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Rusty Snaps
In a nutshell: Choosing resistant varieties is the key to preventing unsightly rust.
The whole story: Snapdragon rust (Puccinia antirrhini) is a common fungal disease that you can minimize through clean gardening practices and by growing rust-resistant varieties. Cool, humid weather encourages rust. Spores are spread by wind and splashing water, but foliage must remain wet for at least 6 hours for infection to occur. On infected plants, pale yellow spots appear on the tops of leaves, and reddish brown pustules on the undersides. If they're severely affected, leaves dry up, growth is stunted, and plants die prematurely.
To minimize rust, water plants from underneath to keep foliage dry, suggests William Carlson, Ph.D., distinguished professor emeritus of floriculture at Michigan State University. Water in early morning to allow wet foliage to dry. Allow plenty of space between plants for good air circulation. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers. Destroy infected parts of plants, and remove all snapdragons at the end of the season to prevent spreading spores to new plantings the following season.
