February 8, 2010
The Evidence Of Plant Damaged Or Facing Trouble
The first evidence that a plant is damaged or facing some kind of trouble, generally shows visually as some type of discolorations, subpar growth and or malformation. For each symptom that shows up there are any number of causes and a varieties of suggested cultural or physiological, insect, or disease causes.
Leaves drop - May be winter dormancy, sudden temperature change, transplanting shock, insufficient light, too much soil moisture, injury from leaking gas.
Leaves disappear, chewed away Possible insects: beetle, caterpillar, sawfly.
Leaves skeletonized Look for beetle, leaf miner, sawfly, rose slug, webworm.
Leaves chewed on the edge or filled with holes Beetle, weevil, some worms, slug.
Leaves dusty with fine webs Red spider or other mite.
Leaf underside speckled with shells They look like fern spores. Probably scale of some kind.
Plant wilts Cultural cause may be: container too large, soil too wet, poor drainage, humidity too high, soil too light and sandy, too little or too much water. Among insects, check: ant, root-knot nematode, earthworm in soil of potted plants. Possible diseases: club root, crown rot, wilt.
Plant sickly, stunted Possibly insects like borer, leaf hopper, cyclamen or red spider mite, root-knot nematode.
Plant dies gradually May be overfertilized, or soil too acid or alkaline.
Plant suddenly collapses, topples over Could be beetle or crown rot.
Plant dies during winter May not be hardy in your climate, or in its location. Also, possibly insufficient water in late fall, or lack of winter protection.
Roots lumpy, mottled, distorted Insects like root-knot nematode, diseases like club root.
Roots nibbled at or eaten off Snail, slug, roach.
Roots rotted Bacterial rot, or cultural causes like: container too large, soil too constantly wet, poor drainage, soil too heavy or has too much humus, overwatering.
Seedling problems When seeds don’t germinate, cause is sometimes wireworms eating them first. Or the seeds and soil may not have been kept moist, seeds may have been planted too deep. When seedlings topple over, it’s usually damp-off, may be action of cutworm. When they’re partially or completely chewed off, look for slugs, snails, pillbug or sowbug, millipedes.
Stems dwarfed, branch repeatedly May be injury from leaking gas.
Stems swollen, cracked Stem nematode.
Stems moldy, rotted Botrytis blight, bacterial rot, blackleg; or, overwatering.
Stems too long and stringy Can be caused by insufficient light, or too-high temperature. Weak stems indicate a need for nitrogen; soft, limp stems may need phosphorus, potash.
Tip growth stunted, distorted Look for insects like aphid, mite; diseases like bacterial blight, powdery mildew.
Tip growth wilts, dies back May indicate presence of borer, tarnished plant bug; diseases like dieback or stem rot.
Tip twigs and leaves webbed together Usually caused by bag, web, or bud worms.
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