Kitchen Garden Forum

I know it's not a veggie problem, but here it goes: a lot of our pansies and violas are covered in black blotches and don't look very happy. They are all bought in and from different sources so I am not sure where this disease (?) has come from.

I hope these lovely winter flowering plants are not going the way of busy lizzies which are now impossible to grow for any length of time before they succumb to a virus.

Or is is just this autumn/winter's strange weather?

It's been gloomy and damp a lot for us during November which often causes mildew or mould. I know when I dead headed my pansies the flowers were very soggy.

Try this link http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=571

I bought some pansies last week and one tray has developed brown blotches of botritis on the petals. I've taken off anything dodgy looking and they are looking a lot healthier and forming new flower buds. I've tried to keep them on the dry side to stop the mould spreading and all the rest look fine.

Many thanks for the replies. I have looked at the RHS site, GL, and yes, it's "pansy leaf spot". The plants are all in pots and boxes, so I will separate them from the healthy ones and see what happens.