I’m in the Kansas City area. This was the third summer for these plants. We have had a dry second half of summer here and I’ve only watered a couple times because I’ve read that established natives aren’t meant to be watered during droughts. Is this disease? Why did they get sick? Where do I go from here?
by _big_fern_
25 Comments
because it’s the time of year where plants go to sleep
They think it’s Fall, and they’re right! Tough summer this year, so much sun and heat
If that’s Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) they like more water than you’ve been giving them. I have some in a spot that often gets very dry and they look just like that if I don’t water them regularly, plus it IS fall and they’ll be dying back anyway.
Where I am they are natively found in wet areas like river banks and around ponds and marshland.
Edit: Give them some more water generally, they’ll likely come back next spring just fine.
I’m going to say it’s a combo of a dry summer + it being fall 🍂
>and I’ve only watered a couple times because I’ve read that established natives aren’t meant to be watered during droughts
This depends on the plant and site conditions. A wetland obligate plant is going to look more stressed by a drought in a typical garden than something more adapted. Likewise, a plant that is adapted to dry quick draining soil will rot if you get too much rain. There’s a milkweed for almost any habitat but ones out of habitat will require more babying.
Plants also have a cycle. For example, after flowering, Narrow-leaved sundrops is always going to get rust and die back to the basal leaves. It might look bad but the colony will be fine.
Just to be a little more explicit- these plants have already flowered and the leaves and flowering stalks will die back over winter. So the plant has no incentive to spend excess energy fighting mold, insects, or other pathogens that might find now a good time to attack. It’s also been very dry and hot, so the energy is best spent on storing energy away in the roots for next season. If you look at your more woody perennials, you might see how the buds have set for next year and the leaves are getting limp and faded as well especially in the dry weather we’ve had. Many of the trees here have started to drop their damaged leaves without so much as a slight color change. If the weather stays nice, plants will hold on for that extra bit of sunshine and energy, but if the weather isn’t great or excess pathogens are around they sort of call it quits and wait till next year. Had a terrible outbreak of powdery mildew last year and all the plants called it by late August and came back this year as if it never happened.
They don’t look sick; they look seasonal. They are about to take a long winter’s nap and come back in the spring.
Marked.
Mine look the same. Just that time of year
Bed time
https://preview.redd.it/mn7vj0ivg4rf1.jpeg?width=1169&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da4357fcd44d31122eca52d3de7d7a1fdde0a104
You should always provide supplemental moisture during drought-like conditions if you want your plants pollen and nectar to be the most nutritious it can be. Weak plants = weak nutrients for our insect friends who count in them
Water it and see if they perk up…if not then they are probably done for the season.
The plant you have is swamp milkweed. It likes water. That’s why it’s called swamp milkweed. Move it or water it next year.
And yes, fall is coming so this is senescence aka getting ready to quit for the year.
A native that will tolerate limited watering is common milkweed but it will spread like crazy if given the opportunity.
They are going to sleep for the winter.
End of season?
We had a drought that I watered through. Mine look worse than yours, ha.
I’m also in the KC metro and my milkweed looks just as pitiful. The natives are tired and the aphids are thriving so absolutely nothing to worry about.
Unless you plant your host plants right next to your porch like I do. It’s great in the spring and summer but once fall rolls around I know I’m doomed to stare at the mess for months to come.
I always like to stress how important it is to resist the urge to deadhead when they look ratty in the fall. This year my monarchs gave me a photo I can spam people with when they suggest trimming or keeping things “tidy”. They ate all the milkweed so they’re using my sneezeweed and prairie coneflowers. It may not look as pretty as it did in the summer but it doesn’t make it any less beneficial to the ecosystem. I’ve also found adding in some fall bloomers (for my area it’s asters and goldenrods) so there’s still pretty flowers helps balance the fall messy look.
https://preview.redd.it/5qdvmim0v4rf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3feac321b98c334e1bccd35253a7b24c43cf8764
End of Season
eepy
They sleepy. Shutting things down as we role into Autumn.
They aren’t sick, they’re retiring those parts of their body because they no longer produce enough value to warrant maintaining them. It’s kind of like us shedding skin and hair.
Its lack of sufficient water throughout the drought you speak of coupled with imminent senescence.
Alot of water this spring….. Rust