Assuming they told you aphids are the culprit. But did they tell you that the stuff you spray that kills the aphids will also kill any of the beneficial bugs who's role is to rid plants of these pests? And that it will likely kill any butterfly caterpillars that might get sprayed? My Gardenia gets this on it sometimes and I've never sprayed anything. What I did do was to rinse (with "jet" setting on spray nozzle) the mold and aphids off the plant a few times within a week, added a little new mulch, prune some of the extraneous growth at the bottom and in the middle for better air circulation, and gave it a weak dose of fertilizer. The improvement was vast and rapid. A healthy plant is less likely to suffer markedly from pest attacks. Aphids and mold are also seasonal. Unless you think your plant is in mortal danger from the combination of aphids and mold, which is possible but not likely, it will go away on its' own, even if you don't spray or rinse anything. From what I've read (and seen,) the mold doesn't do any harm to the plants except to block the light they need for photosynthesis and can be washed off of some leaves with water. Obviously you'd rather spray some stuff rather than lose an expensive tree, not any disagreement on that. Can you show a pic of the whole thing? If you decide spraying is necessary, or would like to try blasting them off with the hose first, know that the aphids are on the bottom of the leaves, and clustered around the growth tips.

Some of the older leaves will get black spots that I was told one time were "sugar spots" and won't harm the plant but these almost look like something might be eating on your leaves. On the back of the leaves does it look like bite marks. If so, you may need to spray your plants with an insecticide or neem oil. If you do a search you can find some of the older threads regarding different insecticides. Also if the bottom leaves are the ones that are yellowing, that is normal for this time of the year. Some of my plants are starting to loose their leaves preparing to go dormant for the winter. Hope this helps. Joan

Jennifer —-(Spraying with Neem Oil and or and other mixtures to eradicate the insects organically could still harm those beneficial insects. Some people will just let those pest stay on the tree because they dont want to harm them. Its a difficlt choice to make for some and you need to understand that some bad infestations that might get out of hand and could cause your trees to become weak and allow other diseses to slowly kill your tree. i always try and let Mother Nature work on the right balance of the pest verses the beneficial insets to keep everything in check. But sometimes i will have to step in and use more than organic to combact the problem. its up to you to decide what is best for your tree. Laura Even those that eat leaves ___ Katydids 🌺

They are probably going through a little shock because of the change of light. Continue what you normally do and they will bounce back. Place them back into filtered light for a few days and then back into the same area as you normally have them. They need to reacclimate again. Those leaves will fall off, but it's ok. My trees are having the normal yellowing of leaves due to the change in temps.. so I wouldn't worry.. make sure you water and let them dry out as you normally would. ( wet/ dry) cycle. They will be fine.. Laura