The leafy shoots wilt suddenly and fall over. The rotted portion of the plant will become covered with a soft brown or blackish mass of spores. Just above the ground level the stalk will be covered with a gray mold which sheds large numbers of spores. The spores are carried by wind and insects to young leaves and flower buds and cause a leaf blight and bud rot. Small buds that are affected turn black and wither.
Larger buds turn brown and fail to open.
Open flowers are affected occasionally, and they also turn brown and later develop a covering of gray mold. The leaves are usually affected last. Dark concentric rings within the spots on both the leaves and the stems are very characteristic of the disease. Life Cycle Botrytis fungi are both saprophytic and parasitic. The spore-producing structures of the fungus develop along the base of the rotting stalks and survives in such debris left in the garden over the winter.