Content
Clematis are very beautiful and easy-to-care perennial flowering vines. They are planted to please the eye for many years, so it can be a shame when plants suffer from diseases and pests and may even die if urgent measures are not taken in time. From the article you can learn about the symptoms of clematis damage by various pests and diseases, with photos that will help you recognize this or that problem in time. It will also talk about prevention and ways to combat this or that problem.
Preventing problems
Most often, pathogens and pests attack weakened plants, so it is very important to choose suitable varieties of clematis for your region and provide them with competent agrotechnical care.
Monitoring the health of clematis should begin from the moment the planting material is purchased. If possible, it is necessary to carefully examine the roots of the clematis so that there are no thickenings on them, which may later turn out to be such dangerous pests as root-knot nematodes.
The leaves should not have spots, holes or other mechanical damage that indicate possible diseases.
To prevent numerous fungal diseases (fusarium, gray mold, verticillium), before planting in a permanent place, it is advisable to soak the root system of clematis for half an hour in a solution of the Maxim fungicide. To obtain a working solution, 4 ml of the drug (1 standard ampoule) is diluted in two liters of water.
In the future, it is advisable to treat weakened clematis plants, in addition to fertilizing, several times a season with immunostimulating drugs, such as Immunocytophyte.
And, of course, the main preventive measure against diseases and pests is strict compliance with all agronomic requirements when planting clematis and further caring for it.
Pests and ways to combat them
Clematis has many enemies not only from the world of insects, but also among worms and even mammals. All of them are capable of not only damaging or completely destroying the green parts of plants and their roots, but also transmitting dangerous diseases and viruses.
Aphid
The most common pest in the garden, with which probably every gardener and gardener is familiar. There are several thousand species of aphids known in nature, but the most common aphids in our gardens are black, green and brown aphids. Adult insects and their eggs are very small - about 2.5 mm in length.In the fall, they usually lay eggs on clematis, and with the arrival of spring warmth they begin active life, sucking the juice from young shoots and causing them to dry out and die. The peak of their life activity usually occurs at the very beginning of summer. Feeding on the green juice of clematis, pests secrete a sticky, sweetish liquid, which can also be used to determine the invasion of aphids on plants.
As growth begins, the very tops of young clematis leaves and their undersides must be regularly inspected for the accumulation of these pests. In spring, pests cannot yet move on their own; ants facilitate their movement. And closer to summer, when their numbers increase enormously, in order to feed themselves, the newly born individuals develop wings and acquire the ability to move to neighboring plants.
Hence the conclusion - the sooner you track the appearance of aphids on clematis and destroy them, the easier it will be for you later.
To combat this pest, you can use a variety of methods:
- Mechanical – destroying them manually or washing them off with a stream of water in case of small numbers of pests.
- Biological– many insects (ladybugs, lacewings, wasps), as well as birds (sparrows, tits, wrens, linnets) happily eat aphids. You can also plant some plants whose smell repels pests: onions, garlic, pyrethrum.
- Folk – the simplest and most effective remedy for this pest is a solution of liquid soap and sunflower oil in water (for 2 glasses of water, 2 teaspoons of soap and 1 tablespoon of oil). Infusions of garlic, tomato leaves, onion peels, horseradish, wormwood, and hot pepper are also used for spraying against aphids.
- Chemical – easily destroys aphids by spraying with any of the modern insecticides. It is safer to use Fitoverm - since it is made on a biological basis. (2 ml per 0.25 l of water).
Spider mite
Clematis can suffer from three varieties of spider mites, and only one of them forms webs on leaves and shoots. During the initial period of infection, clematis leaves become covered with barely noticeable yellow specks, especially on the underside, then the affected areas of the leaves become discolored and dry out. The pests themselves are so microscopic that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.
The invasion of spider mites is favored by hot and dry weather, which is why it usually appears on clematis in mid-summer. It is already much more difficult to fight this pest than aphids. Usually only systemic insecticides (acaricides) are effective, the treatment of which must be repeated 3-4 times per season. Among mild biological, but less effective agents, we can recommend Fitoverm, Vertimek, Bitoxibacillin. If they do not help, then you need to use Akarin, Actellik, Antiklesch.
As a preventive measure, the following folk remedy helps a lot: when dry and hot weather sets in, clematis can be sprayed with garlic infusion (200 g per 10 liters of water).
Nematodes
Nematodes are roundworms, and they can parasitize the roots, shoots and leaves of clematis.
Particularly dangerous for clematis is the root-knot nematode, which parasitizes the roots, where thickenings of different sizes are formed - galls. As a result of their severe infection, young clematis may lag behind in development, the leaves become discolored, lose turgor, and the plants may even die.In adult plants, the decorative effect is significantly reduced (leaves and flowers become smaller, plants do not grow to the required height).
