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What's causing these reddish brown edges on my spider plant leaves?

2 years ago

Concerned about my spider plant after noticing reddish brown lesions forming along the tips & edges of leaves! Have been dealing with a horrible, stubborn fungal infection in several other houseplants, as well as rust on my outdoor plants :( so wondering if either of those diseases have spread to my spider?

What I have tried already:

- 3% Hydrogen peroxide root soak, (2 tablespoons per quart water)

- 3% Hydrogen peroxide spray (1/4 cup per quart water)

- Neem oil spray (1 teaspoon per quart water)

- Removing dead leaves at base of plant and any leaves that develop lesions on them

Was going to try the Cornell formula next (baking soda, insecticidal soap, horticultural oil spray). My only other thought is that since I have thrown a LOT at my houseplant plants this past month trying to prevent the spread of the fungal infection I mentioned above, maybe these lesions are damage caused by the various fungicides themselves? Similar to fertilizer burn?

The plant had been very healthy up until this point, growing quickly and putting out babies. Northeast facing window, pot has drainage, plenty of perlite and some peat moss in the spoil, have been watering once a week this summer.

I would be so grateful for any help and advice!! I love my plant babies and watching them get slammed with various ailments this summer after years of being happy and healthy has been absolutely devastating :(

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Comments (3)

sw_gardener
2 years ago
How long have you had this plant?

While I can't for certain say it's not an infection of some sort, in my personal experience most foliage related issues on Spiderplants are water related, excess fertilizer or buildup of salts in the soil. Chemicals from tap water is usually number 1.

After switching to rain water most of the foliage related issues in my plants have gone away.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
imo.. this is normal for a spidey ...... and no treatment at all was needed ... and i wonder if you didnt do further harm by loving you plants to their detriment ...

how many months did you wait between the various treatments?? ... i hope you do understand.. that however you treat a plant.. the leaves arent going to recover and look pretty again ... so i wonder IF there was a problem.. you didnt solve it with the first application ... and all the ensuing treatments were of little use???

ken
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
In the sense that all reactions of plants to their environment are normal (because plants are reactive organisms), the issues Liewellyn outlines are not normal to healthy plants.

Liewellyn - Please provide images of the fungaluglies you and your other plants are battling. It might provide valuable incite insofar as what might be occurring.

I advise you to stop the shotgun approach of using a variety of home remedies to cure as yet an unknown issue. The H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) has a free O- radical that immediately tries to pair with another electron and immediately attack the nearest organic molecule. Depending on what type of neem product you're using, the vehicles (liquid in which the neem oil is dissolved or suspended) used are very often phytotoxic to many plants. It's best to use only pure, cold-pressed neem oil on plants. Skip the hort oil. Its primary targets are insects in varying stages of development (which can be disease vectors) and it can help to limit spreading of fungal infections by immobilizing fungal spores; still, it's not as effective as a fungicide. Removing affected leaves is a good move, providing they ARE actually suffering from a fungal attack. Baking soda has as high Na (sodium) content. While a minute amount of Na is essential to normal growth, it quickly becomes toxic at higher dosages. It washes off the plant and is absorbed via the root pathway, or can be absorbed via foliar entry points.

What are you using for a grow medium? By what metric do you decide when it's time to water? Are you using fertilizer regularly? If yes, using what, and what are the NPK %s? Have you used any household cleaning products (like dishsoap et al) in any of the attempts to help your plants? Are the issues limited to older leaves or all leaves affected?

Al

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