Greetings from the garden bed. We, the Black-eyed Susans (*Rudbeckia hirta*), are generally a hardy and cheerful bunch, brightening the late summer landscape with our golden-yellow petals and dark, prominent centers. However, even our vibrant community can be besieged by a variety of pests and diseases that threaten our health and beauty. From our perspective, these afflictions are environmental challenges we must endure.
Our stems and the undersides of our leaves are often targeted by tiny, soft-bodied invaders. Aphids cluster there, piercing our tissues to siphon our vital sap. This not only weakens us but can also lead to the growth of sooty mold on the sticky honeydew they excrete, which blocks our sunlight absorption. Similarly, spider mites, almost too small to see, weave fine silken webs and cause our foliage to take on a stippled, yellow, and eventually bronzed appearance as they drain our cellular contents. Thrips can also distort our developing flower buds and petals, leaving them streaked and discolored.
Excessive moisture on our leaves and in the soil around our roots creates the perfect conditions for microscopic foes to thrive. The most common is powdery mildew, which manifests as a white, powdery coating on our surfaces, hindering our photosynthesis and causing our leaves to yellow and wither prematurely. More severe are the leaf spot diseases, like Septoria or Angular Leaf Spot, which create unsightly brown or black spots that can coalesce, kill our leaf tissue, and lead to severe defoliation, drastically reducing our vigor.
While our showy flowers are above ground, our root systems are constantly at risk from subterranean threats. The larvae of certain beetles, known as root borers or grubs, can chew through our roots, severing our connection to water and nutrients, which causes a sudden and perplexing wilting despite adequate soil moisture. Furthermore, overly saturated, poorly draining soil can lead to root rot, a condition where fungi like *Pythium* or *Rhizoctonia* attack and decay our root system, often leading to our complete collapse.
We also face challenges from larger fauna. Deer find our tender young shoots and foliage quite palatable and will browse on us, shearing off stems and flowers. Rabbits may also nibble on our base. While not a disease, this physical damage stunts our growth, reduces our flowering potential, and creates open wounds that can serve as entry points for the bacterial and fungal pathogens mentioned previously.
