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Posted By: Lausanne White Spots on my Rubber Plant - June 11th, 2005 at 07:04 AM
Hi, I have a young rubber plant, about three years old. It only ever had one leaf until this summer when I moved out of my basement apartment and into one with lots of light. It has grown three new leaves in just two months.

The problem (?) now is that some strange white spots are appearing on the leaves. They are almost cream coloured and small, maybe the size of a pencil point or a period. Those on the new growth are either flush with the leaf or slightly raised, the ones on the old leaf and the first of the new growth are slightly indented. They are on the tops of the leaves and begin near the edges and move inward as more spots appear. There are none on the undersides of the leaves, but there are a few on the lowest part of the stem. They aren't moving at all and don't wipe off, I also tried using my fingernail to see if I could scrape off one of the raised ones but this had no effect and I didn't want to harm the plant by scraping harder. There are just a few rust coloures spots on the stem as well, but not on the leaves.

I'm not sure what is going on, I haven't been growing house plants for very long, and I can't find anything on the internet that fits this description, be it bugs or colouration of different varieties. I don't think it's bugs because they don't move and can't be removed, but I could be wrong. The spots seem to be very much a part of the plant. Could this be a fungus of some kind, or some sort of cellular process? Or could it be that it's gotten too much light or water?

Any thoughts would be welcome!

Thanks!
Posted By: Anonymous Re: White Spots on my Rubber Plant - June 11th, 2005 at 06:11 PM
Hi Lausanne,

From your description, I don't think you have anything to be concerned about. They are not pests and they are not likely to be a fungal or bacterial infection. Probably just a pigment anomaly that most less-observant people would not even notice.

If you are still concerned, post or e-mail me a photo.
Posted By: Nako Re: White Spots on my Rubber Plant - June 11th, 2005 at 06:47 PM
yep i got those too on my plant ^.^ the spots on the stem are actually the starting of bark. they'll probably get a lil bigger, then crack lines will show up, the stem will get thicker, and the stem will become more rough around the older leaves ^.^

good luck with ur plant!
~Phoebe
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