Jacob's ladder/Polemonium Caeruleum - fungus?

Hello.
I planted this Polonium last May and haven’t really pruned it since. Some websites recommended pruning in autumn, while others suggested leaving it so the foliage could protect the plant from harsh weather. I decided to leave it and thought I’d prune it the following year once it was more established. Over the winter, it became quite bushy, and now I’m definitely regretting not pruning it. The flowers are very leggy, and there's some sort of fungal issue at the base.
I have three of them, and they all seem to be facing a similar problem. What should I do? The flowers are beautiful and loved by bees,
I’d really like to fix this. The bottom looks way worse in real life.

 

It looks like it has a touch of mildew that has taken hold earlier in the season.
The way to get rid of it is to improve airflow around the plants which the mildew will not like.

So remove some if the worst infected leaves lower down, but don't remove all the affected leaves as the plant needs them.
If you can move some of the plants so they're not in a clump, that will help too.

Try and avoid fungicides as they can do more damage than good.

Some more from Google -
Powdery mildew is a common fungal disease that can affect Polemonium caeruleum (Jacob's Ladder). It appears as a white, powdery coating on the leaves, especially in humid conditions and with poor air circulation. To manage powdery mildew, focus on improving air circulation around the plant, keeping the foliage dry, and potentially using a fungicide if necessary.
Elaboration:

• What is Powdery Mildew?
  Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that causes a white, powdery coating on the leaves and stems of plants.
• How it Affects Jacob's Ladder:
  In Jacob's Ladder, powdery mildew can make the plant look less attractive and can weaken it.
• Favorable Conditions:
  Powdery mildew thrives in humid conditions and where there is poor air circulation around the plant.
• Prevention and Treatment:
  • Improve Air Circulation: Prune the plant to allow for better air movement around the foliage.
  • Keep Foliage Dry: Water the ground instead of the leaves to avoid moisture buildup on the foliage.
  • Remove Affected Leaves: Remove and discard any leaves with visible mildew to prevent further spread.
  • Consider a Fungicide: If the disease is severe, a fungicide may be needed to control it.
  • Neem Oil: Neem oil can be used as a natural fungicide to treat and prevent powdery mildew

 

Thank you! So i'its not all lost, that's good news. I have Neem oil just in case.

 

Unfortunately it's looking very bad. All 3 of my plants have the same problem, the powdery mildew took over. I was spraying with neem oil mixture, cut off some of the worst bits, but it didn't help. I can't see any new growth at the bottom. Should I cut everything off and hope it will still come along or is the plant gone?

 

I would wait until the plants have finished flowering, then cut them back to allow improved air flow. The wet winter probably caused the mildew, not a lot we can do about the weather.

 

@KarolinaW, Polemoniums are tricky in my experience. Either they succumb to disease or, if healthy, the slugs have a feast. I have never managed to keep one alive more than 18 months. Such a shame as the flowers are lovely.

 

Interesting. I've never had mildew on Polemoniums.
I only grow the white ones now, but I've had blue ones in a previous garden, including the variegated one, and always found them easy. It's cooler and damper here than many areas, which may well be helpful, but they're best with a little bit of shade, especially during the hottest part of the day in summer.
Good airflow will certainly help, so try and give them a bit more room if you can. The one in your last pic [last night] doesn't look like it's in a good site @KarolinaW , so that may well be the reason it's not thriving as it should. They're easy to divide, and that can also help refresh tired plants.

 

Mine, which proliferate everywhere, are regarded as very pretty weeds! I have blues and whites, never feed, split, or prune them. They just keep going, year upon year. I've no idea what's happening with yours! Maybe they're overcrowded, not getting enough air circulation?

 

I think there's a combination of factors there @Tinkerton. I'd move those if they were mine and try and get a more open site, and make sure they aren't drying out too much. Like you, mine just grow. The division I stuck in the front garden [last year?] has lots of buds on it. It's beside/under a mature oak leaf hydrangea and next to my front steps, facing west, so it gets late sun at this time of year, but we have clay soil, so that helps prevent drying out, and the soil has enough nutrition for it too. I also never feed them.
I don't even cut them down [not pruning! ] until the late winter/early spring just to clear the old stems away when new growth comes through. Sometimes I don't even bother doing that, as any old stems just disappear into the new foliage. I do have to be careful that I don't jag my hands on them though - they can be quite sharp, as one of them is in beside a clem, and other things that get cut back at the same sort of time of year.

 

It never fails to amaze me how different our gardens are. Ok a lot has to do with climate but gardens can vary within a few miles of each other. I have the ordinary “ blue” Polemonium and the darker more mauve one with darker foliage. Like @Tinkerton they are prolific and self seed with gay abandon. This, in my case is very useful as having very nice fern like foliage that appears early in the season they sell very well in my March/April time plant sale. Never a nuisance unlike a few others I could mention!

 

It's easy to feel a tad disheartened when an allegedly "foolproof" plant fails to thrive, @hailbopp, but, as you say, conditions play a massive part. Have to say I have never seen a Polemonium growing in any garden round here and as they are readily available at local GCs, I can only conclude I am not alone in having had failures.

 

I don't suppose we should find it odd, really, but we do! My Jacob's Ladders, blues and white, just pop up everywhere, including in pots containing other plants, I've never had to buy one. Ditto Astrantias, which I don't much care for, they come up like weeds, but the bees like them, so fair enough.
By the same token there must be dozens of plants which just will not grow for me. Penstemon, for one, which I'd love in the garden, but they just don't like it here, despite being readily available in local gcs.