Dr. Phyto

crepe myrtle

Lagerstroemia indica

Diseases & pests on this plant

• Crape myrtle powdery mildewErysiphe lagerstroemiae

  A superficial white-to-grey, felt-like powdery coating develops on young shoots, buds and the upper surface of new leaves, often starting as small circular patches that merge to cover the whole leaf. Infected young leaves curl, cup, pucker and become distorted, frequently flushing reddish or purple, and severely affected shoot tips are stunted. Flower buds and panicles can be coated and blasted, so they fail to open or produce few, deformed blooms. Badly diseased leaves yellow and drop early; in humid weather the white growth is most intense on the newest growth.

• cotton aphidAphis gossypii

  Yellow-green aphids clustering on shoot tips.

• Crape myrtle Cercospora leaf spotPseudocercospora lythracearum

  Small dark brown to dull-purple angular spots, 2-6 mm across, first appear on lower and inner leaves in mid- to late summer; spots are often bordered or bounded by leaf veins and can coalesce into larger blotches. Tissue around and beyond the spots turns yellow, then bright orange-red, while the surrounding leaf may stay green, giving a mottled autumn-like look in the middle of summer. Affected leaves drop heavily and early, defoliating the plant from the bottom up and leaving bare lower branches with a tuft of leaves at the shoot tips. Severe repeated defoliation weakens the shrub and reduces flowering.