Holes in leaves, no sign of pests.
I check my plants regularly for bugs, iv checked so many times and I can’t see anything but if noticed some new leaves are growing with holes in them. Does anyone know why this is happening? Could it be getting too cold? Thank you
4ft to light, direct
4” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 year ago
6
@TexanExpat helped me with this, some of my plants had something similar, that it was probably a fungus. He had lots of info on how to try to save it too! Hopefully this helps!
I'm not quite sure what might cause this. The first pic with the small holes just look like some sort of physical damage. The second and third pic looks like some kind of deformation in the leaves. It could be pests as you have already looked for, but maybe some kind of virus or bacteria migh cause it? I have some deformed leaves on my silver pothos too that I don't now why, environmental changes maybe.
@SlickJerseytea Cold often makes the plants more susceptible to infections. I had a caothic moment myself when the weather suddenly changed here from quite warm and wet, to ice cold and dry. I ran all over the place to get the plants out of the drafts 😂
@SlickJerseytea I am actually having this very same issue in some of my plants now too, although occasionally it is a small hole but usually it’s not such a uniform shape. This may mean that it’s a separate problem, but here are some possibilities: I like to conceptualize emerging growth as part of a “pipeline”. Often the entire shape of the leaf, fenestrstions all are grown within (for a philodendron tbe cataphyl (that sheath” before the leaf beams out. When there are interruptions in the production line, be it hydration or nutrients, this can result in irregularities in the leaves. Proper watering technique, which I will include my notes on by separate post is one remedy. It ensures that the substrate is evenly hydrated and consistent throughout. This helps prevent soil comparison and overall ensures all the roots get access to water and nutrients. Nutrients is more complicated but if you using a fertilizer that is complete (most are not even very good ones) as part of your regular routine you can supplant with the set of vitamins that are sold for that purpose. I don’t recall what the specific “label” is but they are marked for the purpose that sometimes this set of nutrients gets depleted but not often provided. Some people know how to identify specify nutrient deficiencies but I’m not there yet.
@TexanExpat thank you, unfortunately It was infested! I’m not sure if they caused the holes though. Sadly I had to throw away the plant along with some others. I’m so sad about it but they was heavily infested with thrips! I thought I was checking them properly.. I literally only saw one flying around by chance. Soon after deeper inspection with a magnifying glass I saw there was a whole city of them. This was a recent plant I bought off someone and I’m gutted that this has happened because it’s put me off buying them from people and now I’m so scared the rest of my other plants have them. I couldn’t believe how small they are, nearly impossible to see with a standard magnifying glass 🔎 . Thank you for the helpful advice.
