You can see the spots very well in sepia.

I think you are correct that it is powdery mildew. You should probably remove the blossoms. I believe I see a bit on the leaves as well.

There are some home remedies that others use. They never worked for me and I managed to destroy a box of leaves with Lysol spray. I used Spectracide Immunox and it worked very well.

I've found it to be something that is not a big problem if you catch it early. You're right that it tends to be seasonal and it may also come in from vendors, especially those with greenhouses (in my experience). It's just good to be prepared when it happens. I've had it 3x from vendors.

Diana

Ok.

The AV next to it has it a little bit as well so i will remove those flowers. That one is about to take a break from flowering anyway.

None of the others seem affected.

Should I remove just the flowers? What about unaffected buds?

I would suggest you treat it with something. Proceed with a light mist of Lysol spray entirely at your own risk. If you use that, be really careful to do it well above the plant since the spray is cold. I don't use it because I've had nothing but bad luck with it.

There are some instructions for painting milk on them that some claim to work. I believe I tried that once and at least didn't kill the plant...

The Spectracide Immunox wasn't bad to use although you did have to mix it in a sprayer, but it didn't have a bad odor.

Dr. Optimara says to just try improving air circulation but I'm not sure that fixes it once it's started. They say the Lysol, but also mention sulfur, which is supposed to work and spraying with a solution of baking soda. That I don't recall hearing about anyone's using.

If you have liquid Lysol, there are instructions somewhere for painting a dilution of that on and I think that might be preferable to the spray (for some of us anyway).

Diana

This post was edited by quimoi on Sat, Jun 7, 14 at 16:36

I wouldn't remove any buds that seem okay. We are hoping to stop it.

Diana

Ok :-) I am surprised about the air flow thing, though. I have a fan running in that room 24/7. The only time I turn it off is sometimes when the window is open and there is a good breeze coming in. I have had the window open for over a week straight now.

I dont have any lysol. The only thing i have is neem oil insecticidal soap. But i wouldnt feel good about spraying anything on an african violet. Maybe if I could mix something up with warm water and wash the leaves? I prefer not to use anything that I cant get on my skin. Even the neem oil insecticidal soap bothers me because it stinks and you arent supposed to breathe it or get it on your skin.

http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-living/articles/121457.aspx

The Article is called, "How To Make Nontoxic Green Fungicides For Your Garden"

Thoughts? Anybody have experience with homemade recipes?

I tried cinnamon once for mold but it only hindered its growth a bit. Probably works as a preventive.

i've read you can use dissolved aspirin against powdery mildew - no idea what dosage, and if anyone has had success with it.
a q-tip with rubbing alcohol would probably do, not sure if it needs to be diluted.
i usually use lysol, just be aware it can have (temporary) funky effects on the color of your blossoms - before it destroys them. so keeping them isn't really an option.
Linda says sulfur really helps - i still need to get some of that...

Karin

I have used straight rubbing alcohol on a q-tip, but I'm not sure if it was powdery mildew or perlite dust. It didn't harm the leaf though.

You could try it on a bit. Alcohol does have antifungal properties.

I guess I've seen cinnamon recommended but don't recall the details there.

Diana

This post was edited by quimoi on Sat, Jun 7, 14 at 18:03

between aspirin and sulfur, my dog's medicated shampoo would work :-p
maybe one day i will try it, just so i can say i have.

hi,
just read this PDF for treatment of PM

http://chimeraav.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Microsoft-Word-CHIMERAAV-Powerdy-Mildew.pdf

it's a water, bleach & soap solution
rinse well, then dry off plant

might be an option for you

This post was edited by Anon-Cdn on Sat, Jun 7, 14 at 22:52

Thanks, Anon! That is exactly what I was looking for. I have everything I need on hand :-)

Sulfur. Put pans of it by your plants. Works like a charm. Easy-peasy. )If you do a search you can see where I recommended this to others and they found it to be a fantastic fix!)

Linda

If pans of sulfur work for you, that's good.

Let me say that I once got a bunch of plants from Violet Barn with one heck of a case of powdery mildew. Now this is on their site and I quote:

Violet Barn FAQ:
(re sulfur "yellow stuff")

"We keep a small jar of it at our side, and when we see a plant with powdery mildew, we dip the brush tip into the jar, getting just a very small amount of sulfur, gently tap the brush onto the leaves, then brush off. It kills the mildew on contact, and keeps it from returning to the treated areas.

We should mention that we've tried the method of simply placing containers of sulfur amongst the plants, but found this to be of no use. It must be applied to the plants to be effective. Where to get it? As your local pharmacist. A lifetime supply can usually be gotten for just a few dollars."

