What Is Wrong With My Heavenly Bamboo?

Are the leaves mottled with high-intensity red color?

Are the leaves yellow and dry, drooping from the plant?

Do the leaves have white, cottony clusters on them?

Are the leaves yellow and the plant looks weakened?

Is there a black, sticky residue on the plant, small, white, cottony insects are present?

Mottled leaves are caused by Mosaic Virus (Cucumber mosaic virus or Plantago asiatica mosaic virus). There is no cure for infected plants. Remove and destroy all plants that have the symptoms of the mosaic virus. Mosaic virus is spread by aphids, so the best way of preventing the disease is to control these insects.

Oleander leaf scorch, mostly seen in California, is caused by a bacteria - Xylella fastidiosa. Bacteria are spread by the insect glassy-winged sharpshooter, which causes the yellowing and drying of the leaves. Leaf scorch disease causes leaves to begin turning yellow from the outside edges toward the middle. Unfortunately, there is no cure for oleander leaf scorch and glassy-winged sharpshooters are hard to control.

White, cottony clusters on leaves are caused by mealybugs. These tiny insects are covered with a fluffy white coating. They feed by sucking plants sap. They produce the sticky substance honeydew which makes leaves sticky. You can control them by washing them off the plant with water spray. Insecticidal soap should be used with severe infestations.

Yellow leaves and stunted look are caused by whiteflies. These tiny, mothlike flies and their larvae feed by sucking plant juices. Whiteflies secrete honeydew, a sugary substance that makes leaves sticky to the touch. Control whiteflies by eliminating garden weeds and by introducing green lacewings in the garden. Spray infested plants with insecticidal soap every 3 days for 2 weeks.

Cottony cushion scales leave a black, sticky residue behind after feeding. Cottony cushion scale damages a tree by sucking sap from the leaves, twigs, branches, and trunk. Infestations can cause a tree to become defoliated and cause dieback of the tree. Scrape off minor infestations with your fingernail. Control scales by spraying insecticidal oil during the growing season.

Mineral deficiencies can cause tip chlorosis or necrosis or cause foliage to discolor, fade, distort, or become spotted, sometimes in a characteristic pattern that can be recognized to identify the cause. When nutrient deficiencies occur, nitrogen and iron are the most commonly seen deficiencies. Apply only the mineral found to be deficient. Excess nutrients, on the other hand, causes symptoms like leaf tip dieback, marginal leaf chlorosis, necrosis (or burn), branch dieback, and pest problems. In this case, you should provide good drainage, and use good practices during fertilization and irrigation.