Indoor Plant

13 years ago

I got this pretty indoor plant little over a year ago. The plant was doing well till a few weeks back when I noticed some white powdery substance on the leaves and the stem. I bought the Garden Safe Fungicide which I have sprayed once every week during the last 3 weeks. I also left the plant out in the sun for a few days to see if that helps. I now find that the leaves have started to brown a lot. Please see the attached image.

Would love some help on what I can do to save the plant. I don't know a lot but would hate to lose this lovely plant.

Thank you so much!

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Comments (5)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
The leaves are badly sunburned. Plants cannot tolerate direct sunlight unless they are completely used to it. Even a very short time in the sunlight can do the damage, let alone 'a few days'.

Is this 'white powdery substance' still on the plant? If so, is there any way you could take a good (close-up) picture of the problem? In other words, are you certain that it is a fungus?
bitmeh
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for replying. It was actually raining (not sunny or very little sun) when I left the plant out. Can that also cause burns?

Yes, the white substance is still on the plant. It is like specks of chalk powder. There isn't a lot but I would see 7-8 specks on every leaf. The stem has these specks as well. The top branch actually became really brittle and broke off yesterday while I was plucking out a leaf.

I can't add any more snaps to this thread I think but the white specks have caused yellow spots on some of the leaves. If you can share our email id, I will mail the snaps to you.

I am not sure it is fungus because powdery mildew is supposed to look quite different (as per some sites that I read). I have applied some fungicide but I don't think that is the right one.

Please do let me know what you think I should do.

Thanks again!
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taz6122
13 years ago
bitmeh send personal info via email from GW member page (My Page). It's not good to post email addys here because a spammer may get a hold of it.
Yes plants can get sunburned even on overcast days if not acclimated.
I'm also wondering if these spots could be mealybug or scale. Pics sure would help. If you would like to get or have a photobucket account upload pics there then just copy the HTML code from under your picture and paste it in your follow-up message here.
bitmeh
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you, taz6122. The white comma (,) like specks are neither attached to the plant nor do they move. So, I am not sure that they are bugs but you would know better. I had no clue that sunburn can be so bad. Lesson learnt!

Here are the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9IMCwpAHTSPgSywlLlfO_GU-iv2rCz9H_NO1jIHlo9U?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CGrZqfkyzFrO3W35ea2HsWU-iv2rCz9H_NO1jIHlo9U?feat=directlink

Please let me know if you need any other information.

Thank you for your help!
bitmeh
Original Author
13 years ago
My plant is a Dracaena Lemon Lime. (Visible here http://www.fantasticgardensaruba.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=16)