Waterlogging
Risk near you, next 48h
See whether your local forecast favours this disease right now.
When it strikes
Fix the cause, not the leaf
No spray will help here. The trigger is soil, water supply, nutrition or temperature, so change the growing condition and judge the result on new growth, not on damaged leaves.
Not contagious
Nothing spreads from plant to plant here. Neighbouring plants showing the same signs are reacting to the same soil, water or weather, so fix the cause rather than isolating plants.
Safe to compost
No pathogen carries over on this material, so it can go on an ordinary heap with the rest of the garden waste.
When and where to look
Scout the planting with humidity above 90%, after rain or heavy dew, while the leaves are still wet. Risk builds after roughly 24 unbroken hours of those conditions, so the morning after such a night is the moment to look.
The signs that lead here
About
Roots need oxygen as much as leaves do. When soil pores fill with water the oxygen is gone within a day or two and roots begin to suffocate and die — which is why a waterlogged plant shows exactly the same wilting as a drought-stressed one.
Symptoms
Wilting despite obviously wet soil, yellowing of the lower leaves, and leaf drop. Stems may show soft brown rot at the base, and the soil smells sour or of rotten eggs. Growth stops entirely and the plant becomes an easy target for Phytophthora.
Organic Treatment
Get the water away first: fork channels through any compacted pan, and lift plants in pots onto feet so the drainage holes are clear. Do not feed a waterlogged plant and do not water it again until the surface has genuinely dried. Once it recovers, mulch to protect the roots left.
Chemical Treatment
No treatment applies. Fungicides against secondary root rots do not address the cause and are wasted while the soil stays saturated.
Prevention
Improve structure with organic matter every year, break up compacted layers, and build raised beds on heavy clay. Never plant into a hole that stands with water, and match the plant to the site rather than fighting the site.
Related problems
Waterlogging risk by location
Each location has a month-by-month profile computed from the weather archive: how many hours a year actually meet this disease’s thresholds.