White spots on aloe plants could mean that the plant is variegated or infected. This means that the cause of the spots can be alarming or normal.
If your aloe vera plants have white spots when they should not, you need to know the reason as well as find out possible solutions.
Read this article to learn everything you need to know about white spots on your aloe plants.
Contents
Why Are There White Spots on Your Aloe Plants?
There are white spots on your aloe vera plants possibly simply because these plants can be variegated which means that they can get white spots naturally. If the white spots are not normal, they are most probably caused by different types of fungal, bacterial, or viral infections.
– Fungal Attack
Aloe vera plants often get attacked by fungi, so there is a high chance that a white fungus on aloe vera plants is causing the white spots.
The fungus on aloe plants may be the powdery mildew fungus or a similar organism known as downy mildew (it is not a true type of fungi). The reason fungi attack aloe plants often is because of the plant’s watering needs.
As a succulent plant, the aloe plant does not grow well in moisture-rich soil. However, many enthusiastic gardeners water their plants often. This can expose the plants to root rot and other fungal attacks. You may also slime mold in plants growing in an environment with too much moisture.
– Pests
Aloe plants, like other types of plants, get attacked often by cottony cushion scales, aphids, and mealybugs. Although these insects are mobile, they often appear as white spots on your aloe leaves, especially if you are looking at the plant from a distance. To tell if the spots are pests or not, you may need to carefully examine the plants.
Please note that most of these pests will not produce bite marks on your aloe leaves. However, they can make your plant pale, sick, and weak. If the white spots on your aloes are associated with the plants becoming pale, there is a high chance that the plants are attacked by pests.
– Nutrient Problems
What happens when you do not feed your aloe plants? Well, aloes prefer a nutrient-depleted environment to a nutrient-rich one.
However, if the plants do not get as many nutrients as they need, all their leaves will turn pale and some white spots (which might have been there all along) will become more visible.
You can also tell that your aloe plants need more nutrients by feeling their leaves. If the leaves look extra soft and appear paler than they should, the plants are suffering from nutrient deficiency. Also, aloe plants that need extra nutrients will grow slower than they usually do.
– Watering Your Aloe Vera Plants with Hard Water
Aloe plants are succulents. This means that while they can grow fine in a moisture-poor environment, their roots are adapted to collecting as much water as they can.
The leaves of aloe plants are succulent because the plants use them for moisture storage. This means that the type of water you water your aloe plants with will have a quick and noticeable effect on the plants.
Hard water is any water with a concentration of minerals and nutrients. When hard water evaporates, it can leave some minerals which usually appear as white.
This means that the white spots on your aloes may be mineral deposits on hard water. You should check the hardness of the water that you water your aloes with.
– Bacterial and Viral Infections
Aloe plants can have different types of infections and the infections usually show in different forms.
While most bacterial and viral infections in aloe plants may show as black or brown spots, some have flaky spots that look white at the center. It is usually aloe plants growing in an environment with high humidity that get attacked by pathogens the most.
Note that if one aloe plant in your garden is infected, there is a high chance that the rest will be infected. The rate at which plants in your garden get white spots can tell you if the spots are caused by an infection or not. White spots caused by infection will show from one plant to the next, not every plant at once.
– Sun Exposure and Light Problems
As succulent plants, aloe veras need as much light as they can get. This is because they are adapted to living in deserts and other plants with high amounts of sunlight.
If your aloes do not get enough sun, they will start to look pale. Your aloe plant turning white or pale could be a result of insufficient light. Also, a sudden change in lighting exposure can cause this problem.
Too much light can also make your aloe plant pale. Well, they will first look pale before they start to burn out and look brown. This usually happens in summer when you leave your aloe plants in the same spot that they were in the spring months.
– Soil Problems
How loose or compacted is your aloe substrate? As a succulent plant, aloe needs loose or airy substrate so that its roots can get enough oxygen.
If the plant is growing in compacted soil, its roots can die out and start to rot. White or pale spots on your aloe leaves could be an indication of root rot as your aloe roots will die slowly.
The soil pH is another factor to consider. If the pH of the soil is way above or below the needed range of aloe plants, the plants may not easily collect water or nutrients from the soil, leading to the paleness of their leaves.
– Could Be the Type of Aloe Plant
What if you are just worried when there is nothing to worry about? There are different types of aloe plants that naturally have white spots on their leaves.