But clematis can also infect other types of nematodes - strawberry and chrysanthemum, which damage leaves, stems and flowers.
These pests are especially common in the southern regions. To this day, no effective method of controlling nematodes has been identified. You just need to carefully examine the planting material and all plants that are under suspicion, either throw them away, or try to treat the roots with hot water at a temperature of +50°C.
Adult plants are only partially suppressed by nematodes and can even bloom normally provided additional regular fertilizing is provided.
In the place where clematis affected by nematodes were dug up, clematis cannot be planted again for 3-4 years.
Planting plants such as calendula, marigolds, dill, coriander, watercress and mustard works well to clear the soil of nematodes.
You can use crushed wormwood and mint as mulch - these herbs repel nematodes.
Window moth
The caterpillars of this small triangular butterfly can cause significant damage to the leaves and flowers of clematis in midsummer. In this case, the tips of the leaves curl into a tube. The caterpillars are yellow-brown, small, with warts all over their bodies.
The fight against this pest consists of spraying clematis with any insecticide, for example, Fitoverm, Vertimek, Actellik and others.
Real small moth
A butterfly from the moth family with bluish-green wings begins to fly in June and feeds, including on clematis plantings, throughout the summer. The light green caterpillars with dark backs become especially active in midsummer. Green pupae can be found between the leaves.
To minimize the damage caused by these pests, at the beginning of summer it is enough to collect them by hand and destroy them. Among biologically effective preparations for protecting clematis from leaf-eating pests, we can recommend Agrovertin or Bitoxibacillin.
Mealybug
This pest loves warmth, so it is much more common in greenhouses, greenhouses and gardens in the southern regions. In clematis, it often damages the base of the shoots, as well as the leaves and the shoots themselves. The body of the insect is covered with white, waxy secretions, so it is not difficult to distinguish it.
The most effective drug for combating mealybugs is Aktara. This is a systemic insecticide that you can simply pour on the clematis bush and the ground around it (dilute 1 to 5 g of powder in 10 liters of water). Repeat the treatment after 1-2 weeks. As a result, the plant sap will become poisonous to pests, they will not be able to feed and will die.
In case of small accumulations of this pest, it is enough to wash the bases of the clematis stems and other places where it is concentrated with a soap solution.
Slugs and snails
Several species of snails and slugs begin their destructive activity of eating clematis shoots starting in the spring, when warm weather sets in.
If these pests manage to damage the buds in the center of tillering, then the development of the entire bush may stop.In addition, through wounds the plant can easily become infected with various fungal infections.
Pests hide under wide leaves weedTherefore, it is advisable to always keep the soil under clematis clean.
To combat snails and slugs, sprinkling with wood ash, lime, and superphosphate is often used, but these means are not very effective.
It is safer to scatter Metaldehyde granules over the soil surface (30-40 g per square meter).
Bedbugs
The garden green bug begins its activity in May and ends around August. It is clearly visible to the eye and reaches a length of 3-4 mm. It can usually be found on the underside of young leaves. As a result of its activity, spots appear on the leaves and they dry out. At the ends of clematis shoots, the female pest lays eggs, as a result of which the shoots stop growing and stop blooming.
You can save clematis by treating them twice with any insecticide.
Shields
These pests, as well as the mealybug, most often live in the southern regions and in greenhouses. Scale insects are small insects covered with a kind of shell, usually motionlessly attached to the leaves and stems of clematis.
In large clusters of scale insects they secrete a sweetish liquid, which is best removed along with the pests themselves using a 30-40% alcohol solution or a 4% solution of potassium soap.
For the final destruction of pests, it is advisable to spill clematis with Aktara solution, diluted in the same proportions as for combating mealybugs.
Medvedki
These insect pests dig long passages and holes underground, at the same time damaging the root system of plants.The activity of mole crickets can be especially dangerous for newly planted young clematis.
One of the effective ways to combat this pest is to pour a water-soap-oil solution into its burrows (15-20 g of any soap and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil per 10 liters of water). As a result, the mole cricket suffocates and either dies underground or comes out, where it is destroyed.
Garden stores currently sell many chemical preparations against mole crickets; they can also be used to protect clematis. Or you can use an environmentally friendly product - Metarizin, which is based on fungal spores that cause the death of mole crickets.
Mice, rats
Rodents can cause significant damage to clematis plantings, especially in winter.
To protect clematis from mice and rats, poisoned baits are laid out under shelters for the winter. For rats it is better to use bags, and for mice - poisoned grain placed in a section of horizontal drainage pipe.
Fungal diseases, prevention and treatment
Among the diseases, the greatest danger to clematis is wilt, which can be caused by three types of fungi: Verticillium, Fusarium and Phomopsis.
Wilt or verticillium wilt
Most often, the term wilt itself is associated with verticillium wilt, but in the case of clematis it often means any wilting of clematis vines caused by one of the above fungi. The shoots lose turgor, wither, turn black and dry out. This process can last from several hours to several weeks.
