Powdery Mildew - Correlation, Causation or Coincidence?
I just had to put three more plants in succulent survivor isolation room. I've noticed that probably 2/3 of the sick plants were all either starting to bloom or pop out babies. Has anyone else noticed this?
#succulentsquad #succulentlove #powderymildew
#succulentsquad #succulentlove #powderymildew
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Best Answer
@Bunny413 Powdey mildew naturally darkens in it’s own. The treatment is to take a single tablespoon of baking soda and mix it well with a half-teaspoon of liquid soap. Add this mixture to a gallon or 128 ounces of water. The mixture has to be sprayed on the foliage of the Succulents that have been affected. Be cautious of drafts and the spores clinging to you. Anytime I see something suspicious, as soon as I walk away, I switch clothing to avoid accidental spread. Needless to say, k have a lot of garden attire because of it. I’ve had powdery mildew and it was light gray and turned black very quickly. I ended up plucking off the affected foliage and burning it. My plant is still alive but it lost over half of its spread. It used to be large and full (16 inches). Now it’s about 5 inches in breadth with babies coming up from the surrounding soil. I think some plants are more susceptible to this. If it darkened quickly, you definitely have PM. Try the Baking Soda and see how it goes. I chose to pluck and trim the Plant ti hurry the process But that was my choice alone. I felt I could afford to remove the affected parts to save the rest of the plant.
@Bunny413 Samantha, is it truly powdery mildew or excess farina? I just checked a few of mine and thought it was mildew. It was excess farina from lack of watering. And they were developing blooms! Do you have pics?
@AnthuriumQueen I do have one old photo. I'm pretty sure most of them are mildew because there was a discolored circle on the leaves and the leaves died off by the time I saw them. A few, I'm thinking may be paranoia. 🥴 Also, on most, when I sprayed with the hydrogen peroxide mix you suggested, the circles turned darker and kind of scarred up.
Do you have a photo of excess farina so I can recognize it?
Do you have a photo of excess farina so I can recognize it?
@Bunny413 sadly, I used a tiny brush to wipe off the excess while checking them si I don’t have images. Can you think back at anything they could have been exposed to? I’ve never seen plants react to diluted hydrogen peroxide that way. It must be something bacterial for it to darken that way….
@AnthuriumQueen I really think it may have been the soil I used when I was first starting. I used Miracle Grow succulent soil, and I also used a soil topper of polished rocks, which while pretty, I think it decreased oxygen flow through the soil, causing fluid retention, and then it just spread. 😢
@Bunny413 oh my… I think it may be a contributing factor. I am familiar with MG soil and when it comes to succulents or cacti, the bag has to be super dry. I avoid the bags that look wet or are heavy. I also aerate with volcanic stone. More stone than soil because I’m afraid of this exact thing. I’ve seen the mildew on some of the bags and when opened, they’re even worse. I have to let all soil bake outdoors before using it. And when I say bake, it’s in full sun for days. I’ve had to deal with so many issues that I’d rather do everything I can to avoid them by looking for signs. I know it’s crazy but I’ve had soil that always gave me scale issues. I got rid of the soil and never saw scale again. Sometimes, it’s just already in the soil. MG’s succ soil is a bit rich on the compost. Succulents don’t like that moisture retention, as you know. I hope they recover. 🌿
@AnthuriumQueen Do you have a preferred soil for succulents? Luckily once the first bag of MG was done, I changed to Epsoma or Hoffman organic succulent soil mixed with Bonsai Jack gritty mix.
@Bunny413 none that I can think of. I still use it but I put it through lots of sun exposure and I’m picky about when I’m out to buy it. I do think I’ll start switching to the one @SirLiquorice keeps mentioning. I haven’t needed any soil for months so I can’t remember the one he recommended. Perhaps they could direct you when they see this tag?
@SirLiquorice thanks for responding!