Hollyhock Rust  

by Brett Kerley

Hollyhock  rust  is a common fungal disease, caused by the fungus Puccinia Malvacearum.

Identification

Signs of this fungus include orang coloured rust  pustules on the undersides of leaves, progressing to bright-orange spots with red centers on the upper leaf surface and on the shoots of  hollyhocks. Eventually the  rust  pustules on the underside turn a reddish chocolate-brown color. When the disease is severe, leaf drop may occur.

Prevention

Sanitation is the key to preventing  hollyhock  rust. Remove all infested plant parts at the end of the season to limit the amount of fungus that will survive the winter. If not cleaned up, this infested plant debris will be the source for infecting the remaining  hollyhocks  in your garden come spring, as well as those you plant in the future, those that reseed, and of course, your neighbour’s  hollyhocks. Once removed, the infected debris should be burned or bagged and added to your garbage or taken to a yard-waste disposal site.

It is also important to remove any leaves that become infected during the growing season, because this fungus produces new  rust  spores that continue to cause infections. Finally, sanitation also includes the weeding out of round-leaved mallows (Malva rotundifolia), another host for this fungus. In addition to sanitation, keeping water off the  hollyhock  foliage and providing room for good air movement helps in  rust  prevention.

Solution

As for fungicide controls, products containing chlorothalonil, mancozeb, and sulphur can help. But since infections start in spring and continue during rainy weather into the fall, numerous preventive applications at 10- to 14-day intervals may be necessary to completely prevent  rust. This is why proper sanitation is so critical. If you do use a fungicide, apply it only to foliage and stems, and of course use it cautiously and strictly according to the directions. By spraying any fungicide on the flower part of the plant it can cause our beneficial insects to die, thus creating more problems down the line.