The last two orders I received from them had no powdery mildew problems at all so they seem to have fixed the problem. (I think Lowe's has sulfur too.)

Diana

Let us know how the bleach solution works. At least bleach does have antifungal properties and many people rinse new leaves in it.

I don't like its effect on my skin so I've been hesitant to do this as a routine because I would think it might do some damage to plants also. (Just a notion I have.)

Has anyone ever heard of the baking soda solution being tried? Dr. Optimara was the first for me. I guess it would change the pH drastically.

I think that if you just have a tiny bit starting you may be able to remove the offending leaf or whatever and change conditions and get by without treatment but that is unusual. I did see a bad leaf on the group of minis from Lowe's which had been drowned (typical Lowe's watering), removed it quickly and haven't had any more problems.

Powdery mildew damages the leaves. You can see the effects after it's been "cured." There are tiny pits in the leaf surface. After all, they are fungi.

Diana

Sulfur, huh? I may look into that. I havent done the bleach treatment yet. I might be playing with fire, but Im a procrastinator. I did brush some hydrogen peroxide on the leaves with a toothbrush. Hopefully they dont spot.

The leaves look normal, really. Im not sure that the mildew made the jump from the flowers to the leaves. I will be keeping an eye out, and I moved the two plants that were infected away from the others. Right now I am more concerned about finding a few thrips in the plant room yesterday. So far no signs of damage. But where theres one, theres bound to be more. Ive got just one AV that is blooming heavily right now and I would be hard pressed to remove all those flowers. Any treatments for thrips that dont harm the flowers?

The person who created the PDF totes having had repeated success with this process with little to no damage to plants (excluding clumsy fingers), but suggests you could use gloves while handling the plants during treatment if worried about exposure to bleach.

personally I have not had to use this treatment, but like to have several ways to deal with an issue, as no one knows when one might arise.

If bleach cures powdery mildew, it might be the lesser of two evils even if it did affect the plant a little. I was just saying why I don't use it routinely on new leaves (my prejudice).

There are different types of powdery mildew so what cures one strain might not be effective on another. This may explain my lack of success with some of the home remedies.

If anyone tries the bleach, let us know. It seems like it might work. (I just read the bleach instructions and they were more complicated than when I dipped all my plants in Avid, something I'll never go through again. A quick spray with a fungicide is much easier. Bleach is a chemical too.)

I haven't had a recurrence since using the Spectracide Immunox.

I've never had thrips but from what I've read you need to disbud. Hopefully others with more experience will chime in. This is why I disbud new arrivals when I isolate them.

Diana

This post was edited by quimoi on Sun, Jun 8, 14 at 14:56

I sprayed the underside of the leaves with neem insecticidal soap, so at least they wont be hanging out there. If i disbud now, i will doing so all summer. Can pretty much guarantee the thrips will be in and out all season. I like to leave the window open, and they can come right in through the screen. I was hoping for a better option. One that will allow me to still enjoy blooms!

Regarding the sulfur and PM-as we all know, different things work in different growing conditions. I had read raving reviews about Lysol and how well it had worked for some. I tried it and nothing. Pans of sulfur on my trays took care of it immediately. There have also been positive responses here from those I recommended it to. You can buy sulfur at Lowe's and HD. It's not expensive and a little goes forever.

Linda

There are also different species of the fungi which cause powdery mildew. This may explain why something works for one person and not another. I've also seen a fair amount of praise for Lysol but it's not for me :).

Pans of sulfur didn't seem to be working for Violet Barn. I lost an entire order to powdery mildew back when they were using it that way. Now I've ordered twice and their plants have been pm free.

A batch of leaves from another vendor looked suspicious to me, and they did eventually develop pm. That's the group that I foolishly tried to use Lysol on with disastrous results. Fortunately most of that box was duplicates and I then used the Spectracide.

I don't believe I'd ever had it until it came in from vendors so I was totally unprepared when I first got it. Now I try to keep effective treatment on hand. As the bleach treatment article mentions, It will kill plants if it goes unchecked.

Diana

I think it must be the time of year. A leaf that had looked iffy to me when I got it suddenly developed a case in its plastic baggie. It's been well over a month. One in the shoebox I'd had to treat before looked suspicious. I dabbed both these with alcohol (hoping that would really fix it.)

Then I checked my new Optimara leaves and found that several of them had it - bad. I gave in and mixed the Spectracide and sprayed them all. At one time I would read that some varieties were prone to it. I've also noted that some varieties are prone to it. However I never see that info any more. I do wonder about those couple of varieties from the vendors. I think they may both be vintage ones.

Rob had a couple of varieties that would get powdery mildew no matter where I grew them when nothing else got it. I quit growing them.

Diana