When the leaves change color, don't grow properly, and the whole plant starts to fail, the peppermint has a disease. How to recognize diseases and what you should do now.

Common Peppermint Diseases

  • peppermint rust
  • mildew
  • Rootstock and stem rot
  • Verticillium wilt

peppermint rust

This is a fungal disease that is characterized by thickened and dried shoots and spots on the leaves. Peppermint rust is quite common and is favored by excessive humidity.

If you have noticed the infestation in time, cut all shoots down to the ground. Make a horsetail brew by soaking the fresh herb in water for two to three days and then sieving it out.

Spray the infested peppermint plant several times with the brew. If the infestation is far advanced, the only thing that usually helps is to pull out the peppermint completely and plant or sow new herbs in a different location.

mildew

If the leaves show a grey-white coating, powdery mildew is responsible for this. It is particularly common in wet weather.

Cut off all affected shoots at ground level. Fertilize the plants with nettle manure to strengthen them.

Rootstock and stem rot

You can recognize this disease by the fact that the stems of the peppermint become soft at the bottom and rot. The rot occurs when the peppermint is too wet. Make sure that irrigation and rainwater can run off.

Verticillium wilt

If the leaves droop and begin to wilt despite regular watering, peppermint is suffering from Verticillium wilt. It is caused by a fungus and is difficult to combat. It can therefore make sense to completely dispose of infested plants.

Prevention is the best protection

In a favorable location, peppermint grows vigorously, so diseases do not bother it as much. Basically, you should make sure that you do not plant the peppermint too densely, that the soil is permeable and contains enough nutrients.

tips and tricks

To make your peppermint more resistant to diseases, never cultivate the herb in one place for too long. Rotate the plants every three to five years. As a result, the pathogens of peppermint diseases cannot spread so quickly.

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Category:

Vegetable garden