This season has been different... Here in the PNW we had a very wet and cold spring that seemed to be never ending. Never the less we got our ground prepped and tubers planted in April. They were SLOW to start and in the end we really did not start getting any blooms until the month of August! Here we are early September and the cold has set back in. Like any Gardner's nightmare powdery mildew has reared its ugly head. I have religiously stripped bottom leaves and dead headed spent blooms but its spreading rapidly. I will spray with a milk/water mix to try and slow the spread. We only had a handful of plants this year that had to be culled because of signs of viruses... we just cannot risk anything that looks suspicious! I keep deadheading and the blooms keep shrinking in size as the end of the season approaches. While there are still blooms I am making sure to document and triple check labels while I still know what the blooms look like because we all know that once a frost hits everything turns the same color, brown! And the biggest lie I tell myself is that I will remember what it is and that's not true! It seems like beginning and end of season are the busiest with planting to digging and dividing. With each season brings a new chance. A new chance to make changes and grow new purchases and that brings hope.
Best wishes!