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)
Large patch (bermudagrass/zoysiagrass/centipedegrass/St. Augustinegrass)
Leaf spot caused by Bipolaris/Drechslera (bluegrasses/bermudagrass)
Red thread (Kentucky bluegrass/fescue/ryegrass)
Rust (Kentucky bluegrass/fescue/St. Augustinegrass/zoysiagrass)
Spring dead spot (bermudagrass/zoysiagrass)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, 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
Black cherry: black knot
Boxwood: Phytophthora root rot, boxwood blight, nematodes (lesion, root-knot, spiral)
Camellia: Exobasidium leaf gall, Glomerella canker, ring spot, Phytophthora root rot
Cherry-laurel: shot-hole, Botryosphaeria canker/dieback
Crabapple: fire blight, powdery mildew, cedar-apple rust
Dogwood, flowering: spot anthracnose on bracts, powdery mildew
Elm: 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, cedar-apple rust sporulating (especially on Eastern red cedar), Annosus root rot, Kabatina 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, Passalora needle blight, algae on foliage, internal browning
Loropetalum: bacterial gall (knot), Cercospora (Pseudocercospora) leaf spot
Magnolia, Southern: algal leaf spot, scales, normal shedding of oldest leaves
Maple: anthracnose, Phyllosticta leaf spot
Oaks: oak leaf blister (Taphrina), anthracnose (Discula, Apiognomonia)
Rose: Armillaria root rot, common canker, Botrytis canker, crown gall, black spot, Cercospora (Rosisphaerella) leaf spot, powdery mildew, rose rosette, rose mosaic
Pear, ornamental: fire blight, cedar-quince rust
Red-tip photinia: Entomosporium leaf spot
Rhododendron: Phytophthora root rot, Armillaria root rot, Exobasidium leaf gall, Botryosphaeria canker/dieback
Spiraea: powdery mildew
Spruce: Stigmina needle blight
Sycamore: anthracnoseHerbaceous Ornamentals (Perennials, Bedding Plants)
Multiple hosts: Pythium root and/or crown rot, powdery mildew, overfertilization
Coreopsis: powdery mildew
Daylily: leaf streak
Hollyhock: rust
Iris: Heterosporium (Cladosporium) leaf spot, bacterial soft rot
Liriope: anthracnose on leaf tips, Fusarium crown rot
Oxalis: rust
Pachysandra: Volutella blight
Pansy/viola: Heat stress (time to replace)
Peony: ring spot (Tobacco rattle virus)
Rudbeckia: Septoria leaf spot
Vinca, annual (Catharanthus): Phytophthora root rot and aerial blight
Zinnia: Alternaria leaf spot, bacterial leaf spotFruits & Nuts
Multiple hosts: Herbicide injury, overfertilization, hail damage
Apple: fire blight, black rot, cedar-apple rust, frogeye leaf spot
Blueberry: Botryosphaeria stem blight, Exobasidium leaf and fruit spot
Blackberry: cane blight, rust diseases, virus diseases
Cherry and plum: black knot
Fig: cold injury
Grape: downy mildew (bunch grape only), anthracnose (bunch grape only)
Mulberry: Mycosphaerella leaf spot
Pear: cedar-quince rust, fire blight, Fabraea leaf spot
Peach: leaf curl, brown rot (blossom/twig phase), scab, plum curculioVegetables & Herbs
Multiple hosts: Herbicide injury, Pythium root rot and damping-off, Rhizoctonia stem/crown rot, overfertilization, nutrient deficiencies
Beans: Rhizoctonia stem rot/damping off, seedborne viruses
Cole crops: black rot
Pepper: bacterial leaf spot
Potato: late blight [though we have no records from potatoes in home gardens], air pollution injury
Tomato: Tomato spotted wilt virus, bacterial leaf spot, bacterial wilt, early blight, Pythium root rot/damping off, growth cracksArthropods of the General Landscape
Ground-nesting solitary bees (typically Andrenidae & Colletidae)
Wheel bugs (nymphs)
May beetles (Phyllophaga spp.; typically at lights)
White-margined burrower bug (Sehirus cinctus) nymphs (harmless, but can be found in large numbers; associated with mint seeds)Arthropods Associated with Multiple Plants
Two-banded Japanese weevils
Eastern tent caterpillars (larvae & tents; typically on rosaceous trees)
Bagworms (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis; young larvae hatching)
Cottony scales (Pulvinaria spp. especially cottony camellia scale, P. floccifera)
