Succulents mainly comprise cactuses and fleshy-leaved plants. Gardeners love these plants because they are difficult to kill. However, there might be instances where your succulents’ plants appear less healthy.
It might be because of pests and diseases, regardless of how well you water them. Pests trigger different diseases, some of which are difficult to deal with.
Learning how to deal with these diseases ensures your succulents’ plants look healthy. Succulents’ pests and diseases have different symptoms. Understanding these symptoms may help detect pests and conditions before they spread to the entire plant.
The below tips help prevent pests on your succulent collections:
- Using fertilizer during the growing season: Fertilizer makes succulents healthy and strong. This reduces the chances of your plants succumbing to pests.
- Dead leaves are one of the breeding grounds for pests and molds. Therefore, remove dead leaves that might be near your succulent garden.
- Don’t reuse dead leaves or soil from a previously used infected plant. Some eggs might have survived to infect your plants.
- Using pesticides is another popular technique for preventing pest infestation. Consider pesticides made from natural products. There are two types of pesticides to choose from, namely systematic and contact pesticides. Systematic pesticides get absorbed on the roots and poison pests when they feed on them. On the other hand, contact pesticides require physical contact to kill pests.
- Keeping your succulent plants and soil dry: Pests like gnats and mealybugs are some animals that breed in wet conditions.
Common Pests Infestations in Succulents Plants
Pest infestations are prevalent, especially if you love gardening. Therefore, don’t be shocked if pests infest your succulents, despite your gardening experience. Some pests develop resistance to pesticides, which is a common problem.
Luckily, pesticides are regularly enhanced to deal with mutating pests and diseases. Tiny pests also hide in unseen places, making it difficult to spot them. Some common pests in succulent plants include:
Mealybugs
It is considered among the most dangerous succulent pests. These pets are small in size, generally between 1/3 to 1/5 inches in length. Mealybugs appear white with both a cotton and waxy appearance if you keenly look.
This pest is common in succulent spines and veins. At times, mealybugs hide on the underside of leaves and joints. This pest sucks juices from succulent plants, hence the wrinkled and shriveled leaves.
Sometimes, the infestation can be severe, resulting in the death of the plant. Black mold is one of the common symptoms of Mealybugs infestation. You should also be on the lookout for Mold growth.
Mealybugs secrete a substance that promotes mold growth. Separate any succulent plant that displays these symptoms from the rest. Regularly inspect your plants because this pest can destroy them.
A systemic pesticide is recommended when it comes to treatment, significantly when your succulent plant is growing. However, those using contact insecticides should use high concentrations because of the protective covering on this pest.
Fungus Gnats
This pest looks like mosquitoes and usually is black. Their length can be 1/6 to 1/8 inches and mostly attack the succulent plant’s roots. Root damage slows down the growth rate of a plant or withers to death.
Soil with a lot of moisture is the breeding ground for fungus gnats. Therefore, choose only well-draining soil when planting your succulent collections. Avoid overwatering by giving soil enough time to dry out.
Use pumice to drain any excess water and also regulate moisture. In addition, cinnamon powder contains anti-fungal properties, reducing the chances of fungus gnats’ infestation. So, sprinkle some cinnamon powder where you have planted your succulent plants.
Spider mites mostly attack succulent plants because of their sweet sap. They suck juices out of plants. Additionally, their length is 1/50 inch, one of the reasons it can go undetected when it attacks plants.
Spider Mites
Watch out for Brown dots and webbing in your succulent plants. These are among the warning symptoms of spider mites infestation. Eventually, the succulent plant might turn lighter and finally white.
Quarantine your plant if you notice the above symptoms. This preventative measure ensures an infestation doesn’t spread to other plants. Cotton dipped in rubbing alcohol can remove spider mites from your plant.
Systemic pesticides are also used to prevent spider mites infestation. Place your plant away from direct light after using systemic pesticides.
Aphids
The common aphids are green in color. This pest is mainly found on the leaves or the soft tissues of succulent plants. Aphids excrete a white substance when feeding on plants, which promotes the growth of black mold.
Misshaped leaves and slow growth are the common symptoms of Aphids infestation. Systematic insecticides are recommended for severe infestation, but only during the growing season. Soapy mixture and high-pressure water are other popular ways of getting rid of aphids before spreading to the entire plant.
