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Since 2 weeks I have noticed that the leaves on my pilea started to have clusters of small dark spots. I'm wondering if it is a bad sign and whether I should do something or change something.

So far, I made sure that the soil can be drained enough, by using a clay pot, with drainage holes, and I put some clay small balls at the bottom of the soil.

I haven't repotted it for ~18 months and the plant is ~ 2.5 years old.

I really like that plant, so how can I make sure it keeps on thriving? :)

Picture of the black spots Pictore of the black spots from opposite side

Clement Herreman
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  • pictures help a ton – Barry Cosemans Oct 28 '19 at 20:10
  • @BarryCosemans Sorry, somehow the original post didn't inclue them, it's fixed now :) – Clement Herreman Oct 28 '19 at 20:13
  • Have you inspected for whiteflies and aphids? Is it just the top leaves or are they the most affected, or is it the whole plant? – Barry Cosemans Oct 28 '19 at 20:37
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    I can't see the main stem of the plant clearly - are there any bumps or shield shaped objects attached to it? There's something going on on the underside of the leaves, maybe something attached to the main rib or vein of the plant in your image, can you check that out with a magnifying glass? All the black bits are emanating from the veins on the leaves, something's got into or tapping into the sap stream...just not sure what, the photo resolution's not high enough to become under magnification on here – Bamboo Oct 28 '19 at 21:14
  • @BarryCosemans no signs of aphids. Another plant I have caught some whiteflies, could it be linked? Noob gardener here, I learned about whiteflies on that plant 2 days ago, when a friend of mine dropped by my house. – Clement Herreman Oct 29 '19 at 08:42
  • @Bamboo I'll take high res picture of the main stem today and update it tonight (in ~10h). What other pictures would you like to have ? – Clement Herreman Oct 29 '19 at 08:44
  • In your penultimate photo, the one that shows the back of a leaf, there's something thin, greyish and narrow along the leaf vein - have a look at it, not sure a photo will make that much clearer but you can try. – Bamboo Oct 29 '19 at 10:24
  • @BarryCosemans you were right, lots of whiteflies were on the main stem. I found it was just some kind of white dust. I scrubed it with a toothbrush and some vinegar, and I'll monitor if they come back. Any advice? thank you :) – Clement Herreman Nov 12 '19 at 09:50
  • I use Beauveria Bassiana (entomopathogenic fungi) on everything and anything that attacks my plants. It's sold under the brand name Botanigard, but it's hard to get in Europe. I found it on eBay from an Asian seller, by using the query Beauveria Bassiana. The powder is simply mold spores, you add it at 1g/liter (make into a paste with a bit of water, then add more to dilute to 1 liter) in a spray bottle and then spray all the bugs with it, and their eggs too. You can also use it as a soil drench at the same rate for a lot of different pathogenic bugs. Stays active in the soil for over 6 weeks. – Barry Cosemans Nov 14 '19 at 08:24

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