Eyespot disease

We often encounter the leaf spot disease in outdoor plants. However, indoor plants such as Alocasia, Monstera, Yucca & others are not immune to it. Wherever it appears, it always brings one thing with it: unsightly spots. Unfortunately, the disease is not only unsightly, but also dangerous for your beloved plants. To ensure that your plants have a long and healthy life, we will explain how to recognize, treat and prevent the disease. Stay safe!

Severity: ☠️☠️☠️

Leaf spot disease is highly infectious and deadly! If your plant is infected, you should act quickly.

Cause and Symptoms 🦠

The leaf spot disease is caused by the fungal pathogen Spilocaea oleagina. Some symptoms to watch out for include:

• Round brown spots with a light yellowish edge on the leaves
• The spots can have different sizes and shapes and sometimes merge into larger spots.
• The spots spread slowly. When the spot reaches a certain size, the center of the spot begins to die off and turn brown, which is necrotic. This causes the affected area to become larger, until ultimately the entire leaf – and eventually the plant – dies.

As with many fungal diseases, the root cause of leaf spot disease lies in a too humid climate, such as too high humidity. In indoor plants, however, overwatering is often the culprit.

Prevention 🫀

To prevent leaf spot disease or reduce its spread, you can do the following:

• Pay attention to the correct humidity
• Let the soil dry slightly between watering. Constantly moist soil is a breeding ground for nasty pathogens.
• Regular ventilation is not only healthy for you, but also for your plants!
• Occasionally spray with liver moss extract (diluted in water)
• Regularly repotting

Treatment 💉

Here’s the bad news: Leaf spot disease is difficult to fight, especially in an organic way. Here are some measures you can take:

• Isolate the affected plant to prevent other plants from becoming infected.
• Cut back and dispose of the affected leaves in household waste, not in compost.
• Repot your plant in a new pot with fresh soil.
• If these measures do not help, unfortunately, you have no choice but to use a fungicide to save the plant. This makes prevention all the more important!