Some pests can cause yellow spots on the leaves.
The color of the leaves is one of the characteristics that most often catches our attention, since green generally conveys a lot of peace and calm, as if it has the ability to transport us to a forest or a meadow, for example. Whenever its of other colors, as it succeeds with infinity of cultivars, as the Colocasia ‘Black Magic’, which holds a foliage of a dark lilac precious, taught can desear adquirirlas to break a bit with the chromatic monotony that tenemos in the garden or in the patio. But, What if we see they have yellow dots on the leaves?
Well, it’s often a symptom of a problem that can be serious, especially if it was caused by parasites. But it will not always be so. Therefore, the first thing we must do is identify the cause and, from there, make the best decision for our plant to be or remain beautiful.
So what are the causes and what should we do? Since there are several, to facilitate the reading of the article, we will talk about them separately:
Contents
Natural (non-precipitated) aging of leaves
This is the cause that should worry us the least. Leaves, as living organisms, have a limited lifespan. For this reason, don’t think that just because a plant is evergreen, it won’t drop any…because it doesn’t work that way.
Depending on the type of plant, the climate and the evolution it has had, there are species that renew them every yeareither little by little over the months -like all perennial leaves-, or in parts: leaf exhaustion in summer or winter and renewal of its crown when conditions improve -like deciduous leaves-; and there are even others who renew them slowly but instead of doing it in the same year, they can do it after 3, 5 years or more -like many evergreen species that live in cold climates, such as the Pinus longaeva-.
Therefore, if there is no other symptom other than the yellow dots, you don’t have to worry as long as it loses its leaves at the right time for her. It’s important to remember this because if you do it in the spring, for example, but have to do it in the winter, then you have a problem.
Cold
Related article:
Symptoms of the common cold in plants
Plants react to the cold in different ways: some “close” their leaves, others grow little to stay closer to the ground, and others may wake up with yellow spots on their foliage. This This is something that we see, for example, in Cycas revoluta (cicas) recently acquired: whether kept in pots or planted in the ground, having been in the nursery so far and perhaps a little protected, they do not tolerate the drop in temperature well.
But this should not alarm us, at least not excessively, since in this specific case we are talking about plants that can withstand moderate frosts, down to -7ºC; and while some protection won’t hurt them when they’re young, they’ll acclimatize with no problem as they grow. With succulents or other more delicate species, such as Adenium obesum (desert rose) we’re gonna have to be more carefulbecause a gel can kill them.
harmful
Image – Flickr/Scot Nelson
Aphids, mealybugs, thrips…these and other pests, such as spider mites or whiteflies, feed on the sap of the leaves. In doing so, they damage them and, of course, the plant has a hard time. The reason is obvious: if these insects suck the sap, this part of the leaf will find it increasingly difficult to photosynthesize and breathe, so it will eventually die. If the situation worsens, in the end the whole leaf will lack food, but before that we will see yellow or discolored spots on its surface.
And, of course, what we have to do is stop these insects and eradicate the plague. For it, we will use specific insecticides, or a triple action if we see that they have two or three different pests (for example, there may be scale insects and aphids on the same plant). Of course, it is convenient to use it correctly, following the instructions that can be read on the same container.
Sunburn or direct light
Although sunburn or direct light burns leave more yellow spots than spots, I thought it worth mentioning since, in very mild cases, they might leave stitches; for example, if it is a plant that is almost completely acclimatized and at some point the sun hits it a little, it could cause minor burns.
In all cases, it is important for you to know that these yellow spots or dots will not disappear. Also, what will happen is that eventually the whole leaf will turn yellow and fall off. But if that damage is minor, it usually takes several months before that leaf is finally missing. The best, however, is to move the plant, and put it in a little shelter.
Related article:
How to Revive a Sunburned Plant
Although there are several causes of yellow leaf spots, hopefully your plants will be back to normal in no time.