Scale
The scale pest mainly attacks the leaves and stems of a plant. It makes plants have wrinkled leaves because they suck out plant juices. Small brown bumps are the most common symptom of scale infestation.
Act when you see brown bumps on your plant because this plant multiplies quickly. Also, separate it from other plants so that this pest doesn’t spread. Apart from physical removal, systematic insecticide is another popular way of removing this pest from your succulent plants.
Common Disease in Succulent Plants
Like other plants, succulent plants are also prone to diseases. However, most of these diseases are unpredictable and appear when we least expect them. These diseases are divided into four main categories, namely:
Fungal Diseases
Succulents growing in humidity and cool temperatures areas are prone to fungal diseases. Black spot, Rhizoctonia rot, black spot, Anthracnose, pythium, and Epiphyllum mosaic disease are examples of fungal diseases.
Succulent plants infected with fungal diseases exhibit spots. Webbing on the soil around the infected plant is also common.
Almost nothing can be done when a plant is infected with a fungal disease. Therefore, uproot it from the soil so that it doesn’t infect other plants.
Viral Diseases
Viral infections are very popular in succulent plants. Mainly, insects spread viruses when feeding on the plant’s sap. Therefore, controlling insects that cause viral infections is the best preservative method.
Common symptoms of viral diseases are quick shoots’ growth and stunted growth. Discard any plant with viral infection since there is no remedy.
Conditions Diseases
These diseases arise due to poor care of your plants. Desiccation, etiolation, over-watering, pot-bound roots, and sunburn are examples of these conditions. Over-watering is the top condition succulent plants encounter. It causes splitting or rots.
Etiolation occurs when your succulent collections require more sunlight. In such situations, additional growth might be necessary.
Unfortunately, such growth is mostly deformed and sickly. Under-watering plants results in drying up or desiccation.
Excessive sun can also trigger sunburn in your plants. Usually, the side facing the sun turns either brown or white. Crowded roots are another common problem for succulents planted in pots.
It prevents moisture from adequately moving from roots to other parts of the plant.
Deficiencies
Just like humans, succulents also require nutrients to survive. Lack of nutrients is one of the common diseases in succulent plants. Turning yellow is one of the symptoms your plant lacks some nutrients.
Measure the soil you will use for planting to determine if there are sufficient nutrient levels.
Effective Pests and Diseases Management Tips
As earlier stated, pests and diseases may attack your plants when you least expect them. Understanding some management tips gives an idea of what to do when you notice your succulent plants are ailing. Below are proven management tips worth trying out:
- Succulent plants have different climatic requirements. Growing your plants in the right region makes them healthy. A healthy plant can easily fight off disease and pests. Therefore, understand the water requirements, sun exposure requirements, and temperature requirements of a plant. It helps determine if a plant can grow in your region or not.
- Keep the pots and containers clean. Some pests hide on dead flowers and leaves. Therefore, get rid of flowers and leaves that might be around containers.
- Always quarantine any new succulent before mixing it with your plant collection. During this time, watch out for signs of diseases or pests. Treat your plant if there are pests or diseases before setting it next to your plants.
- Using insecticides and pesticides. This is one of the recommended techniques, especially when preventing the infestation of different pesticides and insecticides.
- Regularly inspect your plants for pests or diseases symptoms. It helps detect an infestation on time before it spreads to the entire plant or your garden.
- Correctly identify the problem in case of an infestation. Always be keen on the symptoms displayed by a plant. It helps detect the correct infestation and come up with the proper treatment. ‘The right treatment controls the infestation and prevents it from occurring again. Therefore, confirm the infestation before administering any treatment on your plants.
- When it comes to deficiency diseases, choose healthy soil when planting your succulent plants. Healthy soil promotes the healthy growth of plants, which can comfortably fight off infections and pests.
Fighting Succulent Diseases and Pests
Generally, there are two common ways of fighting pests and diseases, namely chemical and biological. These methods have effectively fought off pests and diseases. Understand these two methods and choose the best.
Chemical technique
The chemical method helps fight succulent pests and diseases. However, this technique is all about administering poisonous substances to the pests. On the other hand, chemical pesticides serve to purpose, namely preventing and treating.
Overall, no one can predict pests or disease infestation. However, protection pesticides minimize the chances of your succulent plants being attacked when you least expect.
