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Common Garden Diseases
Having a garden can be a fun and relaxing hobby but what about when your plants get spotted leaves and start to wilt and die?
In addition to mites, beetles, snails and other garden pests, there are some common diseases that every gardener should be on the lookout for.
Below are some of the disease that might infect your garden:
Bacteria
Just like in humans, bacteria that affects your plants needs a warm moist environment to grow. This is one of the reasons why it is important to have good drainage in your garden. Bacteria can enter the plant through any opening such as a cut in the stem or even a flower. Once one plant is infected, bacteria can be easily spread through splashing water or even by you, the gardener, touching an infected plant and then moving on to touch other plants.
Viruses
We’re all familiar with the viruses that we can catch and how they make us feel week and sickly but plants also can succumb to viruses which can affect their health. Plant viruses can only reproduce from inside the actual cells of the plant. These viruses are smaller than bacteria and can infect your plants by being carried by insects or even pollen. Most viruses enter the plant through a lesion or cut in some part of the plant.
Fungi
Fungi are primitive organisms which are extremely difficult to kill. Reproducing through spores, once fungi take hold in your garden, it spreads quite rapidly. There are different kinds of fungi and some attach the plant through the leaves, others through the roots. Unlike bacteria or viruses, fungi can live right in your soil, laying dormant for years until the right time arises. Once one plant gets infected you need to eradicate any sign of infection as one plant can release up to 100 million spores that will help spread the infection.
The first step in treating any of these disease is to figure out which one it is. If you have a garden, it might be a good idea to invest in a book that will have photos and text to help you diagnose your problem properly. If the book doesn’t answer your questions, bring a sample of the diseased part of the plant down to your local garden center. They will surely know what the cause is and probably recommend some good ways to treat it.
When treating disease, it is every gardeners responsibility to stay away from harsh chemicals and to treat the problem in the most natural and least invasive way. While fungicides may be your last resort for fighting a bad fungal infection, be aware that they are harsh towards the environment and only use the minimum amounts recommended.
For the overall health of your garden it is best to keep a close eye on all your plants and take steps towards treatment at the first sign of disease. These signs could include spotting or curling of leaves, excessive leave loss, discolored flowers or leaves and unhealthy looking plants.
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