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Aloe - Bacterial Leaf Spot, Insect Nibbles, or Something Else?

User
9 years ago

Hello again everyone!

I was hoping to keep my aloe off the forum, but I think it was jealous of my other plants. Anyway, having looked through the FAQ and several (albeit not every) discussion threads on aloes I have a query I'm hoping someone may be able to help me with.

About 3 weeks ago, I noticed a brown spot on the edge of one of the leaves right at one of the teeth. Per my research, I thought it might be insect damage or bacterial leaf spot. That part of the leaf, about the width of my pinky finger, is sunken all the way across to the other side while the sections of the leave both above and below are "normal" thickness. However, the sunken part is not soft (like rot), but firm like the rest of the plant. The actual brown spot itself has not changed noticeably in size. Any thoughts on the possible cause and, if necessary, appropriate treatment?

My specific growing conditions (soil, outdoor location, watering habits, repotting history) follow the pictures.

The spot is on the leaf in the left foreground on the near side.
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Soil: 1:1:1 gritty mix with slightly too large bark (in my opinion).

Location: It stayed inside from July 2013-March 2014, but I felt more courageous this year and it is currently outdoors. At first I placed it under a large maple with 2 hours direct sunlight for 2 weeks and then moved it to the front porch with direct light from sunrise to 2 pm. It started to look excessively stressed after 1 week so I moved it beneath a tulip tree with about 4 hours direct light where it has been since and seems to be quite content.

Watering: Roughly every other day with dilute (1/4 tsp per gallon) FP 9:3:6 at every watering - less frequently results in the leaf tips curling and the leaves themselves become thinner. We have also gotten a ton of rain lately; heavy down pours the last 5 days in a row plus 2 or 3 downpours in the preceding 3-ish weeks (no supplemental watering during this time). The pot is elevated from its saucer by bottle caps to allow for sufficient drainage. Despite all the water, it looks absolutely fantastic: the leaves are bright green and nice and plump. The stem is also firm. (Brief digression for a funny story: The bottle caps did not raise the base of the pot over the rim of the saucer so I would go out and dump it in the middle of a rainstorm. This went on...longer than I care to admit...before I realized I could turn the saucer over and let it drain onto the patio table which I don't care about!)

Root observations: Purchased July 2013 from Lowes (labeled A. vera, no flowers so not 100% sure). Prior to the first watering, I repotted in 1:1:1 gritty mix in a 4 inch pot. Roots looked good (clean and yellowish-white); they were circled around but I was able to unwind them. Waited 1 week to water after transplant, and one leaf dried out. Repotted again to a 6 inch pot in March 2014 (I needed the 4 inch pot for another plant) - didn't water for 1 week, then repotted and waited 1 week to water; two leaves dried out: one completely but I cut back the second and it filled back out nicely.

Other: I have noticed some red bugs crawling on the plants. I think they are actually chiggers, not red spider mites because: (1) I can see them and (2) there aren't any webs (other than regular from spiders which have really taken to all of the plants).

Thanks for your time, knowledge, and all that other good stuff!

Nathan

Comments (5)

  • pirate_girl
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Looks like mechanical damage from here, I'd forget it.

    Sounds like a lot of water, even for gritty mix. A lot of fertilizer too (I'd suggest too much, that's why it's so fat & plump as you said). Personally, if it were mine, I'd use a smaller pot. Unless the roots are huge, it's not good to have so much empty mix (assuming that's what's under the rocks). Some succulent growers use little to no fertilizer, feeling it's both unnecessary & makes for overly lush growth. Tho' I grow indoors only, my Aloes are in West window & I only fertilize them once or twice a year, in Summer only.

    Anyway, back to the damage, it looks like maybe it was bent against the edge of the pot, or a nearby one, looks mechanical (& not spreading) to me.

    I'd only be concerned if it somehow spreads.

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the diagnosis. I hadn't thought of it just being mechanical and with the position of that particular leaf, it may very well have been from resting on the pot.

    Yes, its been very wet here lately but I think its supposed to let up for a bit now. I actually took a couple of my other succulents back inside (some cacti seedlings which were in a peat-based seed starting mix that I heavily amended with perlite).

    The rocks are actually the mix itself - that's what it looks like throughout. It is 1 part turface, 0.5 parts granite, 0.5 parts sand pebbles (same size as the granite and turface), and then the 1 part overlarge bark. Because of the size of the bark, it separated out a bit from the overall mix which is why it doesn't look homogeneous.

    Thanks again!

  • pirate_girl
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well I'm only one person, let's leave this a bit & give it some time & see what others might have to say.

    But you're welcome, hope it helps & hope others come along with ideas as well, we just need to allow some more time.

  • plantomaniac08
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    With respects to the spot on your leaf, I was going to say that it looks like some form of mechanical damage, but PG beat me to it. ;)

    If it spreads, then worry about it. If not, then it's probably nothing. The leaf will suck in like that with damage to part of it, it's just what Aloes do IMO.

    Planto

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yeah, looks like a ding. Looks good otherwise, but don't overdo it on the water. It and your others there in the picture look pretty fat with water. Mine in all day sun are lucky to get watered once a month.