A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems My desert rose has some white stuff on it...

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here...I am so glad to have found this wonderful forum!

My Desert rose has some stuff on it that doesn't "look right" to me. Here are a few pictures - I hope they're clear...if not let me know and I'll make them bigger.

Can anyone tell me what it is and how I can take care of it?

Thanks so much in advance, I hope this is fixable...

CM33414

Those pics are too small for me to see details...the fruit looks like pomegranite to me, and I'm not familiar with the name "desert rose."
Try googling "punica granatum" and see if that is what you have.
Your pics look like the plant is healthy, but can you post them larger?

Hi Dave...

It's definitely an Adenum Obessum (aka Desert rose).

Here are some bigger pictures...I hope you can tell what this is!






CM33414

Nobody?

some one will be around soo who can tell you. don't give up.

I think I would use an insecticidal soap on that. It looks a little more like webs to me than a fungal growth.

I think there's more than one thing going on. I'm guessing mealy bug, too, for the white stuff, but the dark blotches look like what happens with aphids...aphids secrete honeydew, which tends to cause dark mold to form. I'm referring to pic #2. There is also what looks to me like active aphids, in pic 4, on the leaves' undersides.
I'd go with insecticidal soap or else the light oil used to give gloss to houseplants, and joclyn has a point about re-applying later. One more thing that would be very helpful would be a houseplant spray with Pyrethrin, the Safer brand is a good choice. Any of the mentioned treatments stands a good chance of working, at least to knock the numbers way down, and the second or successive treaments could be any one of the mentioned treatments.

I am so glad you guys are willing to help me!

I will read all your replies more carefully later - but first I wanted to update the photos, see if these are any clearer as far as showing you what's going on.






Did I say THANKS already?

CM

OK - I did the q-tip with the r-a...that was hard work! Every time I though I got all the leaves, I would turn a leaf around and find more bugs. Yuck.

I was afraid to do the r-a on the flowers, I'm thinking the alcohol will hurt them. I'm sure that's a silly thought, since the BUGS are hurting them too...

I will go and squirt off with water now...