We commonly hear from our customers that a lot of the plants they have start forming a copper colored fungus or algae all over the leaves. This is very common as the dew point increases every night during the Fall in Tampa. The increase in moisture leads to an ugly mildew or algae.
The solution to this problem is to put a fungicide on the plants to clear things up. Don’t use a copper, get some Dithane M-45. Spray once right over the top of the plants and wait another ten days to apply a second application. The leaves will survive but the copper colored fungi won’t. A little fertilizer will always help too. Tampa residents can use an 8-10-10 fertilizer.
You can pick up all these items at the Keep it Green retail nursery located minutes from downtown Tampa.