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)
Dollar spot (Kentucky bluegrass/ryegrass)
Fairy ring (all turfgrasses)
Leaf spot caused by Bipolaris/Drechslera (bluegrasses/bermudagrass)
Red thread (Kentucky bluegrass/fescue/ryegrass)
Rust (Kentucky bluegrass/fescue/St. Augustinegrass/zoysiagrass)
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, sooty mold, improper planting, cold injury (loose bark on stems), herbicide injury, overfertilization
Multiple shrub species: root-knot nematodes
Arborvitae: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot, Arborvitae leafminer adults (Argyresthia thuiella)
Azalea: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot, Exobasidium leaf gall, Phomopsis dieback, stunt nematode, Azalea prominent caterpillars (Datana major; just hatching/young)
Black cherry: black knot
Boxwood: Phytophthora root rot, boxwood blight, nematodes (lesion, root-knot, spiral)
Camellia: Glomerella canker, Phytophthora root rot
Cherry-laurel: shot-hole, Botryosphaeria canker/dieback
Crabapple: fire blight, powdery mildew, cedar-apple rust
Dogwood, flowering: powdery mildew, spot anthracnose on leaves, Septoria leaf spot
Elm: Dutch elm disease on American and winged elms, black spot
English Ivy: anthracnose, bacterial leaf spot
Euonymus: powdery mildew
Gardenia: cold injury, root-knot nematode, Phytophthora root rot
Indian hawthorn: Entomosporium leaf spot
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) lesions turning brown, 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: cedar-quince rust, fire blight
Redbud: Cercospora (Passalora) leaf spot
Red-tip photinia: Entomosporium leaf spot
Rhododendron: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot, Exobasidium leaf gall, Botryosphaeria canker/dieback
Rose: Armillaria root rot, common canker, crown gall, black spot, Cercospora (Rosisphaerella) leaf spot, powdery mildew, rose rosette, rose mosaic
Serviceberry (Amelanchier): rust (Gymnosporangium sp.) on fruits and twig swellings
Spiraea: powdery mildew
Spruce: Stigmina needle blight, Rhizosphaera needle cast
Sycamore: anthracnoseHerbaceous Ornamentals (Perennials, Bedding Plants)
Multiple hosts: Pythium root and/or crown rot, herbicide injury, powdery mildew, Rhizoctonia root/stem/crown rot, Southern stem blight (Sclerotium rolfsii), root-knot nematodes, overfertilization
Begonia: Pythium root rot, root-knot nematode
Coreopsis: powdery mildew
Daylily: leaf streak
Hollyhock: rust
Impatiens: Rhizoctonia crown/stem blight, Pythium root rot, root-knot nematode, downy mildew
Iris: Heterosporium (Cladosporium) leaf spot, bacterial soft rot
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
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, hail damage, drought stress
Apple: cedar-apple rust, fire blight, Marssonina leaf blotch, black rot / frog-eye leaf spot
Blackberry: cane blight, rust diseases, virus diseases
Blueberry: Botryosphaeria stem blight, Phytophthora root rot, Exobasidium leaf, and fruit spot
Cherry and plum: black knot
Grape, bunch: downy mildew, anthracnose, black rot (fruit), herbicide injury
Grape, muscadine: black rot (leaves), herbicide injury
Mulberry: Mycosphaerella leaf spot
Peach: scab, brown rot (fruit phase), plum curculio
Pear: cedar-quince rust, fire blight, Fabraea leaf spotVegetables and Herbs
Multiple hosts: herbicide injury, Pythium root rot, and damping-off, root-knot nematodes, Rhizoctonia stem/crown rot, Southern stem blight (Sclerotium rolfsii), overfertilization, nutrient deficiencies, poor fruit set due to high temperatures
Beans: Rhizoctonia stem rot/damping off, Pythium root rot/damping off
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
Pepper: bacterial spot, Tomato spotted wilt virus, blossom-end rot
Potato: late blight [though we have no records from home garden potatoes]
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), Pythium root rot/damping off, root-knot nematode, Tomato spotted wilt virus, magnesium deficiency, growth cracksArthropods of the General Landscape
Wheel bugs (nymphs)
Southeastern subterranean termite swarmers (Reticulitermes virginicus)
May beetles (Phyllophaga spp.; typically at lights)
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)
Two-banded Japanese weevils
Fall webworms
Japanese beetle (particularly roses and grapes)
Bagworms (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis; young & older larvae present)
