Dr. Phyto

rubber plant

Ficus elastica

Diseases & pests on this plant

• brown soft scaleCoccus hesperidum

  Flat oval brown-tan scales (3-5mm) on undersides of leaves + along stems, sticky honeydew dripping onto floor or lower leaves, black sooty mould growing on the honeydew, leaf yellowing + drop in heavy infestations, ants attracted to honeydew.

• Pythium root rotPythium aphanidermatum

  Yellowing + wilting leaves despite wet soil (the diagnostic combination), brown mushy roots when plant is unpotted, foul earthy smell from rotting roots, plant easily pulled from pot with most root system left behind in mix, stem base softening + black at soil line in severe cases.

• hemispherical scaleSaissetia coffeae

  Dome-shaped dark brown shiny scales (3-4mm) on stems + leaf veins, sticky honeydew + sooty mould, gradual plant decline + leaf drop, scales appear in clusters along stems + leaf midribs.

• anthracnoseColletotrichum gloeosporioides

  Dark brown to black sunken spots on leaves often with concentric rings, spots expand + coalesce into irregular blotches, severely infected leaves drop, branch dieback in heavy attacks, pink-orange spore masses produced on lesions in moist conditions.

• bacterial leaf spot of FicusXanthomonas campestris pv. fici

  Small (2-5mm) angular water-soaked spots on leaves, spots turn dark brown-black with yellow halos, severely infected leaves drop, in fiddle leaf fig (F. lyrata) lesions often follow leaf veins creating diagnostic vein-bounded pattern, plant decline if not isolated quickly.

• edema (water blister)Edema (oedema)

  Raised water-soaked blisters on leaf undersides (the diagnostic location), blisters rupture and form corky brown scars over time, looks like spider mite damage but no webbing, affected leaves do not recover but new growth is healthy if conditions improve.