Touched one of my ring of fire's leaves today and the underside is sticky and covered in little beads of liquid, plus tons of little brown dots. Currently only on one leaf and not on any of my other houseplants. Is this heat stress or something like it? We just turned the heat on for the first time a couple of days ago for winter. I see no bugs on any of the plants.
I water this guy once the soil is bone dry and it gets a medium amount of indirect light.
by Offbrand_Nihilism
3 Comments
Either EFN, most likely, or rust fungus. I think EFN, extrafloral nectaries
That’s just guttation, happens when the air gets drier or the temp shifts fast. She’s basically sweating a little. The brown bits are just dried minerals sticking to it. Wipe the leaf clean and chill. If it shows up on new growth, then we can talk, but for now she’s fine
Rather than guttation (water and not sticky), it might be honeydew.
Some of my philodendrons tend to get it (like my silver sword), even if there are no issues with insects.
Of course, it could also be an indication of bugs. I’d very thoroughly check to make sure you don’t have any bugs on the plant.
If you’re confident that there are no bugs, then it’s just something that your plant does, and you can wipe it off once in a while. If it is bugs, then you’ll have to treat them!
Good luck!