I think there is more disease too. One of my heirloom roses is just completely black on the leaves...fireblight has taken and probably killed two pears and one apple tree. I think I will just cut them down and be done with it.

I see mildew is starting on the phlox too.

Slugs are worse this year too.

My phlox in one bed look bad. Is it too late by that time to spray with a fungicide? And which one would you use?
Sunny

I don't have mildew but my poppies are rotting again. I know one cause and that is I don't thin them. The seed is so plentiful and small that it is easy to get too many in a small space. The blue foliage looks nice on grandma's old fashioned ones (you know what they are). The anticipation is fun but when they bloom the foliage is ugly and rotting at the bottom. If I took a picture of just the flowers you would think they are beautiful. I will still plant them again but I hope I remember to thin. The Shirley poppies are easy and bright. They seem to take the crowding well.

I see some mildew on some of the dogwoods and a few other things. I've read if you spray them with Wilt-Pruf or another antidessicant (that you spray on broad-leaf evergreens--and your Christmas tree--in the winter to keep them from drying out in the winter sun and wind) that it will keep them from getting powdery mildew but I never remember to do it until too late.

My poppies were gorgeous this year too but I've lost most of my colors. I just had lavender ones and one salmon pink this year. I need to order some seeds if I can find them. There were a couple of wildflower seed catalogs that had them a couple years ago, I hope they still do.

Sandy