Deformed Black Eyed Susan Flowers

by Paul
(Niskayuna, NY, USA)

Have you ever seen anything like these???
The stem is flat and not round.
Never seen before,
Is there a way I can preserver these some how.

Thanks
Paul

Doug says - sorry to get back to you so late but I suspect you're seeing "Aster yellows" on this plant. It's a disease carried by leaf hoppers and there's no cure. Or mites (see below)

Unfortunately, the way you handle Aster yellows is to remove the plants, control for leaf hoppers that carry the disease, and remove any nearby weeds that might be giving the leafhoppers a home.

You're going to see it again this year as well (if you want to make sure, you can wait till you see the blooms do it again). You might also be seeing narrower leaves than normal on the plant (another symptom) or yellowing leaves.


Having said that - there are cases where mites get into the flowers and cause similar damage. If the leaves are not narrower than normal or turning yellow, then you may have mites. You can control those early in the season (and regularly throughout the season) by spraying with insecticidal soap every 3-5 days.

Good luck and sorry to take so long to get back to you.