Black Soot on Rhododendrons

My beautiful, healthy, prolific 22-year-old rhododendrons, in the past month or two, suddenly developed this thick black soot on the branches. The leaves turned brown and fell off and the buds never developed into flowers. It may be too late to save one of them, but this blight seems to be spreading to all of my rhododendrons. Any idea of what this is and how I can get rid of it?

1 Comment (Open | Close)

1 Comment To "Black Soot on Rhododendrons"

#1 Comment By Nikki On 05/29/2011 @ 8:46 am

This is sooty mold, usually an indication of pests like aphids. Treat the shrubs with neem oil, which will take care of both the sooty mold and whatever pest may be affecting them. Here is more information:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm ^[1]
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/neem-oil-uses.htm ^[2]

Article printed from Gardening Know How Questions & Answers: https://questions.gardeningknowhow.com

URL to article: https://questions.gardeningknowhow.com/black-soot-on-rhododendrens/

URLs in this post:

[1] https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm

[2] https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/neem-oil-uses.htm: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/neem-oil-uses.htm

Have any questions about this topic? Visit us at https://questions.gardeningknowhow.com to ask your questions and get friendly answers from gardening experts.

You can also find us at:
'Like' us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardeningknowhow
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gardenknowhow - @gardenknowhow
Follow us on Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/gardenknowhow/