Mildew

It seems many different plants are getting mildew. Can I use rose guard mildew spray on all plants or will it kill them

 

Hiya Cindy
Rather than use fungicide wholesale firstly what plants are affected?
An appropriate action for some plants, for example, is simply to cut them hard back and allow fresh foliage to appear

 

Hi @cindy , cut off the worst affected leaves and spray with a mix of milk and water, roughly 1 part milk to 2 parts water.

Remember prevention is better than cure.

Mildew occurs when a plant is dry at the roots but its leaves etc are damp or moist. In this dry weather we're having, if showers are forecast it's a good idea to go out and give them a good soak beforehand.

 

@Verdun If I cut them all back to the ground Id have hardly anything left. Its on annuals as well as perennials. Lupin, delphinium and aster leaves but clematis flowers.

@KFF will try the milk thing but wont that get a bit smelly in the sun? I think I maybe haven't done enough watering properly. I guess that's why Monty Don says a weekly SOAK is better than a trickle every other day. Wish I wasn't on a water metre though.

Looking at the forecast I think they're going to get a good watering over the next couple days, mind you with 51mph winds they'll probably get blown away anyway

 

Hiya Cindy....
You can use fungicides but often cultural options are better...e.g.lupins, cut the foliage off and feed. They will regrow fast to make evergreen mounds over the winter. Delphiniums, remove affected leaves.
Most asters need to be kept moist throughout the growing season. A thick mulch helps with this.
On mildew prone plants ...do your research to find out which ones.....you can form a ridge of soil around them to hold more water. Again a mulch helps On planting incorporate plenty of compost to again help to retain moisture
For sure, a good soak is preferable to light frequent waterings. This applies to most everything. Plants generally don’t like being watered every day. Once a week is usually enough. Avoid overhead watering and instead concentrate on the roots to help avoid mildew.
Give ample spacing to plants so they aren’t overwhelmed by others.
I think fungicides, organic or chemical, are short term fixes and need re applying after rainfall.
I garden on sandy free draining soil yet mildew is rarely a problem here.

 

I had same problem last year cindy. This year I’ve not packed the plants in so closely and made sure i only water the very base of the plants. Fingers crossed no mildew as yet.

 

See Snorky.....the basics work. Simples

 

This year I haven’t used any chemicals (except washing up liquid if you class that as a chemical) on any of my plants. The only thing that has been bad are the slugs on my hostas. I’ve since made the garlic spray but a bit too late i think.

 

Smart girl Snorky......no, washing up liquid is fine for aphids and the like
Touch wood....all the hostas here are intact. Once in flower though they are mightily attractive to the blighters so I remove flowers until late July. Those with best foliage though are never allowed to flower and I think this is a factor in their condition

Satisfy each plant’s needs and I think mildew, rust, pests etc. are minimised. My thinking anyway