Shrubs are a great addition to any landscape, providing color and contrast. However, they can fall victim to powdery mildew, which is a fungal disease that thrives in New Mexico and Texas during warm, humid conditions. It causes white, powdery growth on the foliage and stems of shrubs, drastically hindering their appearance. If left untreated, the leaves may become discolored and fall.

If you suspect that your shrubs have powdery mildew, you should contact professionals immediately so they can apply a curative treatment. Once this disease has been eliminated, you should schedule routine fertilization treatments to help nurse your shrubs back to health.

What is powdery mildew, and what kind of damage can it cause to shrubs?

Spots of powdery mildew on green leaves in Las Cruces, NM.

If your shrubs' leaves are covered in a white, powdery growth, it could be powdery mildew! Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that commonly affects shrubs in our area. The first sign of this disease is usually a thin layer of white or grayish powder coating your shrub's leaves, stems, and branches. As time goes on, the fungus will spread, causing:

  • Leaves to turn yellow and brown before falling off.
  • Leaves to become misshapen.
  • Buds failing to open.
  • Weakened shrubs.

What time of the year and in what conditions does powdery mildew thrive?

Knowing when powdery mildew thrives helps prevent it or catch it in the early stages! The conditions that lead to powdery mildew developing on your shrubs are warm and humid weather. For this reason, it's most common in the spring and summer! When humidity levels are high, temperatures are warm during the day and cool at night, powdery mildew spores can germinate and start developing on the surface of your shrubs. As it does, it releases millions of microscopic spores into the air where they can attach themselves to other plants nearby and spread as long as the weather remains ideal.

What should you do if you think your shrubs have powdery mildew?

You can easily identify powdery mildew on your shrubs by its appearance. If you suspect that your shrubs have powdery mildew, you should reach out to a professional landscaping company to confirm.

A team of experts will be able to diagnose the issue and recommend a course of action. Experts will know exactly how to handle this type of situation and will use a curative treatment to eliminate the disease from your shrubs. Afterward, you should schedule routine fertilization treatments to help your shrubs recover from the damage caused by powdery mildew. Fertilizer is beneficial, as it contains essential nutrients that will give your shrubs everything they need to bounce back stronger than ever, plus keep them resilient to powdery mildew in the future!

Granular treatments are ideal for fertilizing your shrubs, as they gradually release nutrients, which should be spread around their drip lines.

Call today to schedule our shrub disease control service!

At Extreme Landscaping, we offer a shrub disease control service to residential and commercial property owners, as well as HOAs, in Las Cruces, Mesilla, NM, and other surrounding areas. We also serve properties located in and around El Paso, TX. Our team will inspect your shrubs to determine whether they have fallen victim to a disease like powdery mildew, and if so, we will administer a curative treatment to get rid of it. We then offer routine fertilization treatments to help your shrubs recover from the damage done by powdery mildew and keep them strong against stressors in the future. We've been keeping plants healthy since 2013, so you can trust that yours are in good hands with us. Call us today at (575) 652-3605 to schedule our shrub disease control service!