sticky leaves – Xtremehorticulture

African Sumac With Curled Leaves

Q. New growth on my African sumac has curled leaves and it looks like aphids or something is attacking them. I thought sumacs were desert trees and didn’t a have a lot of issues so I’m surprised by this development. A. African sumac does get aphid problems. Aphids are more of a problem during cool weather and the problem usually disappears with the heat. But aphids will hang around during the heat and cause problems as well. A good indicator of aphids is the presence of ants. If the aphid problem is bad enough you may see leaf yellowing and leaf drop, sticky or glossy leaf surfaces. The stickiness is aphid excrement which is sugary and attracts the ants. Soap and water sprays will get them under control if applied every few days. Soapy sprays do not hang around very long. Or you can use a systemic insecticide applied to the soil around the base of the tree and watered in. The poison moves up the tree to the leaves and poisons the aphids. This may be safer to use and more environmentally friendly than spraying the entire tree with a pesticide. Remember that African sumac is a very messy tree with lots of leaf drop. If you don’t want a mess, you might not want African sumac.

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Watch for Aphids This Time of Year

Leave a Comment / dripping sap, how to control aphids. plant lice, leaf curling, sticky leaves / xtremehorticulture

This time of year is a busy time for home horticulturists. Now that we have finished fertilizing landscape and fruit trees and increased irrigations as temperatures warm, we turn to pest problems. Curling of leaf edges on plants like plum is a pretty positive sign of aphids this time of year. Spring growth attracts overwintering insects. Soft, succulent new growth is easy to feed on. Insects like aphids move to new spring growth to feed and have their young. Expect aphids to begin feeding and multiplying on the undersides of leaves now and through cool weather. Aphids like to spend the winter on weeds close to the ground, particularly just below loose mulch. This protects them from cold and still allows them to feed through the winter. They leave weeds and migrate to spring growth when temperatures warm. If your landscape is a healthy one, you will see an explosion of ladybird beetles or ladybugs and green lacewings. The young of these insects are voracious feeders upon small, soft-bodied insects like aphids. These adult predators lay eggs in areas where their young can easily feed. Signs that aphids are present and feeding are the curled edges of new leaf growth. However, what might attract your attention more are ants. When the leaf is turned over and the leaf edge uncurled you will see adult aphids and their young feeding. Their feeding creates a sugary sap that ants relish. Aphids prefer the undersides of leaves like on this apricot leaf. This gives them more protection. If you are planning to spray, you must spray the undersides of leaves, not just the tops. Soap and water sprays directed on them and spaced several days apart are usually enough to control aphids. Most people will spray the top sides of the leaves to control insects. But when aphids are inside the curls on the underside of the leaf, they can be a challenge to control with just soap and water. If you an adherent to organic methods of pest control then multiple sprays directed toward the tops and bottoms of leaves will be necessary. Most organic methods do not persist. Multiple applications may be needed a few days apart for good control.

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What to do When Your Indoor Palm Has Sticky Leaves

Leave a Comment / palms, scale insects, sticky leaves / xtremehorticulture

Q. My indoor palm plant has developed a sticky-looking, shiny appearance on the leaves. Also, small, 1/16″ brown spots/bumps on the leaves and stems. What is this? Scale on palm leaf but unfortunately the plant also has spider mites judging from the yellow speckled appearance of the leaf A. This is probably one of the scale insects. It is living under this brown bump and sucking plant juices while totally protected by this bump or shell they build on top of themselves. This brown bump is what keeps them alive when pesticides are sprayed on the plant. BUT they are susceptible to poisons or insecticides that are taken up into the juices INSIDE the plant. So, systemic insecticides, those that are applied to the soil or sometimes sprayed on the leaves and taken up through the leaves, can be quite effective on these protected insects. Since it is a palm and you are not eating anything from it you can use these types of poisons on these plants. You will have to try to find one at a nursery or garden center that carries a systemic insecticide that has a label specifically for houseplants and controlling scale insects. The shiny stuff on the leaves is sticky since this is the sugary excrement of these scale insects falling on the leaves. Frequently it attracts ants.

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