Powdery mildew.

Thanks. Is there anything we can do to cure it?

probably.. but on this pic.. can you rule out sucking insects? ... look on the back of the leaves.. do you see anything out of the ordinary ...

looks like a nice lawn.. is it watered ??? ... when do you water it??? ... that might be complicating the mildew .. encouraging it ...

ken

Watering a lawn - even watering foliage - does not encourage powder mildew. It tends to occur late season when temperatures are still warm, soils are dry but dewpoint/overnight humidity is high. PM spores cannot survive under wet conditions and watering the foliage can actually help to decrease the development and spread of the problem, as long as it is done early enough to dry before nightfall. As will improving air circulation and lots of sun.

Once you see signs of the PM on plants, it can't be cured - nearly all common fungicides are preventatives, not curatives. But you can control the spread from any unaffected foliage. If you have a plant that leans towards developing PM - and privet is very prone - start spraying before you see any signs of the disease. And rotate between several different products as the PM rapidly build up resistance to a single type of fungicide.

Since the shrubs have it does it mean they will always have it every year, or will it just affect the leaves this year? I wonder if I should dig them all out of there and start over.

We hadn’t had much rain, but it has been humid this past month. It has been raining a lot the last few days, though.

just like bugs... diseases ebb and flow over the years ...

this one is heavily weather dependent .... it might be the same.. next time the weather replicates this years weather ...

i suspect the wood pile.. is adding or holding humidity .. as well as reducing air movement ... and is probably complicating whats going on ... for your edification ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M

if you have a blower... after leaf loss .. if any ... i would probably blow all the leaves out from under the plants.. into the lawn ... and mow them in... or pick them up ... a little prevention never hurts ...

also ... if your lawn is irrigated.... i would set the sprinklers... NOT to hit the shrubs ... they should be well established by the end of this year .. and really dont need the watering ... nor is that the way you would water shrubs anyway ...

a little prevention is worth a truck load of cure ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=edification&t=ffcm&ia=definition

Thanks, Ken.

Do you know if powdery mildew is curable, or is it like apple scab where it comes back every year?