Hello Group I would like your insight. We have a Hollyhock in our garden. There are light brown bumps on the undersurface of some leaves and also on some of the stems. Is this an insect, a fungus, disease or is it normal? Thanks Waz
It's rust!!!!! Yes, it's a fungus. This is very hard to get rid of; you must remove infected foliage if possible and burn it. Make sure that you disinfect your cutting instruments afterward, and follow other rules of sanitation, ie, proper circulation, avoiding getting foliage wet when possible, etc. You can treat with a fungicide, but you would have to keep at it every two weeks or so, and even so it might not work. I used sulpher spray every ten days, but the plant was so badly infected I had to pull it out and burn it. This spring with the cool, wet days followed by warm, sunny days hasn't helped either. They are beautiful plants, but so susceptible that next year I'll plant something else like Delphinium.
Thank you ElGordo, I will give the sulfur a try. Will also keep an eye out for malvacearum specoes weeds and pull them out. Waz
