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Why Does My Lucky Bamboo Have Brown, Wrinkly Patches?

August 26, 2012 by

Ask the Expert: Bamboo rotting?

Hi! So I have been keeping my bamboo on a high shelf in good but indirect light, and feeding it bottled water/water left out for 24hrs. Today I took it down to move it and discovered two brown, wrinkly patches at the top where it curves. I couldn’t see them before, since that part was facing the wall.

My guess is that these patches died and started rotting at some point while on the shelf, but I’m surprised because in my experience when a part of a bamboo stalk starts to die, the whole thing has died within days. It’s also usually a bright yellow, not brown.

Do you have any idea what could have caused this? Is it going to keep spreading? I\’ve successfully removed the shoot from a dying bamboo plant in the past, but is it possible to remove the dead section of the stalk and have the rest of the stalk keep living?

Thanks! Renee

(P.S. Sorry for the bad photo quality. I haven’t got access to a real camera at the moment.)

Lucky Bamboo - Rooting issues & brown wrinkles Lucky Bamboo Infected with Colletotrichum dracaenophilum

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Filed Under: Lucky Bamboo, Plant Care Questions Tagged With: , ,

Help! What Is This Slime On My Peace Lily?

January 19, 2012 by

Ask The Plant Expert:

Hi, I recently read a response of yours to a comment on a blog regarding the sticky white substance, and I have the same problem with mine. I’d been away over xmas and with no one around to water the plant. All the leaves have wilted over the edge of the pot and there’s this residue. I’m currently watering it regularly to try and save it, but I don’t know what to do about this white stuff. I’ve attached a photo for you to see. -Mathew

White Residue on Peace Lily

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

What you have is plasmodial slime mold. It isn’t harmful to you or your plant. You can just let it be unless it starts to take over then you can get a fungicide from your local garden center.

To keep this mold from occurring, be sure to keep a good watering and care-taking routine for your plant. Check out this article on How To Care For A Peace Lily Plant for more information on Peace Lily Care.

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Filed Under: Peace Lily, Plant Care Questions Tagged With: , ,

What Is This White Stuff On My Azalea?

July 30, 2010 by 8 Comments

Ask the Expert: what would get the white fungus off azaleas , leaf the azalea has white on them , on the leafs is it a fungus , what can spray on them will mild soapy water work. Janet

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

First we need to determine if you really have a fungus. Is the white substance powdery and can you wipe it off. If so, you have a fungus called powdery mildew. Soapy water doesn’t work on fungus. You will need a fungicide. Your local garden center will have a general purpose fungicide that will work for well on powdery mildew.

If the white on the leaves is more of a lacy pattern on the leaf that can not be wiped away, your azalea has been attacked by an insect called lace bug. Soapy water doesn’t usually control this type of sucking insect. However, if a more organic approach is what you want – try it. If it doesn’t work, you will need an insecticide.

You have two choices when it comes to insecticide control for lace bug – topical or systemic. The topical insecticides work more quickly, but won’t protect as long. Systemic insecticides are slow acting, but longer lasting. Your local garden center will carry both of these products.

Keep in mind, the damage caused by the insects will not change. The plant will produce new leaves and they will eventually cover the damaged ones. So, it is important to keep the lace bugs from attacking these new leaves.

If you would like to read more about the lace bug on Azaleas, the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service has a great article: Azalea & Rhododendron Insect Pests

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Filed Under: Insect Identification Tagged With: , , , ,

Could Lucky Bamboo Yellowing Be Caused By Spider Mites Or A Fungus.

March 22, 2010 by 6 Comments

Ask the Expert: Lucky bamboo leaves turning yellow
Hi,

lucky-bamboo-yellow-tipyellowing-lucky-bambooI’ve had my bamboo for four years and it was doing great. I suddenly noticed a lot of yellowing on the leaves on one of them. The 2nd stalk has some yellow dots on the leaves. The 3rd one is doing fine. It is starting to spread rapidly. I have 3 stalks. The roots of all 3 are entangled. I have always had them in a glass container with water. I have never used a fertilizer and they were fine without it and were extremely healthy. I always use purified drinking water. I change the water every two weeks, clean the stalk and roots by just running water on them. Please help..I need to save them.  Aparna

Plant Expert Reply:

Since you haven’t fertilized the plant or I assume changed the location of the lucky bamboo, the top two reasons for yellowing have been eliminated — too much fertilize and too much light.

Now we have to check for attackers. The pale yellowing could be a sign of a spider mite infestation. Spider mites are very small insects that will attack the lucky bamboo. You will need a magnifying glass to see them. If your plant has spider mites, you will need to spray it with an insecticide. You local garden center nursery will be able to tell you which insecticide to use.

The spot on the leaf could be a fungus or a bacterial problem. You will first need to determine which it is. If you send me an up close picture of the spot I should be able to determine what it is and then your local garden center will be able to determine which fungicide you need.

Filed Under: Lucky Bamboo Tagged With: , , , ,

Magnolia Is Dying Why?

May 26, 2009 by

Ask the Expert: Magnolia Tree….leaves brown and dry
I live in PA.  I have a Magnolia Tree that is about 5 years old.  Last year it got a few flowers.  However, this year it looks dead.  All of the leaves are brown and hard.  We put holly tone fertilizer in the ground.  A few branches (on the lower half) of leaves turned really green after a week, but the rest still look dead and brown. The leaves were never spotted and I do not see anything growing on the trunk. Someone mentioned that there is some kind of worm that gets in the top of the tree trunk and kills the tree…is that a possibility?  If so, what is that called?  Thank you for any advice. Kelly

Plant Expert Reply:

They could be referring to scale or magnolia borers. If you had either there would be signs of it still on the tree in the form of things that looked liked raise bumps or oozing places on the stems or trunks.

Magnolias are susceptible to a few pests and diseases such as baterical leaf spot, magnolia boreres, spot anthracnose, canker, dieback, butt rot, powdery mildew, anthracnose, fungal spots, snails, weevils, scale insects, planthoppers, and thrips.

I believe in your case dieback is probably the culprit.  Dieback is cuased by a freezing injury to the plant.  This usually occurs when the winter has extreme flutuation in the winter temperatures and condition.  The tips or tops of plants usually are effect by dieback.  You will need to prune out all of the dead limbs and branches.

It could be a result of anthracnose, fungal or bacterial problems.  However, normally fungua will present themselves with discoloration on the leaves, trunk or branches.  Since you didn’t see any of these signs, dieback seems to be the isssue.

If it was insect damage, you would see evidence of the insects.  Again since there is no evidence of insects, dieback seems to be the problem.

I would take one more careful look at all parts of the tree.  If you see anything out of the ordinary, send me a picture and I will identify what it is.  In the mean time, you will still need to trim out the dead.  Cut branches back until you find live green wood.

Good luck and keep me posted.

Filed Under: Plant Care Questions Tagged With: , , , , ,
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