Q: My white phlox have now reached 15 to 18 inches tall. The plants looked healthy as they emerged and gained size. However, the leaves and stems are now spotted with a gray mold and the lower leaves ...

As with most things in life, gardening is a mixed bag of good and bad. The key to survival is to minimize the bad and accentuate the good. Huh? Yeah, I hate it too when I start to get philosophical.

Q: I have a large stand of daisies that got powdery mildew on their leaves this year. They're next to a patch of phlox that are completely covered with it. Can you tell me, is it better to clean off ...

Q. My phlox bloom beautifully but the leaves turn white and the blossoms wilt because of disease. Please tell me how to treat them. Beulah Stone, Muskegon A. Powdery mildew is the most likely culprit.

Q: I have powdery mildew on my new-ish bee balm plants (Monarda x 'Raspberry Wine', purportedly a mildew-resistant variety - part of the reason I bought it!) There are tiny white dusty-looking patches ...

My phlox gets a powdery coating that kills off the plant. I’ve tried cutting back when I first see it, but I usually lose the battle. Powdery mildew is a common, easily recognizable disease that ...

Q: My tall garden phlox has powdery mildew. The plants are 3 years old, and the last 2 years theyve had 50 percent of the leaves covered in mildew, even though I sprayed them. This helps, but the ...

M.B.: Yes -- I recommend the shovel solution for your disease-infected Phlox paniculata. Throwing away your old phlox is recommended because the easy answer to growing perfect, mildew-free phlox is to ...

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