Month-by-month lists of common plant diseases, pests, and other problems you may encounter in North Carolina yards and gardens.
Back to BOLO list of months.Turfgrasses
Brown patch (fescue/ryegrass)
Fairy ring (all turfgrasses)
Gray leaf spot (fescue/St. Augustinegrass)
Pythium blight (fescue/Kentucky bluegrass/ryegrass)
Summer Patch (Kentucky bluegrass/fine fescue)
Chinch bugs (St. Augustinegrass)Woody Ornamentals
General: Slime mold on mulch in landscape beds
Multiple hosts: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot, Botryosphaeria dieback, powdery mildew, sooty mold, improper planting, herbicide injury, heat/drought stress, decline from cold injury last winter, overfertilization
Multiple shrub species: root-knot nematodes
Arborvitae: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot
Azalea: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot, Phomopsis dieback, stunt nematode, Azalea prominent caterpillars (Datana major; young/small)
Black cherry: black knot
Boxwood: Phytophthora root rot, boxwood blight, boxwood stem canker (Colletotrichum theobromicola), nematodes (lesion, root-knot, spiral)
Camellia: Glomerella canker, Phytophthora root rot
Cherry, flowering: shothole (Passalora) and leaf blight (Blumeriella)
Cherry-laurel: shot-hole, Botryosphaeria canker/dieback
Crabapple: powdery mildew, cedar-apple rust
Dogwood, flowering: powdery mildew, scorch (heat/drought), Septoria leaf spot
Elm: Dutch elm disease on American and winged elms, black spot
English Ivy: anthracnose, bacterial leaf spot, Phytophthora root rot
Euonymus: powdery mildew
Gardenia: root-knot nematode, Phytophthora root rot
Hydrangea: Cercospora leaf spot
Indian hawthorn: Entomosporium leaf spot
Japanese black pine: pine wilt nematode
Japanese holly: black root rot, Armillaria root rot, Botryosphaeria canker/dieback
Junipers: Phytophthora root rot (except Eastern red cedar), Armillaria root rot, Annosum root rot, Phomopsis tip blight
Leucothoë: powdery mildew – note red spots on top of infected leaves
Leyland cypress: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot, Cypress (Seiridium) canker, Botryosphaeria canker/dieback, algae on foliage, internal browning
Loropetalum: bacterial gall (knot), Cercospora (Pseudocercospora) leaf spot
Magnolia, Southern: algal leaf spot
Maple: anthracnose, Phyllosticta leaf spot
Oaks: oak leaf blister (Taphrina) turning brown, bacterial leaf scorch, anthracnose (Discula, Apiognomonia), Tubakia leaf spot, slime flux (mainly on oak but can occur on maple, elm, hickory, and some other hardwoods), branch pruning by squirrels
Pear, flowering: fire blight, quince rust
Pine, white: ozone injury
Redbud: Cercospora (Passalora) leaf spot, bacterial leaf scorch
Red-tip photinia: Entomosporium leaf spot
Rhododendron: Botryosphaeria canker/dieback
Rose: Armillaria root rot, common canker, crown gall, black spot, Cercospora (Rosisphaerella) leaf spot, rose rosette
Spiraea: powdery mildew
Spruce: Stigmina needle blight, Rhizosphaera needle cast
Sycamore: scorch from heat/drought, bacterial leaf scorch, anthracnose
Tulip (yellow) poplar: premature fall color due to droughtHerbaceous Ornamentals (Perennials, Bedding Plants)
Multiple hosts: Southern stem blight (Sclerotium rolfsii), Rhizoctonia root/stem/crown rot, root-knot nematodes, overfertilization, nutrient deficiencies
Amsonia: rust
Begonia: Pythium root rot, root-knot nematode
Coral bells (Heuchera): Phytophthora root/crown rot
Coreopsis: powdery mildew
Daylily: leaf streak
Impatiens: Rhizoctonia crown/stem blight, downy mildew*, Pythium root rot, root-knot nematode
*New Guinea impatiens are not susceptible to downy mildew
Iris: Heterosporium (Cladosporium) leaf spot, bacterial soft rot
Ironweed: Powdery mildew
Liriope: anthracnose on leaf tips, Fusarium crown rot, Phytophthora root, and crown rot
Monarda: powdery mildew
Peony: leaf blotch (measles), ring spot (Tobacco rattle virus)
Petunia: Phytophthora crown/stem rot, Rhizoctonia stem rot
Rudbeckia: Septoria leaf spot, downy mildew, aster yellows
Vernonia: rust
Vinca, annual (Catharanthus): Phytophthora root rot and aerial blight, Rhizoctonia aerial blight
Zinnia: powdery mildew, Alternaria leaf spot, bacterial leaf spotFruits & Nuts
Multiple hosts: herbicide injury, too much or too little fertilizer, drought stress
Apple: cedar-apple rust, Marssonina leaf blotch, black rot / frogeye leaf spot, bitter rot, sooty blotch, and flyspeck
Blackberry: cane blight, virus diseases
Blueberry: Botryosphaeria stem blight, Phytophthora root rot
Cherry and plum: black knot
Grape, bunch: downy mildew, anthracnose, black rot (fruit), Pierce’s disease, herbicide injury
Grape, muscadine: black rot (leaves), Pierce’s disease, herbicide injury
Peach: scab, brown rot (fruit phase), plum curculio
Pear: Fabraea leaf spot
Pecan: anthracnose, scabVegetables & Herbs
Multiple hosts: herbicide injury, root-knot nematodes, Pythium root rot, Southern stem blight (Sclerotium rolfsii), overfertilization, nutrient deficiencies, poor fruit set due to high temperatures
Basil: downy mildew
Beans: anthracnose (leaves, stems, pods), Cercospora leaf spot, Rhizoctonia root/stem rot
Cucurbits: downy mildew, powdery mildew (esp. squash, pumpkin), anthracnose, Fusarium wilt, gummy stem blight (esp. watermelon), Choanephora fruit rot, aphid-borne viruses, root-knot nematode, ozone injury (esp. watermelon)
Pepper: bacterial spot, blossom-end rot
Thyme: Rhizoctonia aerial blight
Sweet corn: corn smut (Ustilago maydis)
Tomato: blossom-end rot, bacterial wilt, bacterial spot, Septoria leaf spot, Fusarium wilt (esp. heirloom varieties), early blight, late blight, Southern stem blight (Sclerotium rolfsii), gray leaf spot, Pythium root rot/damping off, Tomato spotted wilt virus (leaf and fruit symptoms), root-knot nematode, Magnesium deficiency, physiological leaf roll, growth cracksArthropods of the General Landscape
Cicada killers (males guarding territories, females nesting)
Wheel bugs (adults)
Southeastern subterranean termite swarmers (Reticulitermes virginicus)
Green June beetles (Cotinis nitida; may attack ripe fruit)
Two-lined spittlebug (adults; often on hollies)Arthropods Associated with Multiple Plants
Planthopper nymphs (Flatidae & Acanaloniidae)
Fall webworms
Japanese beetle (particularly roses and grapes)
Bagworms (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis; older larvae present)
