Crepe Myrtle Diseases

For example hopi and comanche are varieties that resist powdery mildew well but they do not resist cercospora leaf spot at all.

Crepe myrtle diseases. This article covers the topic of controlling crepe myrtle also spelled crepemyrtle crapemyrtle or crape myrtle bark scale. There is a new serious threat to one of our favorite trees. The disease is a white spongy wood rot and it invades wounds in crape myrtles. Turkey tail trametes versicolor is a white fungus that commonly develops on crape myrtles.

It causes white or grayish powdery coat on the leaves. Sooty mold on crape myrtle trees crape myrtle trees are large shrubs or trees that are hardy in usda hardiness zones 6 through 9 and flower in late summer. As the infection spreads these tiny spots become larger. Many of the national arboretum crape myrtle varieties are resistant to this disease as well as to powdery mildew and the ones already mentioned above are good choices.

Crepe myrtle pests include aphids and mold. Most crepe myrtle disease is caused by pests. The bizarrely cool rainy summer we ve experienced in the southeast this year sorry everybody out west means that if your crepe myrtle is susceptible to mildew it probably has it. This fungal disease grows on the sweet substance excreted by white scale or other sap sucking insects such as aphids whiteflies or mealybugs.

If your crepe myrtle is affected by white scale it may develop black sooty mold in fact the sooty black substance may be the first sign of white scale on crepe myrtles. Patches of white to grayish powdery growth occur on the surfaces of leaves flowers and new shoots. It s even more serious than the unsightly and oft mentioned crape murder. When it comes to aphids these crepe myrtle pests need to be washed off the tree with a forceful water bath or spray.

It causes leaves to curl and shrivel. This fungal disease is caused by the pathogen erysiphe lagerstroemia which leaves white growths resembling talcum powder on leaves flowers. One of the most common diseases that affects crepe myrtle is powdery mildew. You can use an environmentally safe pesticide or insecticide to wash the tree along with water.

Others may not be. Heavily infected flowers may fail to open. Initially the infection begins as sporadic circular and powdery white spots. Powdery mildew is a filmy white fungus that grows on leaves and flower buds.

Aphids scale insects whiteflies and. Flower buds drop without opening.