Diseased plants are easily pulled from the soil. The pathogen needs moist conditions to establish and intensify the disease. The disease can become very destructive when such conditions exist. Wilting of a young shoot of E. purpurea indicating infection with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Scletorinia blight causes a frayed appearance where the stem breaks.
Sclerotinia blight can cause rapid death in young echinacea plants when it attacks crowns.
Leaves become brown, dry and brittle. Sclerotinia blight causes rapid wilting of adult plants accompanied by drooping of flower heads. Advanced symptoms of sclerotinia blight causes the whole plant to collapse. Floral infection and dieback of upper stem of E. angustifolia caused by aerial spores of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum . Foliar and stem infection of E. augustifolia caused by aerial spores of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum .