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White powder of death?

BioZest

zesty.
Umm...so yeah I saw some white powdery looking splotches on all of the plant in my mini bog. Is it fungus? What should I do? I'll post pics soon.
 
It's a type of mold. It could be bad, or it could not be bad. If your plants don't look like they're showing any reaction to it, i.e. no collapsing or wilted leaves, then it should be okay. The mold only eats dead stuff, and it shows your plants have some dead tissue and that it's surviving off of it. If your plants look bad, grow them as well as you can, but keep an eye on them.
 
Can't tell without pictures but it sounds like mealy bugs... Look up "mealy bug" on Google Images if you don't know what they look like.
 
sounds more like powdery mildew to me.. but tough to say for sure without pics.
Treat with a Bonide SULFUR based fungicide. Avoid the Bonide Copper based fungicides.. I learned the hard way that that stuff kills plants faster than the mildew.
 
It's a type of mold. It could be bad, or it could not be bad. If your plants don't look like they're showing any reaction to it, i.e. no collapsing or wilted leaves, then it should be okay. The mold only eats dead stuff, and it shows your plants have some dead tissue and that it's surviving off of it. If your plants look bad, grow them as well as you can, but keep an eye on them.

The plant seems to be growing normaly, but it is just coming out of dormancy, so there s definitely some dead tissue. Pics coming ASAP.
 
It's a type of mold. It could be bad, or it could not be bad. If your plants don't look like they're showing any reaction to it, i.e. no collapsing or wilted leaves, then it should be okay. The mold only eats dead stuff, and it shows your plants have some dead tissue and that it's surviving off of it. If your plants look bad, grow them as well as you can, but keep an eye on them.
Can't tell without pictures but it sounds like mealy bugs... Look up "mealy bug" on Google Images if you don't know what they look like.
sounds more like powdery mildew to me.. but tough to say for sure without pics.
Treat with a Bonide SULFUR based fungicide. Avoid the Bonide Copper based fungicides.. I learned the hard way that that stuff kills plants faster than the mildew.

Is the white stuff like a thin film over the leaves, or is it like white floaty cotton candy? If it's like white floaty cotton candy, i.e. like loose strands of a cobweb, then it's probably mealy bugs. If it's just a thin film on the leaves, it's either the mold or powdery mildew. The former should exist only on dead tissue.
 
OK I went out and took some pics five minutes ago.

DSC00967_zpsbccbffb0.jpg


DSC00968_zpsb0f03392.jpg


DSC00970_zps094c3757.jpg


to an untrained eye it would look a bit like pollen. it's not really filmy...its more like cotton candy if i had to choose one. Its mostly on live tissue though. diagnosis?

edit* is it possible that it is pollen? I took another look, and the specks seem to be all over the plants and the medium.
 
Definitely NOT powdery mildew.. Don't think it's mealys either.
If those specks are moving, then it's most likely aphids.
 
I don't know...they just don't really seem alive to me...
 
  • #10
Ohhh... So it's more like "white tiny specks of death." Got it. As Maiden has stated, if the specks are moving then they're probably aphids. Just because they don't look alive doesn't mean they aren't. Scale doesn't look alive. Anyhow, I think Maiden is right and that they are aphids.
 
  • #11
Trust me.. I'm no Maiden.

Definitely not scales.
 
  • #12
Those look like the exoskeleton moults from aphids. Many times that's all you see of the aphid are the cast off skins. Get a 20x magnifier and take a closer look.
 
  • #13
ok. It looks like its been determined that the pests are aphids. What do you guys find most effective when treating your plants for them?
 
  • #15
I am with NaN, looks like aphid skins. By the time I see these specks or plant damage from the aphids, they have moved on (they like the tender new shoots). Neem Oil or Bayer systemic insecticide should work.
 
  • #16
I am with NaN, looks like aphid skins. By the time I see these specks or plant damage from the aphids, they have moved on (they like the tender new shoots). Neem Oil or Bayer systemic insecticide should work.

cool thanks I think I'll try out the neem oil.
 
  • #17
no those are not aphids, i have aphids every year and they end up to be very visible to the naked eye not very small specks of fungus looking stuff. They looks more like mealys to me, i have the same thing right now and they usually are followed with the same web looking strands but ya those dont look like aphids to me. Currently neem oil has not worked for me, granted i used bon-neem and its about 2 or so years old but i did go to my local plant place and got an organic pesticide which i hope will work. I could be completely wrong and these may be a species of aphid but all the ones i have seen look different then these
 
  • #19
ya if it gets bad enough, so far i have only had one cotton candy/ fungus looking cluster on one or 2 plants but any fine thread i see that i know is not from a spider i take off and spray them down with neem. we got hit with aphids this past winter, goes to show how warm it was in MD this year but i havent had the normal outbreak like i always do so i couldnt go out and do a photo hummm i wish i had a better idea of what they may be, i do know that the juvenile aphid does have a similar looking exo shed to the look of mealys
 
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