{"id":19984,"date":"2022-06-23T15:21:38","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T19:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=19984"},"modified":"2022-06-23T15:22:49","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T19:22:49","slug":"what-is-the-black-substance-on-poppies-that-is-causing-the-stem-to-rot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2022\/06\/23\/what-is-the-black-substance-on-poppies-that-is-causing-the-stem-to-rot\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the black substance on Poppies that is causing the stem to rot?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question:<\/h3>\n

What is the black “gunk” on the stems of my Poppies that is rotting the stem and causing them to snap off below the blossom? This has never happened before. The plant had 33 pods and just prior to blossoming, this gunk started to appear and several of the stems rotted through prior to blossom. This has also occurred after blossoming, causing the flower to rot off the stem.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/h3>\n

Lynne M. Holland, Horticulture and Social Media Professional <\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n
The general consensus is that there are\u00a0very few problems with poppies.<\/a>\u00a0 Here are a few things you can look at and you might be able to solve this on your own:<\/div>\n

We know poppy sap is like a white latex.\u00a0 It also blackens quite quickly.\u00a0 It is possible that it might be an insect biting the stem and then leaving a hole where the sap then oozes out.\u00a0 A likely suspect would be snails or slugs.\u00a0 It is best to see these at night so a walk through the garden with a flashlight might “illuminate” the problem.\u00a0 Our entomologist is not aware of poppy-specific borers\u00a0so that is unlikely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It might also be environmental if the poppies are being buffeted by wind or impacted by traffic (animal traffic) that is causing damage to the stem. Has anything changed in the surrounding area that might be physically damaging the plants?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It is possible it is a symptom\u00a0of a disease.\u00a0 You can send a sample to our diagnostic lab by\u00a0following directions<\/a>\u00a0on this page:\u00a0https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/diagnostic-lab\/submit-sample\/<\/a>\u00a0 They need a live sample so they can grow out any suspected pathogens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: What is the black “gunk” on the stems of my Poppies that is rotting the stem and causing them to snap off below the blossom? This has never happened before. The plant had 33 pods and just prior to blossoming, this gunk started to appear and several of the stems rotted through prior to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask","category-pests"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is the black substance on Poppies that is causing the stem to rot? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2022\/06\/23\/what-is-the-black-substance-on-poppies-that-is-causing-the-stem-to-rot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is the black substance on Poppies that is causing the stem to rot? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: What is the black “gunk” on the stems of my Poppies that is rotting the stem and causing them to snap off below the blossom? 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