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bigthicketgardens

Fungus?

bigthicketgardens
17 years ago

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Hello, these spots are showing up on my plants. Could anyone tell me what it is, and what I may do about it, and if it is a serious problem? They were growing in pots beneath a sweetgum tree.

Any and all advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

Comments (7)

  • username_5
    17 years ago

    Looks like a rust fungus. Control with neem oil sprays or try to eliminate with copper sprays like Safer brand 'Garden Fungicide'. Control with a compost tea can also be tried. The control methods are best used to prevent fungal infections on plants known to have issues in your area, but fungicides are to try and get rid of it once it occurs. Some report good control (not elimination) with milk sprayed every few days on the leaves.

    If your plant has only a small percentage of leaves affected it may be worthwhile to remove those leaves rather than treat them. Toss them in the trash or fire, not in cold compost piles.

    If you use a fungicide please be careful to not get the product on the soil as it kills good fungi with bad.

  • jean001
    17 years ago

    I seriously doubt that it's rust. Rust makes discrete small lesions.

    Looks more like an environmental issue.

    What is the affected plant? Has it been outdoors all the time? What's the weathr been like?

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    17 years ago

    Agree with Jean... doesn't look like rust at all to me, either. I've seen tissue damage precisely like that caused by herbicide drift and also from the use of homemade soaps sprays containing anti-bacterial detergents and grease-busters.

  • bigthicketgardens
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hey, yall, thanks for the responses. The plants are Mitragyna speciosa. They have been mostly outdoors, but have been indoors some, lately mainly from protection from strong wind and hail.

    I did use a homemade soap spray, with antibacteria stuff, not to long before the spots appeared.

    I was leary whenever I saw that antibacterial label on the soap, but I was getting sick of all the mealy bugs, and decided to go with it.

    So is it just this anti- bacterial stuff that will cause this ugliness or will the plain jane dish soaps do it to some plants too?

  • bigthicketgardens
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    What about the bottom two pics, how it is shiny on the top? It seems like I remember this shininess being a charateristic of some of the early stages of some fungus, but then it is not in the distinctive rings or circles.

    I am sort of leaning towards the cultural damage by the anti-bacterial dish soap at this point.

    I hope this is indeed the problem, because the solution is easy, no more anti-bacterial dish soap.

  • username_5
    17 years ago

    - So is it just this anti- bacterial stuff that will cause this ugliness or will the plain jane dish soaps do it to some plants too? -

    There are some soaps that are known to work well as insecticidal soaps and I used to use them. Not on plants though. I used them to kill box elder bugs covering one side of my home during an incredible year for their population.

    For plants I have learned not to take chances. You can buy a concentrated insecticidal soap for 5 bucks or so at a nursery and it will make many, many gallons. These are tested and tested and refined to the point where they kill the bugs quick and don't run the same risk of plant injury as the homemade method.

    Yes, you can do it homemade, but why? Spend a few bucks for a tested, refined commercial formulation one time and you are set for many years in most cases.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    17 years ago

    Username summed it up nicely. It makes little sense to use dish detergent. Even the so-called mild ones have more stuff in them than your commercial insecticidal soap will.

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