Good morning! I hope this finds all of you enjoying the abundance of your late summer gardens. Things are lovely here but with only one rain of any significance lately, I am dragging hoses a lot.

I don’t know if it is just this particular year or that I am finally paying attention, but we have had at least a half-dozen dragonfly hatches in the past month. The flocks (or whatever the proper word might be for groups of dragonflies) usually seem to appear about 7 p.m. as they all fly together just above the rooftop of the house. They will circle and dance for about 45 minutes and then they disperse. My guess is, and really this is a guess, that the heat rising from the roof helps to dry their wings. It is a wonder of nature to watch them as rays from the setting sun light up their iridescent wings and make them glow.

This time of year is also marked by the pinnacle of beauty in cottage gardens and borders. The cone flowers, garden phlox, lilies and heliopsis as well as zinnias and asters have come into their own. Unfortunately, so has the powdery mildew in many gardens.

This is a common problem for many and I get asked endless questions about it. So, in hopes of offering some help, this column will talk about proper conditions, prevention and some remedies.

Powdery mildew’s effect

Powdery mildew is just what it sounds like. It looks like someone has sprinkled fine powder over the leaves of your plants, and they tend to look gray. It is very common on phlox, zinnias, lilacs and monarda (bee balm). Since all of these tend to be found in cottage gardens or perennial borders, I am guessing lots of folks out there have the problem.

High humidity tends to make powdery mildew more prevalent and a bigger problem, and Maine has had more than its share of high humidity this summer. There are also certain plants, especially garden phlox, that get it whether there is high humidity or not. There are things you can do about it even if you can’t control the weather.

The hybridizers have been breeding out powdery mildew “resistant” strains. This doesn’t mean they won’t get it but it does mean they won’t get it as easily. Look for these strains when you buy new garden phlox. There is a beautiful white one called ‘David,’ a pale pink one with bright red eyes called ‘Bright Eyes’ and a spectacular bright pink called ‘Eva Cullum,’ and many, many others available at nurseries.

Phlox is one of those plants, like peonies and various roses, that get passed from grandma’s garden to mom’s to yours. This is a wonderful tradition but understand, if it was growing in gram’s garden, it is not resistant. This doesn’t mean you have to throw gram’s phlox away. Keep the older strains of phlox located together in one garden and plant the newer strains in another garden. Putting even resistant strains next to old-fashioned nonresistant strains may pass the powdery mildew.

Don’t infect healthy plants

Some ways to help avoid getting powdery mildew include watering at ground level – as opposed to wetting the foliage – and not letting drought conditions persist. When plants are not watered as frequently or deeply as needed, it weakens them. A weaker or stressed plant is far more likely to succumb to diseases.

Also, make sure that the plants have plenty of air circulation. They should be planted where walls, the house or trees do not obstruct the breeze from blowing through them. Avoid areas that are shady and damp. Remove and get rid of affected leaves, but don’t put them into a composting pile. When leaves are allowed to drop, the fungal spores drop as well and wait in the soil for next season to reassert themselves.

Your hands can carry the fungus that causes powdery mildew from sick plants to healthy ones. I have found the best and most time-efficient way of dealing with this problem is to take care of the healthy plants first and leave the sick ones for last. That way, when you are finished removing leaves, etc., you can go in and wash your hands just once instead of several times as you should do if you are going from sick to healthy plants. This plan also works very well if you need to remove poison ivy. Save it as the last chore of the gardening day. Remove it, pull it, cut it or whatever you do and go immediately inside. Peel off clothing, gardening gloves and sneakers and throw them all in the washing machine. (This is why I wear sneakers to garden.) Place any tools you have used in a sink with bleach water and let them sit. Then head for the shower. It is water, an abundance of it, and not soap etc. that breaks down the poison ivy oil that causes rashes. The same is true of fungal spores.

There are fungicides that can be used for powdery mildew but they are most effective, and sometimes only effective, when started in the early stages of infestation. Check with your local nursery for their recommendations, but I’ve found those that contain copper are the most effective. There are also fungicidal soaps available for this purpose, but use it on one plant and wait a few days before you use it on all of them. Some garden plants do not respond well to soaps. Powdery mildew does not kill the phlox, it just makes the foliage ugly.

So until next time, watch for the dragonflies and enjoy the territorial antics of the hummers, fill vases in your house with all those flowers in the garden and enjoy them both inside and out, plan a family outing or camping trip for Labor Day as a last hurrah before the big yellow buses come back down the roads. And take some time to just SIT in that garden and appreciate the beauty you have added to the world.

Happy gardening!

Jody Goodwin has been gardening for more than 20 years. She lives in Turner with her husband, Ike, her two dogs and two cats. She can be reached by writing to her in care of the Sun Journal, 104 Park St., Lewiston, Maine, 04243-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected]