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Terminal Honeysuckle

bernard

By Bernard

Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Gb

Last year I planted a Honeysuckle against a West facing wall outside my bedroom window that is at right angles to it. I was looking forward to seeing it first thing when I opened the curtains and enjoying the scent with the windows open. It struggled a bit to start with, but I cossetted it with feed and watering and it gradually became stronger. This year it was clobbered by powdery mildew and nosedived. I was advised to spray it with Roseclear at ten day intervals until September and after about three months it began to recover. Unfortunately, I missed the last deadline and it is now showing signs of the attack again. I believe that it will now always need to be sprayed as obviously the Roseclear is only a short term solution and I am not prepared to keep spraying it for the rest of its life. A replacement is not a possibility as I imagine the spores of the mildew lie dormant and cannot be completely eradicated.
I need to find a different plant to replace it and wonder if anyone could suggest something suitable, preferably mildew resistant as maaybe the spores have infected the brickwork.




Answers

 

How about a scented rose planted with a Clematis that flowers at a different time? That would give a long flowering period for you.

25 Aug, 2009

 

My suggestion would be a Hydrangea Petiolaris self clinging climber with lovely masses of large white lacecap flowers in May and June. Dark green leaves turn a lovely buttery yellow in the autum. Well drained moist soil and light shade so a west facing wall should work. Takes a while to take off but a lovely sight up a wall. I blue tac the wall either side of a branch to make the clinging branches take the direction I want which was to fan out wide across the wall. Cost about £15.

25 Aug, 2009

 

Why replace it with somethings which are just as prone to mildew as your honeysuckle? Roses and Clematis are just as bad. The spores can only lie dormant on living things so they are not in the brickwork. It has been a bad year for fungus on almost everything. Our honeysuckles which rarely suffer from anything until late in the season when they are pruned back to remove the damaged portions, have been attacked this year.
Not sure if Rose Clear is a systemic fungicide, but that is what you need. Also dryness at the roots is another factor. If the house wall stops rainwater getting to the roots, then a big plant is going to need a lot of water putting on it.

25 Aug, 2009

 

My honeysuckle has mildew some years but I don't spray it. It's the older leaves that are affected first and I remove these as necessary before they drop. It has never progressed along to the newest leaves and it flowers beautifully. Next year, I'm going to take Owdboggy's advice and water it well in spring. Perhaps a good mulch might also help.
This year, mildew has affected so many of my plants. I used to think it was in the soil but Monty Don said this is not the case. It's strange that some plants need more water to prevent mildew but it seems that the dampness this summer has caused it in plants previously free of it.
Perhaps OB can explain?

25 Aug, 2009

 

It is a peculiar habit us gardeners have of planting honeysuckle at the foot of a wall. They hate it! They don't like the dryness at their roots and the lime in the mortar and if it is a west facing wall, the dryness problem is excerbated by sunshine stressing the plant further. I would improve the soil greatly with garden compost or council green waste and plant something like a euonymus which will climb upwards, although not strictly a climber.

25 Aug, 2009

 

Thanks for your prompt replies. It's certainly given me plenty to think about. Owdboggy - Roseclear is a systemic fungicide, I am told. What living things would the spores lie dormant on? - our dog isn't showing any signs of mildew :-). When the first attack of mildew happened, it was in the Spring and I didn't realise what it was soon enough, but all parts of the plant were attacked, especially the growing shoots, and it was awful to see how quickly the plant collapsed.

25 Aug, 2009

 

Mildew is a constant threat which pops up regularly, but not just on honeysuckle, it can occur on lots of plants, Bernard. Dryness at the roots does increase the likelihood of an attack, and we've had some pretty dry weather this year. I'd give the honeysuckle another chance next year, but this time feed with growmore in the spring and again in June, keep it watered during dry spells. And spray at the first sign of attack.

25 Aug, 2009

 

Louloubelle has said it all.
I have just been digging out a really big patch of Rudbeckia (over 10 feet tall it was!) and the soil underneath it is dust dry. We have had nearly 2 inches of rain in the last fortnight. I would say that not one drop of it has reached the soil under that plant.
Walls really do most plants no favours at all.
I perhaps should have said that Mildew needs to rest on PLANT material, rather than just lving things. Mildewed dog would be very sad sight!

25 Aug, 2009

How do I say thanks?

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