Rudbeckia :(

[julan]

We just planted an entire new garden in mid-July. We've got citrus trees, more kinds of herbs than you can count, hemerocallis, aloe, jatropha, ... well, let's just say that we've got a LOT of things here. And everything is doing fabulously. You'd never guess that we just established this garden 2 1/2 months ago.

But my lovely Rudbeckia has all but disappeared. I put in two nice sized baby plants (3/4 liter) and for the first month they did great. Then suddenly the leaves on one started to turn black and became really crumbly. The flowers and stems just started rotting off (but rather than being soft and mushy, they were black and dry). And within 2 weeks, the plant was dead. Now the second plant is doing the same and all I've got left is a 2 inch stub with one flower remaining on it. :(

I've checked water levels and I can't see a problem. I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't think it's getting too much or too little water.

Okay, sure, I can go out and buy replacement plants. But I could just face the same problem all over again if I don't know what caused this. All the pests and diseases listed for Rudbeckia all mention white spots or sunken black spots. Nothing that resembles what I have here with my Rudbeckia.

Any ideas? I'd really appreciate any help with this. The nursery here has no clue what's going on with my Rudbeckia. I truly love Rudbeckia and I'd hate to not be able to succeed with such an "easy" flower in my garden!

Thanks in advance!

-Julie

[Newt]

Hi Julan,
I'm thinking it might be something in the soil that the plants came with. Maybe a fungal type infection. Is there any place that you can get a soil test done?

If not, I would suggest that you remove the soil in the area that the plants are and replace with soil from another part of your garden. Dispose of the soil that you remove. You could also put black plastic over the area after the plants are removed to help to sterilize the soil. Leave the plastic on for a growing season. When replacing the soil, add compost for nutrients.

You could do a search at www.google.com and put in quotes like this: "soil solarization" for more info on how to.

Newt

[dkocsis45]

I have worked in a greenhouse that grows rudbeckia. We always have problems with them (using clean soiless media every time and putting them in different locations) and we always end up with black on the stems. different varieties are more succeptable than others. I know rudbeckias do NOT like to be wet. If it rained alot or if they often were rained on at night or if they were near the mums and we had the sprinklers going, we always ended up with this problem. It might also be your problem if it has been very wet or you water them with a sprinkler system. Good luck!

Dan

[julan]

I think the problem was as Dan said.....getting wet from the sprinklers at night. Although the plants weren't directly in the path of the sprinklers, I think they still got wet when a breeze/wind would blow some of the water in that direction. In any case, next time I'll try the Rudbeckia in a part of my garden that is too far away from the sprinklers to get any spray from them. Thanks again :-)

-Julie