Chrysanthemum White Rust has reared its ugly head again.  It has been several years since we last had a white rust scare.  At our 2013 national show at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, every mum (with or without roots) was inspected to ensure that we did not bring any white rust into Longwood.  Any infected plants were taken and destroyed by Longwood (I recall that there were very few that were taken). 

Many of you may have seen Tamara's Facebook postings about white rust appearing in Maryland and San Francisco.  She notes that King's Mums is not the source.  Brian has informed me that King's was recently inspected and is clean.

In light of the renewed concerns and evidence of white rust, We thought it would be good to remind our members about white rust and its dangers.  Several articles are below.  

As pointed out in the Cornell article, "because chrysanthemum white rust is a Federally regulated pest, you must contact your state horticulture Inspector if you suspect your plants are infected."  As Bob concludes in his article, "there is no mum plant material left to cure after the state authorities are finished."  

We are sharing these attachments with our members.  Awareness is the first step in controlling white rust.  

National Chrysanthemum Society

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