Succulent Disease Identification (kalanchoe beharensis)

Question

One leaf before being "washed" with a mild soap/water mixture

Another leaf after being "washed" with a mild soap/water mixture

I purchased this plant a little over a month ago, and all of a sudden, these spots have begun to show up. The spots themselves are dry and can be popped out of the plant leaves where they've appeared (as a result, there is now a circular hole in one of my plant's leaves).

As the pictures indicate, the spots are roughly circular with black centers. Up until yesterday, the plant was kept in a mostly-shady, west-facing room and was watered ~1 time per week (when the soil was completely dry. Thinking the spots might be due to a lack of sun, I moved the plant over to a south-facing window (6+ hours of sun per day) yesterday.

Perhaps this is Cactus Anthracnose? If so, how do I treat it?

EDIT (More Information): As far as I can tell, the leaf edges are normal for this kind of plant (part of it's appeal imo). This plant lives indoors near a window, but not one that has been sprayed with anything recently. Additionally, none of the other plants in the vicinity have any issues. Two days ago, I wiped the leaves down with a mild soap/water mixture. I also treated one leaf with an alcohol/water mix, and another with a copper fungicide.

Most of missed the link. I guess I was expecting to see an actual picture in the post. :) — Ben, Aug 25 '17 at 13:57
Now that is better, thanks grill! Looks like an insect possibly a fly trying to lay eggs or suck up some carbs for energy. I'll go check it out. — stormy, Aug 26 '17 at 18:29
Alrighty now! I swear I've seen this type of tiny damage and I've gone through tons of ID pictures with no luck. Don't think this is Anthracnose. Too architectural and indiscriminate of plant structure. I'll keep looking. Like I said, it looks like some tiny insect that is either laying eggs under the epidermis or getting through the epidermis to suck nutrients. I'll keep looking. But maybe someone else here will find it... — stormy, Aug 26 '17 at 21:26
It looks a bit like a less sever version of this: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Can_anyone_identify_of_diseases_of_Kalanchoe_beharensis_Drake — MyNameisTK, Aug 29 '17 at 16:28
@1800-94-Jenny I saw that one. It's close, but the decay pattern is different on my plant. — grill, Aug 29 '17 at 17:32

stormy · Answer 1 · 2017-08-26T21:33:55.283

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Unique picture and problem (s)! Looks like there are two things to consider; the spots look like a spray of some kind possibly with a surfactant/soap? Maybe it is just me but the margins of the leaves look like a cutworm has been dining? The scale is probably throwing me off. Is this plant out doors on a patio? In doors? Near a window where someone sprayed Windex whilst cleaning? Otherwise, no disease of any sort. Those spots are mechanical not organic. Send more information! Please.

Edit: I don't think there is a problem that will ever kill your plant. Mostly likely a seasonal insect of some kind. Please watch this plant carefully. You might have a leaf miner larvae making 'mines' while feeding on your plant before it 'flies' away. Check out the soil. Dig around to find any insect, worm, larvae you are able to see. I miss my library of books. Using this internet is tough! And not very informative even having all information at your fingertips!

We need to find a more solid ID before any solutions should be done. Keep an eye on your 'test' leaves. I don't think this is fungus at all. Fungus would be a secondary problem not the original which I think is some sort of a fly...it is able to bounce around willy nilly.

Please send pictures of anything new...? I'll keep looking. This absolutely conical shape for those spots should be crystal clear somewhere on this computer.

edited Aug 26 '17 at 21:33

answered Aug 26 '17 at 02:03

stormy

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As far as I can tell, the leaf edges are normal for this kind of plant (part of it's appeal imo). This plant lives indoors near a window, but not one that has been sprayed with anything recently. Additionally, none of the other plants in the vicinity have any issues. Two days ago, I wiped the leaves down with a mild soap/water mixture. I also treated one leaf with an alcohol/water mix, and another with a copper fungicide. These pictures are pre-treatment. – grill Aug 26 '17 at 17:38
I added more pictures. – grill Aug 26 '17 at 17:52
One thing to note is that these dots start out EXTREMELY small in size and expand while tissue dies off. It's difficult to say with certainty, but it looks like the number of small dots is increasing exponentially with time. Also, I dig around in the soil (very tight root ball), but didn't find any bugs/larva. – grill Aug 26 '17 at 21:50
Thanks, grill. Someone will be along shortly to educate both of us!! – stormy Aug 26 '17 at 22:01
I am terribly OCD with this stuff. Can't believe I am unable to find this leaf damage at all no matter where I've been. Don't do anymore treatments of any kind. Your plant looks like this bit of damage won't make a difference. But still! So regular, so symmetrical, so frustrating! – stormy Aug 28 '17 at 22:51

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 30 '17 at 18:52

Oedema? caused by slightly too wet atmospheric conditions? this ones stumped me but there is something quite like this found on Pelargoniums and Peperomia. the only way to get rid of this is to start again with fresh plants? I've also found something very similar on apples too again caused by overwatering? Perhaps this is a physiological problem rather than a pest/fungal problem?

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 31 '17 at 20:53

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Just an anecdotal answer - I saw some birds (jays) pecking at this succulent, and it left a very similar shaped indentation after they dried. I did not see insects on the plants but that may be what the birds were after. they weren't plucking leaves.

answered Aug 31 '17 at 20:53

J. Musser

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score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 17 '17 at 22:31

It has been nearly two months and the plant's health is deteriorating rapidly. Multiple copper fungicide treatments haven't had any effect, nor has putting the plant outside in full sunlight.

The disease appears to be spreading exponentially, so I'm willing to bet that this is something in the vein of cactus anthracnose.

For the record, I spoke to the nursery where I purchased this plant. While they didn't know what the cause of the disease was, they had seen it destroy several other plants previously.

Succulent Disease Identification (kalanchoe beharensis)

4 Answers4