Diseased Marigolds

                                              Alternaria

TheGardenLady received this question from Helen.

I just put in marigolds next to my tomatoes, as companion plants. I think I’ve overwatered them and it’s been rainy in Ithaca this year…White spots are forming on them. I don’t have a digital camera handy, or I’d show you what they look like. My daughter says they have the chicken pox! Do I dig them up and replace them with new ones or do I just try to dry them out? I worry if they stay, that they are diseased and will just get worse-maybe attracting pests… What’s your advice?

Not seeing your marigold plants TheGardenLady thinks you have diseased marigold plants. Heavy rains and winds can carry a disease called alternaria to ornamental plants. See here.

Even though TheGardenLady has not seen the marigold plant and the problem, TheGardenLady would pull out the sick looking marigolds which are cheap to replace. The reason for this suggestion is because you might get a similar fungus, a fungus in the same genus, on your tomato plants and this alternaria or Tomato Early Blight damages the tomato plants and fruits. See here.

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