Tiny black specks on Ivy leaves? (NOT leaf spot)

9 years ago

Hello!

I'm hoping someone can help me identify what's wrong, if anything, with my beloved English ivy plant.

This week I noticed what I at first thought was specks of soil on the underside of the leaves, but on closer inspection, it's little tiny...specks, for lack of a better word. The leaves look otherwise healthy, except for one or two that have turned silvery-speckled.

I've done Google searching but it's hard to describe these spots--they're not in the flesh of the leaf, just resting on the surface.

Could it be mold? Over Christmas, I watered the plant really well and put a plastic bag over it, and then left for three weeks. When I came back, to my horror, there was a layer of mold on the surface of the soil and lots of dead leaves on top. I removed all the leaves, scraped away the top layer of soil, and let the plant dry out really well before watering. The soil no longer looks or smells moldy, but could these black spots be..spores or something?

Thanks so much for reading! I would love to keep this plant healthy.

Featured Answer

User

9 years ago

Could it be some kind of mite? It looks suspicious... One thing you could do is stick it in the shower and give it a lukewarm shower to knock off all those unidentified specks! The whitish leaves remind me of sun burn, or spider mites... but I'm not positive.

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Comments (15)

jujujojo_gw
9 years ago
I think those are soil.
vgetahun thanked jujujojo_gw
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
9 years ago
The leaf looks to be riddled with spider mite. You mention the black specks but there are also all those pale patches. It's not a happy Hedera.
vgetahun thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
tlbean2004
9 years ago
Those are spider mites!!! They love ivy's. Spray the plant with neem oil every couple of weeks.

Otherwise they will kill the leaves.

I have lost 3 ivys to them because i did not know what it was. Take action immediately!
vgetahun thanked tlbean2004
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years ago
You know, I just don't see anything that looks like spider mites or their damage. Can we see one of those terrific images of the UNDERSIDE of one of these leaves? It can even be a healthy looking leaf.....if spider mites are present, they'll be hanging around heavily on the newest foliage, typically on the underside.
vgetahun thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
vgetahun
Original Author
9 years ago
Oh my goodness! I am extremely grateful to all of you for taking a look at this. I'm including another picture of the underside of one of the tendrils. In a different light I can see pale patches on what I thought were healthier leaves. The close-up in my original post is one heavily infected leaf; the rest of the plant looks more like this:

So, neem oil for spider mites?
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years ago
Me no see spider mites.
tlbean2004
9 years ago
yes neem oil. And quick!

Especially the undersides of the leaves.
tlbean2004
9 years ago
Here is a pic of one of my favorite ivy's.

You can see the leaves are a little shiny because I spray it every couple of weeks to keep the mites at bay!
vgetahun thanked tlbean2004
User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
i would say it sure wouldnt hurt to use neem on the plant! and giving it a shower wouldnt hurt either... even if its not spider mites. better safe than sorry! i dont think its spider mites either cause they hate humidity. but its hard to know unless you pulled out a microscope! so if it was my ivy plant i would first give it a shower, and yes its tedious, but try to wash each leaf... then treat it with neem then mist it daily with nice fresh water!

best wishes!
vgetahun thanked User
Annie Gravel
7 years ago
I have the exact same problem. Did anything work for you?
jentsu926
7 years ago
I think your ivy can be saved, but it will take a little work. It looks better than my ivy plants right now. They are pretty sensitive plants indoors, and I don't think they like a lot of temperature variation from day to day. After 3 years going strong, mine have started to suffer. We've had strange fluctuations in temperature--70 degrees one day, 20 degrees with low humidity the next--outdoor plants are blooming...it's very confusing for any plant, I'm sure.

The shower recommendation, if the soil isn't too damp, is probably a good first move. I do this every time I water by gently spraying the leaves. It does take some time. Neem oil, I have not tried, only because I'm lazy. : )
vgetahun
Original Author
7 years ago
Two-year update: I took the advice of giving the plant occasional showers and spraying with neem oil, and the black specks vanished over the course of several weeks. However, the plant never really recovered from whatever shocked it - I eventually pruned it back severely, and while the leaves it has are green and healthy, they are smaller, and the overall growth of the plant has really slowed. It is still alive, though! I am so thankful for the advice on this site.
HU-686411522
3 years ago
Super late response, but in case it helps anyone, this looks like thrip damage (characterized by the silvery colour) and the black spots are thrip excrement. I am dealing with an outbreak and the moment so pretty familiar with how it looks. If you follow the damage, you can usually find the thrips.
hc mcdole
3 years ago
It looks like shotgun or artillery fungus. Very hard black nodules that adhere to almost any surface, including plastic, brick, metal, etc. Eventually it disappears but it is worrisome when you first discover it and don't know what it is or where it comes from.

PS - I gave up on growing florist ivy indoors and just let it grow outdoors where it is somewhat invasive but nothing like the plain green English ivy.

This is my newest one that I haven't put in the ground but left outdoors last winter since it didn't do well indoors the year before. I am going to let it spill over and root in the ground.