I had a couple of black eyed susan plants.I am down to 1 now .The stems are turning black and dying. Any help on saving them?
black eyed susan
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Black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia species) tend to be pretty disease free, so it's hard to say what the problem is without more information. If they're very young plants, or if they started flowering early, they may just be pooping out earlier in the season too. (I have 7 of these plants, and I have noticed that the one that started blooming a couple of weeks earlier than the others is getting black, dried stems now too.) I know that many places around the country have had problems with either way too little water or way too much this summer. Either of those, especially if combined with prolonged excessive heat, can cause less than ideal performance. If the stems are black, but mushy, they may be getting too much water. Rudbeckia will tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, but likes rich, well-drained soil in full sun the best. My recommendation is to cut back the plants as they die out, tossing the leaves/stems in the trash, not the compost pile, just in case there was a disease problem. Next spring be sure to add plenty of compost around your plants, then water the plants deeply each time you water and allow the soil to dry out a bit before watering again. If you have continued problems you may want to get your soil tested, but these are pretty tough little plants and another season with better weather and a little TLC should see them doing just fine. Good luck!
The great thing about gardening is that you always get a chance to start over!
I also have Black Eyed Susan's that are turning black and dying. They appearing as if they were burned in a fire. They arent new plants and the condition is spreading across the whole area. This is the first year this has happened and they've been in the same soil, same location, etc as the other "healthy" years so their general living condition has not changed. I cant really cut them back as doing so would be just short of eliminating the whole area. I think they must be infected with some fungus or something (?). What is it & what can be done to solve the problem?
As a side note - I also am located in New York as was the original poster of this problem (bkrygrl Member)
my last plant is dead now.so I am pulling it out and saying goodbye to them.sad.
Davina
10-22-2007, 07:02 PM
Re: Re: black eyed susans turning black by bkrygrl (my last plant is dea...)
Much of New York along with the rest of the Northeast had two very dry difficult months this summer. At the same time parts of New York got to much rain when it finally appeared. Many plants acted up as all of us tried to work with the local weather. Lots of us have or will have losses to count for both reasons.
I added compost and extra mulch as my effort. My losses seem to be somewhat less than many of my associates and friends. One technique that may help in the future is the use of Mycorrhiza and ample mulch. If you are not up on the use of Mycorrhiza give Google an opportunity to get introduced. I believe you will like what you discover.
50 year organic principled gardener.
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