What do yellow dots on leaves mean?
Some pests can cause yellow spots to appear on leaves.
The color of the leaves is one of the characteristics that most often attracts our attention, because green usually conveys a lot of peace and peaceful, as if it had the ability to transport us to a forest or a meadow, for example. When they have other colors, as is the case with countless varieties such as Colocasia ‘Black Magic’, which has handsome shadowy purple leaves, we may immediately want to buy them to break a little the chromatic monotony that we have in the garden or in the yard. But, What happens if we notice that the leaves have yellow dots?
Well, it is often a symptom of a earnest problem, especially if it is caused by pests. But it will not always be like this. Therefore, the first thing we need to do is to identify the cause and then make the best decision so that our plant is or remains handsome.
So what are the causes and what do we need to do? Since there are several of them, to make the article easier to read, we will discuss them separately:
Natural (non-rainfall) leaf aging
This is the reason that should worry us the least. Leaves, as living organisms, have a constrained lifespan.. For this reason, you should not think that because the plant is evergreen, it will not shed some… because that is not how it works.
Depending on the type of plant, the climate and the evolution it has undergone, there are species that renew them every yeareither gradually over a period of months – like all perennial deciduous trees – or they do it partially: they lose their leaves in summer or winter and renew their crown as conditions improve – like deciduous trees; and there are still those who renew them slowly, but instead of doing it in the same year, they can do it after 3, 5 or more years – like many species of evergreens living in chilly climates, such as Long-lived pine-.
So if there are no other symptoms apart from the yellow dots, we shouldn’t worry as long as it loses its leaves at the right time for her. It’s crucial to remember this because if she does it in the spring, for example, but has to do it in the winter, then she has a problem.
Cool
Related article:
Cool symptoms in plants
Plants react to the chilly in different ways: some “close” their leaves, others grow tiny to stay as close to the ground as possible, and still others may wake up with yellow dots on their leaves. This is something that can be seen, for example, in Cycas curled up (cycas) recently acquired:whether they are kept in pots or planted in the ground, or have been raised in a nursery and perhaps protected to some extent, they struggle when temperatures drop.
This shouldn’t worry us, at least not too much, because in this particular case we’re talking about plants that can withstand moderate frosts, down to -7ºC. And although some protection won’t hurt them at first, they’ll acclimatize without a problem as they grow. For succulents or other more fine species such as Adenium obese (desert rose) we’ll have to be more carefulbecause frost can kill them.
Pests
Image – Flickr / Scot Nelson
Aphids, whiteflies, thrips… these and other pests, such as red spiders or whiteflies, feed on the sap from the leaves. They damage them, and the plant obviously has a demanding time. The reason is obvious: If these insects continue to suck the sap, this part of the leaf will have increasing difficulty in photosynthesis and respiration, and will eventually die.If the situation worsens, eventually the entire leaf will exhaust its food supply, but not before yellow or discolored spots appear on its surface.
And of course, we must stop these insects and eradicate the plague. For that, we will operate specific insecticidesor triple action, if we see that they have two or three different pests (e.g. on the same plant there may be whiteflies and aphids). Of course, it is convenient to operate it correctly, following the instructions that we can read on the same package.
Sunburn or direct sunlight
Although sunburn or direct sunlight burns leave more yellow stains than spots, I thought it was worth mentioning them, in very bland cases they may leave stitches; for example, if it is an almost completely acclimatized plant and a little sun falls on it at one point, it may cause a slight burn.
In any case, it is crucial for you to know that these yellow spots or dots will not disappear. What’s more, eventually the entire leaf will turn yellow and fall off. But if the damage is minor, it usually takes several months for the leaf to finally fall off. It’s best to move the plant and place it in a slightly sheltered spot.
Related article:
How to Revive a Sunburned Plant
Although there can be many causes of yellow spots on leaves, we hope that your plants will recover quickly.