Any idea what this is???

[Jershel202]

Hello,

I am new to gardening and was hoping someone on this forum would be able to help me. My Rose of Sharon bushes have strange brown fuzzy things growing on the buds. I can't tell if they are worms, bugs, or some type of fungus. Has anyone seen this before? If so please share.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

JJ, Washington DC

 

[Chuck]

It looks as if the bud opened but the bloom didn't. Did you have a lot of wet weather during the bud formation? If so your blooms started to rot while still in the bud

 

[Jershel202]

That's what I was thinking but some of them are attached to whole, healthy buds. I can pull them right off and the bud remains. It does rain a lot where I live though.

 

[Chuck]

That's what I was thinking but some of them are attached to whole, healthy buds. I can pull them right off and the bud remains. It does rain a lot where I live though.

The bud and the bloom are two entirely different things. Instead of the word bud use the word caylx. The caylx is that green thing the flower emerges from and its purpose is to aid in reproduction and PROTECTION of the developing flower/bloom. If it rained a lot during a certain stage in the formation of the flower the caylx was overwhelmed by the excess water and the flower died as a result. That fuzzy stuff is a fungal growth. You see the same exact fuzzy stuff on some vegetable fruit when they haven't been pollinated or were insufficiently pollinated.

 

[Jershel202]

That makes sense. I appreciate your input.