Pesticides treat different infestations. Detecting an infestation on time determines if the pesticide will be effective or not. In addition, pests and diseases require different pesticides. Therefore, proper diagnosis is essential before administering any treatment.
Pros about Chemical method
There are numerous advantages why this technique is commonly used across the globe. Below are some pros worth checking out:
- They are affordable, making it pocket-friendly to treat or protect your succulent collections.
- Pesticides are available for different pests and diseases. In short, there is a solution for different kinds of infestations.
- This technique has a positive track record. The effectiveness and stability of the chemical method are practically witnessed across the globe. Therefore, administer the right pesticide to your plants and slowly witness your plants regaining their health.
- Pesticides are effective for a long time. Hence, you don’t have to administer a pesticide to your succulent plants regularly.
Natural Method
As the name suggests, this technique uses natural methods to both prevent and treat infestations. This technique traces its origin to the 4th century. Start by setting a suitable environment for your succulent plants. This entails healthy soil, the correct water levels, enough sunlight, and nutrients.
Also, remove dry leaves or dirt that might be around your plants. This is an excellent breeding place for some pests and viruses. Finally, regularly boost the nutrient levels in your soil so that your plants can absorb different nutrients. Test your soil to determine which nutrients should be boosted. A healthy plant efficiently fights off both diseases and pests.
Another natural method is draining off excess water in the plants. Excess moisture is an invitation to pests and different diseases. When watering your succulent plants, focus on the roots, not leaves. It determines when the water is enough for your plant.
Regularly observe your plants. This natural technique helps detect infected parts of your plant. Then, use clippers to cut off infected parts in your plants and throw them away.
Soapy water is also another natural ingredient you can use to protect your succulent collections.
Pros about Natural Method
- You don’t have to worry about health hazards attributed to chemicals.
- It is always effective, especially if diseases and pests can b discovered early before spreading to the entire plant.
- At any given time, you won’t use any amount. This makes it cost-effective at any given time.
- You can easily monitor results then determine if it’s working or not.
How to Safely Use Pesticides on Your Succulent Plants
Pesticides come in different forms. Safely is paramount at all times, especially when administering to your plants. Below is a step by step guide on how to handle pesticides:
- Read the instructions on your pesticide. A lot of people ignore the instructions accompanied by a pesticide. Always read the instructions before consuming a product. You will learn how the pesticide should be used, the amounts to use, and how it should be administered, among others.
- Pay attention to the warning label. Some pesticides are harmful to plants, pets, and humans. Reading the warning label helps avoid accidents. Some pesticides are highly flammable, whereas others irritate when they come into contact with skin.
- Always measure the right amounts of pesticides. The quantities you measure determine if the pesticide will be effective or not. Low amounts might prove ineffective against pests or diseases. On the other hand, high doses might affect your plants.
- Mix only the amount you intend on using. Pesticides are reusable anytime, provided they have not expired.
- Use safety equipment, especially if you are spraying the entire plant. Some pesticides cause a lot of irritation if they come into contact with skin.
Bottom line
As you start your journey of taking care of your succulent plants, be prepared to fight off pests and diseases. Some plants might be treated, whereas others might have to be plucked or thrown away. It depends on when the condition was detected. Unfortunately, there are instances when pests and diseases spread to the entire plant, and nothing can be done.
Try your level best to keep the environment clean. It minimizes the chances of pests or viruses breading around your plants. Get rid of any dirt that might be a breeding ground for pests. This applies to succulent plants in gardens or containers.
Ensure your plants grow in the recommended conditions. Research the succulent plants that grow well in your region, and choose from the list. Water, sunlight, and the type of soil should also be kept in mind. They contribute to the healthy growth of your plants.
Don’t allow pests or diseases to spread before you take action. Separate the infected plant from other plants. Determine the pests or disease as soon as possible and the infection level. It determines if treatment is necessary or it’s too late. Ensure your plant is free from pests and disease before integrating it back with your succulent collections.
Lastly, understand the symptoms of different pests and diseases. You should also know how your plants look like when healthy. This makes it easy to detect if something isn’t okay. Follow this guide and have a happy time growing and maintaining your succulent plants. Remember, early detection increases the chances of the selected treatment working.
Last update on 2023-07-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
