Marianne's Response

Coneflowers problem

Hi I’m have problems with my coneflowers. The bloom then quickly look like they r going 2 die .petals r missing even before they bloom.i am desperately scared of the aster yellow. That i have been seeing on Google,but I’m not sure please I’m going 2 send pics.

Posted by Sarah Shope on June 24, 2019

Marianne's Response

Oh dear. I fear your plant may have a viral infection and there is no cure. But I could be wrong so don't uproot your plant just yet. Try snipping off all the blooms and buds and cutting back the top one fourth of the green growth. This will stimulate more growth and perhaps some fresh buds and flowers. There are some insects that cause deformed petals and flowers so removing all the blooms gives the plant a fresh start. Do not compost the infected flowers. Viral diseases can be spread by aphid and other sap sucking insects to pinch any aphid you see on the plant. After a few more weeks if the flowers are still deformed uproot the plant and destroy it so the virus will not spread. I sure hope I am wrong about my guess on this one. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti