Ongoing weirdness..

11 years ago

I've posted about this in years' past and it continues to be a problem, for the same (and only) plant. It's my subquintuplinervis, which I got from Ted Green as a cutting in 2008. It's always had this flaky brown stuff that forms on the leaves. It's been suggested it might be a fungus of some sort, but it's dry, on the surface only, it doesn't get any worse in summer when it's hot and humid. I wash it off using soap and a soft toothbrush - it forms on the leaves as well as the stems. It does not seem to affect the growth or leave any markings at all. When I get it all washed off, the plant looks quite nice, but then a few months later, it's got the brown flaky stuff building up again. It tends to be a bit heavier on the undersides of the leaves. I've kept it in full sun, which is supposed to naturally kill fungus. I've tried cleaning it up then drenching it with almost full-strength rubbing alcohol. Nothing I've done so far seems to stop it. What do you think of some Desinex spray, which is an anti-fungal? Someone suggested that to me years ago when I had fungus on a succulent, so I have some around here SOMEwhere...

Anyway, I just made some cuttings, hoping to clean them up and have starts that don't get the flaky stuff. I'm thinking of soaking them in water with some vinegar or hydrogen peroxide before planting them, but I was wondering what you guys think. And if either of these seem like a good idea, how concentrated would you make the soak?

Denise in Omaha

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Comments (3)

pirate_girl
11 years ago
Hiya Denise,

Just me here but I'd sooner go w/ cinnamon (which I recently read can also be used to make a paste, apply & then let dry). At least I know that won't hurt the plant (never tried the Desinex).

You've got me thinking, my Hydro kerrii, that's about to bloom has some weird brown stuff on an older leaf, maybe I'll try cinnamon paste. I think I even took some pix of the weird brown stuff (but felt embarrassed to post it), I'll look for them.
mdahms1979
11 years ago
If this is a fungal infection you would need a systemic fungicide. Cinnamon is good for topical infections but this is much more widespread. It is very likely that the brown flaky deposits contain fungal spores so it is possible to spread if contact is made with a freshly cut any surface etc.

Do a search for fungal rust and see if any of the symptoms look similar to what you see on your plant. Many rusts attach specific plant families (rose, apple, pear). The rusts may not look exactly the same bevayse they will be different species. I am unsure if there is a rust that affects Asclepidaceae or Apocyanaceae specifically.

Mike
cena60
11 years ago
Denise & Karen,
How very odd! Wished I had some idea, but zip, nada, dew dah. Wish that I could say I would follow along to see how it goes. My 'other' business is doing well, and my career is zipping right along.

Hoyas, garden and follow up, not so much. Would LOVE to see the pix!