Annual Flower Diseases

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

Now that you know what to look for in order to grow an annual garden, the last section will show you how to maintain an annual garden.