Native plant diseases: to treat or not to treat?

I’ve grown a lot of Phacelia from seed and there is a lot of it growing throughout my yard. Some of it is gorgeous and healthy, growing into small stands nearly 2 feet tall. Some of it has seeded in the more shady parts of my yard, however, and can barely grow a foot tall. Every summer the plants in part shade are severely attacked by powdery mildew, to the point where I wonder if it will survive to the next season. Despite this, however, I do not treat it. I don’t treat any of the plants in my yard for disease, native or not. Powdery mildew is a fungus that spreads rapidly through the air by tiny spores. It can complete an entire life cycle in a bit more than a week, going from spore to sporulating colony, making it practically impossible to exclude from the garden completely. It will always be present, but is usually only a problem for one reason: weak plants. Plants that are growing in a suitable environments generally suffer only very minor damage, if they suffer any at all. The fungus is ever-present and attacks weakened plants, usually those that are damaged or growing in sub-optimal areas (like a Phacelia in shade), often leaving them looking like they took a bath in a bag of flour and sometimes completely killing them. <a href="https://medium.com/back-porch-ecology/native-plant-diseases-to-treat-or-not-to-treat-08b669660d25">Visit Now</a>