from experience with soil borne pathogens i would say excess water. once they get going they will take advantage of any slight opening to enter the plant and do their dirty work. i would pull out all the affected ones, expose the soil and let the uv help you out.

I know this area has nematodes, but I'm not sure that would cause this problem, especially just hitting a plant here and there. Hard to tell how this got started, except for the rain, but it will be interesting to see the entire plant and what is going on below the soil.

I was thinking about pulling up all plants that are affected, looking at the roots and letting them dry out on my lanai - if they look like it may be worth it. I'll see if they can rebound in a pot (have my doubts if rot is present) and I'll pitch those looking quite bad, of course.

Thanks!

Crenda- It could be a number of things factoring into your situation.

I use your picture to illustrate my concerns.

I hope i'm wrong. But just be cautious and investigate further.

The blue area could be suspect also for mealy. However I know these plants

have a powdery residue especially the in between the leaves and closer to the root area as well. Which, makes it harder to detect mealy bug residue. The only way i've been able to tell for sure is to take some on my finger and feel it. If it's smooth and silky i'd be safe to say it's the plants' own natural powdery coating. If it's not and it's something sticky, that seperates or has a slight crunchy feel, then it's something else.

Could you possibly get a closer shot of the affected areas?

Here's a link on CactiGuide, a great resource about these afflictions. I hope it can be of help.

Pests of Cacti & Succulents

I think we have a winner, Neil. The powdery looking stuff near the stem is indeed farina. BUT I do believe we have scale!

This is on the back (shady) side of the leaves, where I would not see it easily. And it does scrape off easily with my fingernail. Drat!! The stem on this one still looks green, like the damage hasn't gone too far.

So what is the best way to treat these plants for scale? I have a LOT of plants out there and I don't feel like waiting to see how it goes. I am not opposed to using a systemic. Which would y'all recommend? Bayer 3-in-1? With about 6 plants croaking right now, I think I should jump on it before every plant is infected.

Suggestions?

I agree with Neil. What he circled in blue was the first thing I noticed - looks exactly like baby mealies.

Edit: Looks like you found the buggers! Maybe this link will help?

Oftentimes when a succulent is overwatered to the point of stress not necessarily rotting, it will fall prey to mealies or scale.

When i had my last scale/mealy infestation Andy recommended Bayer Tree & Shrub. I've had no re-occurrence with any of my plants that i treated with it.

Your plants are in ground so follow the directions for that. But if you choose to water manually, use 2 tablespoons per every 1 gallon of water.

**important** if it is supposed to rain soon**** hold off until the rain has passed. Using it before then..the rain would wash it away and your plants would not be able to abosrb it.

**also** plants that are usually dormant do not ..or absorb very little water so you may have to keep that in mind.

I was told to use this only twice a year...a third time if necessary. I did the first treatment in early spring and i'm about to do the 2nd one at the end of the month.

The active toxin in the "Bayer Tree & Shrub" product is imidacloprid. You should look for that as an active ingredient should you choose to go with another product.

I'm rootin' for you Crenda!

Mayo- thanks for the link i'm sure many would find that very very informative. I will also refer to it. : )

Crenda- sorry, you asked about the coloring? my young kalanchoe plants..new growth is usually green. yellowish, reddish/orange depending on sun exposure as i'm sure you know : )

Thank you everyone! The links are great and I appreciate the advice. I have both Bayer 3-n-1 and Tree and Shrub, so I can tackle this tomorrow.

I have noticed that the powdery farina cakes up around the bottom of these stems where leaves attach during our rainy season. It looks like mealies - and may be hiding some, too!

Neil - my plants are usually a nice green during the wet summer. They turn a nice red after the rains abate. These plants are no doubt stressed while trying to cope with the water this year. That's probably why they look a little paler than usual this summer. And I haven't really fertilized since I usually do so when watering.

My eye doctor asked if I needed computer glasses. I'm going to tell him that I need gardening glasses, maybe with a jewelers' loop, so I can see the pests! LOL

LOL Crenda, you better not dare tell him something like that! He may "certify" you for more than just glasses, lol.

Just thought I would let everyone know that after treating with Bayer Tree and Shrub, used as a drench, everyone rebounded and are healthy again. Now they are putting on their winter show of color!

And a view of some others from the front -

I think I will start taking close up pictures of any ailing plants so I can blow them up on the computer. THEN I can see what pests are bugging me!

Thanks everyone!

Yayy! So glad all of yours are flourishing again! I keep getting one thing or another, and it's really confusing actually diagnosing which pest do what, because they all seem very similar . Anyway while studying more about the sago in front of our house, and realizing it seems to be common in fl, I happened upon a guy that use to post on houzz garden web, and he used coffee grounds from Starbucks to treat. Do you or anyone else know more about the subject, if it works on succulents too, probably to good to be true...not having to pour pesticides around my home(because of my daughter) would be a pipe dream!

They look fantastic Crenda!

Well - I did a little inspection to see how my K. luciae are doing . . . and I think they're baaaack! The plants really look pretty good, so I'm glad I caught this before that changes. I'll go straight to doing a drench this time and nip it before it buds. LOL

Closeup. Looks like it is decaying from the center out.

Crenda, I'm sorry your plants are being held hostage by these nasty mystery pest. From experiences, plants become vulnerable hosts to certain detrimental pathogens like davez7anv had mentioned. Up till today, there are no explanation as how to they appear or attack plants. But studies had shown so far that they thrive in warm and damp conditions. The warmer the better, and any signs of exposed wounds are perfect entrances to take host within the plant's succulent stem and leaves. Most plants just die really quickly without much clues or signs, and also with very healthy roots systems.

Especially when your plants are grown outdoors within the ground, they are no limits to what pathogens might be lurking under.

So far the best way to combat such nasties are to feed your plants with symbiosis organisms that are allies of your plants. I personally haven't tried these yet, because most of my experiences happened during the peak of summer. I bought this after seeing the reviews and I intend to feed my plants before the warm season begin.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A8PG6RI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also experimented a little with these super organisms on my seeds, and results are not spectacular, but they really do activate some of my really difficult seeds.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GM1AULU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Anyhow, it's worth a try, it's not that expensive, and what do you have to lose? Just take it as extra fertilizers for your plants. As always, do share with us the results once you do decide to try.

Just a remark: hope you'll post results after using it...checked it on Amazon.ca - it is $36.70 (!!!!) + tax for 1oz...(that's for the Plant revolution)