A hundred years ago, these diseases were so unknown and therefore scary that the very existence of clematis was at one time under threat due to the invasion of fungi that cause diseases. Later it turned out that they are especially active in a humid and cool environment, so clarifications were made to the agricultural technology for growing clematis. At the moment, quite effective fungicides have also been invented, for example, Previkur, the use of which will help protect clematis from these diseases.
A particular danger of infection is the early spring period, when the humidity is very high everywhere. To protect clematis, it is recommended to water the bushes in the spring Previkur solution (25 ml per 10 liters of water).
Phomopsis wilt
Signs of clematis being affected by this disease appear in May-June on individual leaves growing near the surface of the ground - rounded yellowish-brown spots that quickly grow over the entire surface of the leaf. As a result, the leaves darken and dry out.
To protect clematis from this disease, it is necessary to urgently tear off all damaged leaves and spill the bushes with Previkur solution.
Fusarium
Signs of fusarium disease usually appear later, in June–July. Weakened and old shoots are the first to suffer. Infection of clematis usually occurs in the lower part of the shoot, and the entire shoot begins to dry out immediately from the top. Cutting the stems and leaves back to healthy tissue and treating them with Previkur will usually save the rest of the plant.
Rust
As a result of the activity of the fungus Aecidium clematidis DC in the spring, small orange swellings-spots in the form of pads, consisting of a powdery mass, can sometimes be observed on the shoots and leaves of clematis. These are fungal spores, the causative agent of rust, a disease that can cause the death of leaves and deformation of shoots.
For the purpose of prevention, all weeds around are destroyed, and especially wheatgrass, on which the causative agent of this disease overwinters, as well as clematis shoots affected by the fungus. The bushes are treated with 1-2% Bordeaux mixture or another copper-containing preparation.
Gray rot
This disease most often occurs in cool and rainy summers. Air stagnation and overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers contribute to the spread of the disease. It appears as a gray fluffy coating on the leaves, shoots, and flowers of clematis. Fungal spores can be carried by the wind and survive on plant debris.
You can try to fight this clematis disease by spraying and watering the bushes with a biofungicide - Fitosporin. If this does not help, then treat the clematis with Previkur.
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is especially common on clematis in the southern regions and the peak of its harmfulness occurs in the hottest and sunniest months - July and August. The disease manifests itself as a fluffy white coating on leaves, shoots, flowers and even seeds. The damaged areas are deformed, the development and flowering of clematis stops.
To combat the disease, treatment with any fungicide is used.The following folk remedies are considered effective: a solution of mustard powder (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water), a solution of soda ash (40 g per 10 liters of water), a mixture of ethyl alcohol and salicylic acid.
Ascochyta blight
A separate group of diseases consists of fungi, which cause spots of various shapes and colors on the leaves of clematis. If these diseases are left untreated, clematis will begin to develop worse, bloom worse, and go into winter very weakened. Most of these clematis diseases are quite easy to deal with with double treatment with any copper-containing preparation. If you don’t want to use chemistry, try using Fitosporin or Alirin-B in combination with Gamair (1 tablet of each drug per 1 liter of water).
Ascochytasis causes dark brown spots; the development of the disease leads to the appearance of holes in areas of damaged tissue.
Alternaria blight
As a result of this disease, brown spots also appear, which quickly turn black and end with necrosis of the leaves.
Septoria
This disease often appears as gray spots with a red border.
Cylindrosporiosis
The result of this disease is usually spots on the leaves of clematis of an ocher, yellowish tint.
All damaged leaves must be removed from the plants and destroyed before treatment.
Viral diseases and their control
Viral diseases, fortunately, rarely visit clematis, but still they sometimes drop in for a visit.
Yellow mosaic
Several cases of yellow mosaic damage to clematis have been identified. Viruses are spread by pests - aphids, mites, mealybugs, so it is necessary to fight them, first of all. But effective methods of combating the viruses themselves have not yet been found.
Diseased plants, unfortunately, will have to be destroyed, and all tools must be thoroughly disinfected.
Physiological damage
Clematis also has problems that are not related to diseases or pests, but rather depend on improper growth and care conditions.
Colorless flowers
Often, as a result of a lack of heat or lighting, as well as improperly selected fertilizers, the sepals of clematis are only partially colored or remain colorless. Try to check whether you are doing everything correctly in caring for your pets and, most likely, the flowers will soon delight you with their usual color.
Reddened stems
As a result of extreme heat and drought, clematis shoots may turn red. In this case, they need to create shade and water more intensively.
Conclusion
Of course, among pests and pathogens there are many who want to feast on clematis and its parts. But it should be remembered that a strong plant with a good immune system is able to protect itself, not forgetting to periodically inspect the plants in order to notice bad symptoms in time and have time to take action.
