air circulation; spray with benomyl* or sulfur.
 Bachelor's Button, Floss Flower, Phlox, Sweet Pea, Zinnia
Orange or reddish-brown raised dots form on backs of leaves; leaves look wilted
 Rust Increase air circulation; keep foliage dry; buy rust-resistant varieties; spray with ferbam* or zineb*; spray flowers with sulfur or benomyl*.
 Cleome, Hollyhock, Snapdragon
Leaves wilt and turn yellow; entire plant shuts down and dies
 Wilt Remove infected plants and destroy; buy wilt-resistant varieties.
 Aster, Dahlia, Snapdragon
* Inorganic treatment
** Copyrighted brand name

Protecting your flowers is all well and good, but perhaps it would be even better to learn how to prevent insects, animals, and diseases from getting to your beautiful annuals in the first place. Go to the next page to find out more.

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