For example, plants such as haworthia, gonialoe variegata, cape aloe, lace aloe, and candelabra aloe have spots on their leaves. The spots are mostly white but can be brown or pink in some cases. Also, the spots appear just in the thorns of the plants.
This means that before you get worried about the reason for white spots in your aloe plants, you want to first make sure that the spots are unusual. If you got your plants from a nursery or another farmer, please ask them if the spots are normal or not. Also, they can help you just in case there is a problem.
How To Get Rid of White Spots on Aloe Vera Plants?
To get rid of whites spots on aloe vera plants you can take the following actions: Isolate your sick plants, make use of fungicides or repel the pests with neem oil, know when to water your aloe, make use of baking soda, etc.
– Isolate Your Sick Aloe Plants
The first thing to do after seeing white spots on your aloe leaves is to separate the plant from others so that it does not infect others. know the cause of the spots.
After separating the plant, try to know the cause of the spots so that you can treat the plant if possible. Please keep the plant far away from the others so that the disease (if present) does not spread.
If you like, you can prune off the leaves with white spots and check if the new ones have. If the new leaves have white spots, there is a high chance that the spots are caused by an infection.
– Make Use of Fungicides
Fungicides are products that you can use to treat plants and surfaces of fungal infections. Fungicides will help your aloe plants by inhibiting the growth of fungi, so all your plants will be safe.
While there are so many organic and homemade fungicides that you can use, the best are chemical fungicides from the store.
These fungicides are readily available and can treat your plants in a few weeks. You just need to follow the instructions and not overuse them so that you do not harm your aloe plants in the process.
If you want to grow a strictly organic garden, you may opt for homemade products (to be discussed later).
– Repel Pests with Neem Oil
Neem oil has various properties that repel insects and other types of pests (mostly invertebrates).
If the cause of white spots on your aloe plants is insect attack, you may opt for store-bought plant-safe insecticides or buy cheap neem oil. The oil is safe for your aloe plants, however, you do not want to use it in the hot summer months.
If you want to spray neem oil on your aloe plants in the warm season, spray the oil at night so that it can repel the pests at night and can drip off the plant’s leaves before the hot sun in the coming day.
– Know When to Water Your Aloe Vera
Aloe plants are succulents, so you do not want to overwater them. If you give them more water than they need, they can get root rot and other fungal and bacterial diseases (which can give them white spots). You only want to water your aloe plants when the substrate is dry or almost dry.
Using a moisture reader or your fingers, make sure that the substrate is dry before you water the plants again. Also, please check the pot and substrate to make sure that they permit proper drainage of water.
– Expose Your Plants to the Right Amount of Light
Aloe plants need light to produce fresh green leaves. If you want your succulents to stay green and shiny instead of white, pale, or dull, you must give them six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. You can also grow them indoors with grow lights, but ensure that they get ten to twelve hours of grow light.
To prevent exposing your aloes to too much sunlight, remember to shift their pot a few inches away from their original spot in the summer months.
– Make Use of Baking Soda or Potassium Bicarbonate
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and potassium bicarbonate are products that are very effective against fungi and other microbes.
These products are readily available and you can get them in different stores nearby. While you can use their powder forms, the best way to use them is to mix them with water and then spray the solution on your sick and healthy plants.
– Clean Aloe Leaves Often
To ensure that your aloe leaves stay clean, green, and pest-free, you should clean their leaves often.
You can make use of a cloth to wipe the leaves to remove dust and pests. Use a dry cloth. If you want to use a wet one, make sure that it is not dripping and use it only in the morning so that the droplets on the leaves can evaporate before noon.
Conclusion
White spots on your aloe plants will no longer make you feel too worried as you can now fix the plants.
Here are some take-home points from the article:
- Remember that some aloe plants naturally have white spots on their leaves as they are variegated. Do not panic if this is the case for you.
- If the white spots on your aloe leaves are strange to you, they are most likely caused by fungi and other microbes.
- Ensure that you wait until the soil is dry before you water your aloe vera plants so that they do not get root rot.
- Ensure that your aloe plants get as much sun as they can get so that they can grow fresh green succulent leaves.
- Make use of fungicides to get rid of fungi in your garden once and for all.
After reading this article, you can now grow healthy aloe plants with fresh green succulent leaves.
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