Black spots on leaves - Scabiosa

JenKent

I have two scabiosa in pots.  I planted them last year.  One ended up with powdery mildew.  I cut it right back and both pots have spent the winter in a plastic cloche.  The plant that had powdery mildew is a looking a bit sad - although it has sprouted new growth.  The other is looking greener, but has a few leaves with black spots. I have started to feed them and put them in a sunny spot. Is black spot and powdery mildew the end of the road for these plants or will they survive another year in their pots?

Fairygirl

Why were they in a cloche? Scabious are mostly very hardy plants. What variety are they?
Powdery mildew is usually because of dry conditions, and/or bad airflow.
Feeding a struggling plant is a bad idea too. They can't process that. 

JenKent

I put them away for the winter - along with all my potted plants; including patio roses, fuchsias, and hosta.  I wanted to make sure none of them were affected by frost. I don't know what variety the scabious are, save to say they are pale mauve.  It had powdery mildew before I put away at the end of autumn last year.  It had stood on the decking in morning sun and afternoon shade.  However, I'm glad to say that my patio roses are looking fantastic, the hostas are healthier than I've ever seen them and the fuchsias are going great guns.  I also rescued fuchsias from my hanging baskets last year and potted them up and put them in the cloche.  They've survived and I now have 4 free, healthy plants to put in pots again. So the only problem plants after overwintering are the scabious.