{"id":11557196,"date":"2025-07-17T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T14:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11557196"},"modified":"2025-07-14T10:32:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T14:32:17","slug":"garden-qa-what-eats-coneflower-petals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/17\/garden-qa-what-eats-coneflower-petals\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden Q&A: What eats coneflower petals?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q:\u00a0 Some of my coneflower petals disappear before the flower is fully open, or have chewing damage after it opens. What can I do to stop this?<\/b><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0 You can\u2019t intervene much if you want to let the plants support wildlife. Insecticides would not be recommended (even organic options could harm pollinators) and a physical barrier like a cover of insect netting would, of course, prevent any pollinator access.<\/span><\/p>\n

A wide variety of insects in midsummer can chew petals (and foliage), which include many species of beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, earwigs, and caterpillars. Some of the caterpillars that can eat coneflower (<\/span>Echinacea<\/span><\/i>) blossoms are camouflage loopers, which chew petals, certain inchworms that tuck into the crevices and are hard to find, and the sunflower moth, whose caterpillar bores into the flower head.<\/span><\/p>\n

None of these insects damages the plant enough to worry about. In many cases, the true flowers in the center cone of the flower are still perfectly functional for pollinators. If pollinated flowers produce seeds, they are also valuable to birds like goldfinches. As with all daisy-style aster family plants, the petals surrounding the cone are the ray flowers, which are usually sterile. While ray flowers help to catch the eye of pollinators from afar, they are not providing any of the floral food, so if they go missing or are damaged, it\u2019s not a great loss. Many gardeners plant these perennials for the benefit of wildlife, so we have to expect that wildlife will actually make use of them in ways we might not appreciate.<\/span><\/p>\n

There should be enough blooms unscathed by these flower munchers that you can still enjoy the plants, if not this season, then in a future year at least. This is one reason why planting a given species in groups, if feasible, can reduce the visual impact of some imperfections or damage that would be more prominent on a lone plant or two.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to use the blooms as cut flowers, you can bag a portion of them to exclude these nuisance pests: use an organza, tulle, or mesh bag with a cinch-tie to cover the buds so they open intact. (Mesh maintains airflow to reduce the risk of fungal growth.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0 My iris leaves look diseased. Can that be treated?<\/b><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0 Possibly, but it shouldn\u2019t be necessary. The fungus (<\/span>Cladosporium<\/span><\/i>) that causes leaf spot infections on iris doesn\u2019t infect the belowground parts, but if plants are weakened by heavy infection, they won\u2019t be able to store as much energy for future blooms. Since the fungal spores overwinter in dead foliage and infect new growth in the spring, then spread further as rain splashes spores around, sanitation is essential. A thorough clean-up at the end of the season is the main approach to discourage recurring outbreaks.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the growing season, you could cut off all infected foliage tips and dispose of the debris. After the growing season, remove all frost-killed leaves and dead flower stalks. Like many fungal pathogens, this one thrives in mild, damp weather conditions, so grow iris where they get good air circulation (not too crowded or close to a wall or solid fence) to help wet foliage dry off faster. Full sun exposure promotes good flowering and helps dry leaves off after rain, dew, or irrigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you need to water the plants during dry spells, either avoid wetting the leaves entirely (only water the root zone), or water early enough in the day so that the foliage can dry by nightfall. Many species of iris rarely need routine watering because they are sufficiently drought-tolerant, but plants that have been cut back may benefit from occasional irrigation during dry spells to help them regrow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fungicide can\u2019t cure existing infections, and while it might successfully protect uninfected growth, I don\u2019t encourage its use. As a last resort (other than just replacing plants repeatedly plagued with leaf spot), you could try a product with the active ingredient chlorothalonil, following all label directions. <\/span><\/p>\n

University of Maryland Extension\u2019s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at\u00a0extension.umd.edu\/hgic<\/a>. Click \u201cAsk Extension\u201d to send questions and photos.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A wide variety of insects in midsummer can chew petals (and foliage), which include many species of beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, earwigs, and caterpillars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":11557253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-17T14:01:05Z","apple_news_api_id":"2f33a8fc-7cb7-4fe1-86fc-6c148bb990d7","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-17T14:01:05Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ALzOo_Hy3T-GG_GwUi7mQ1w","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24257,113],"tags":[24292,24294,24457],"feature":[],"location":[223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[17085],"class_list":["post-11557196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-garden","category-things-to-do","tag-nl-evening-sun","tag-nl-morning-sun","tag-social","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"24257","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Garden Q&A: What eats coneflower petals?","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1753502400","print_slug":"TBS-L-GARDENQA-0726","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"A wide variety of insects in midsummer can chew petals (and foliage), which include many species of beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, earwigs, and caterpillars","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

Q:\u00a0 Some of my coneflower petals disappear before the flower is fully open, or have chewing damage after it opens. What can I do to stop this?<\/b><\/p>

A:\u00a0 You can\u2019t intervene much if you want to let the plants support wildlife. Insecticides would not be recommended (even organic options could harm pollinators) and a physical barrier like a cover of insect netting would, of course, prevent any pollinator access.<\/span><\/p>

A wide variety of insects in midsummer can chew petals (and foliage), which include many species of beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, earwigs, and caterpillars. Some of the caterpillars that can eat coneflower (<\/span>Echinacea<\/span><\/i>) blossoms are camouflage loopers, which chew petals, certain inchworms that tuck into the crevices and are hard to find, and the sunflower moth, whose caterpillar bores into the flower head.<\/span><\/p>

None of these insects damages the plant enough to worry about. In many cases, the true flowers in the center cone of the flower are still perfectly functional for pollinators. If pollinated flowers produce seeds, they are also valuable to birds like goldfinches. As with all daisy-style aster family plants, the petals surrounding the cone are the ray flowers, which are usually sterile. While ray flowers help to catch the eye of pollinators from afar, they are not providing any of the floral food, so if they go missing or are damaged, it\u2019s not a great loss. Many gardeners plant these perennials for the benefit of wildlife, so we have to expect that wildlife will actually make use of them in ways we might not appreciate.<\/span><\/p>

There should be enough blooms unscathed by these flower munchers that you can still enjoy the plants, if not this season, then in a future year at least. This is one reason why planting a given species in groups, if feasible, can reduce the visual impact of some imperfections or damage that would be more prominent on a lone plant or two.<\/span><\/p>

If you want to use the blooms as cut flowers, you can bag a portion of them to exclude these nuisance pests: use an organza, tulle, or mesh bag with a cinch-tie to cover the buds so they open intact. (Mesh maintains airflow to reduce the risk of fungal growth.)<\/span><\/p>

Q:\u00a0 My iris leaves look diseased. Can that be treated?<\/b><\/p>

A:\u00a0 Possibly, but it shouldn\u2019t be necessary. The fungus (<\/span>Cladosporium<\/span><\/i>) that causes leaf spot infections on iris doesn\u2019t infect the belowground parts, but if plants are weakened by heavy infection, they won\u2019t be able to store as much energy for future blooms. Since the fungal spores overwinter in dead foliage and infect new growth in the spring, then spread further as rain splashes spores around, sanitation is essential. A thorough clean-up at the end of the season is the main approach to discourage recurring outbreaks.<\/span><\/p>

During the growing season, you could cut off all infected foliage tips and dispose of the debris. After the growing season, remove all frost-killed leaves and dead flower stalks. Like many fungal pathogens, this one thrives in mild, damp weather conditions, so grow iris where they get good air circulation (not too crowded or close to a wall or solid fence) to help wet foliage dry off faster. Full sun exposure promotes good flowering and helps dry leaves off after rain, dew, or irrigation.<\/span><\/p>

If you need to water the plants during dry spells, either avoid wetting the leaves entirely (only water the root zone), or water early enough in the day so that the foliage can dry by nightfall. Many species of iris rarely need routine watering because they are sufficiently drought-tolerant, but plants that have been cut back may benefit from occasional irrigation during dry spells to help them regrow.<\/span><\/p>

Fungicide can\u2019t cure existing infections, and while it might successfully protect uninfected growth, I don\u2019t encourage its use. As a last resort (other than just replacing plants repeatedly plagued with leaf spot), you could try a product with the active ingredient chlorothalonil, following all label directions. <\/span><\/p>

University of Maryland Extension\u2019s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at\u00a0extension.umd.edu\/hgic<\/a>. Click \u201cAsk Extension\u201d to send questions and photos.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1753318484","print_workflow_exported_username":"Dominic Fisher","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"metered","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11557253,"title":"UME column photo Jul 20 2025","filename":"UME-column-photo-Jul-20-2025.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/UME-column-photo-Jul-20-2025.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/17\/garden-qa-what-eats-coneflower-petals\/ume-column-photo-jul-20-2025\/","alt":"","author":"113","description":"","caption":"An inchworm-like caterpillar on a Coneflower bloom. 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