Campanula Persicifolia Rust ..... Help Please !!!!

Hi everyone

My Campanula Persicifolia was becoming too large for it's container so I divided it into four clumps earlier this year and planted each one in separate areas. I have now discovered rust on the underside of almost every leaf ... please see photo.
I'm thinking I may need to dig them all up and bin them? An internet search has resulted in conflicting advice - as per usual - so I wondered whether any of you have experienced the same problem and if so how you have dealt with it ? More importantly .. did how you dealt with it work ??
Thanks in advance for any constructive advice.

 

Well nobody was able to respond/give me any advice so I ended up cutting them all back to ground level and covered them with fresh compost. They seem to be coming back fairly well and no signs of rust on any of the new leaves so far. Hopefully next year they will be fine again.

Cheers
D

 

Sorry DMM that nobody has responded

Actually you did the right thing in cutting back.

For next year I would do a couple of things. Not overfeed so as not to encourage over lush and susceptible foliage. Give them plenty of space ...don’t let nearby plants overcrowd them. Mulch in spring.

If rust occurs again next summer then, again, cut off the foliage, clear away debris and apply a clean mulch

You can apply chemicals but growing plants as well as you can is far better

 

Thanks V and apologies for late response. I don't feed them actually and the main clump is in a pot of its own. I am a container yardener mainly ... altho' did plant the other 3 clumps in a non-container plot over the road - well apart from each other. Anyhow ... we shall see what transpires campanula persicifolia wise in 2020. Fingers crossed.

I don't understand the mulch concept whatsoever I must admit.

 

Thanks for your reply DMM
The mulch concept? It does two things.....cleans the ground of any spores for the future and helps conserve moisture

 

Thanks Verdun ... [another late reply .. soz - not getting here much these days .. life getting in the way ... lol]. I didn't really understand the mulch concept per se actually but you've explained it for this particular problem I had and I've now read up on it too so understand it more.