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White spots on ficus leaves: Several reasons can make white spots on your Rubber plants. Common reasons are overwatering, powdery mildew, pest infestation, sunburns, mineral and salt buildup, cold drafts, or cystoliths (cys-toe-liths). Sometimes, it is nothing more than dust.
Members of the Mulberry Family, which includes the genus Ficus, usually have these regularly spaced spots as a normal part of their morphology. They are commonly misidentified as pests or glands but are actually called cystoliths.
Each cystolith is contained within a cell called a lithocyst. These spots may resemble bugs, but cystoliths are calcium carbonate crystals that form on cell walls.
Cystoliths are not harmful to the plant. There are a number of theories regarding their function, but some studies have actually found that cystoliths may improve the plant’s ability to photosynthesize efficiently by scattering light and improving light absorption.
White dried liquid around the lithocysts
Plants often excrete their minerals on the leaves as pale, whitish spots or hard droplets. The white is a build up of minerals (usually just salt) that the plant is forcing out, through the glands of its leaves. This is common when you use hard water for your plants. If you don't like the look you can wipe it away usually with a damp towel.
Rubber plants can secrete a clear dew on its leaves' lithocysts. The dew dries into white spots on the leaves.
Many plants naturally secrete water from their pores. It's called "guttation." Nothing to worry about. Just wipe them off with a damp cloth. The secretion is from a normal (but not necessarily a favorable) physiological process called guttation. It occurs when plant turgor (internal water pressure) is high, forcing water from leaf openings called hydathodes that appear near leaf margins.
That's a physiological issue that occurs when your plant takes up water from the soil with dissolved minerals (salts) in it. Some of that water, with salt dissolved in it, makes it to the surface of the leaf.
When the water evaporates, it leaves behind the salt it contains as a little white powdery dot. This is also harmless, but could be a signal that the level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil is creeping upward. If you witness it, you might try flushing the soil thoroughly - especially if you've been watering in small sips so the plant doesn't have to deal with soil saturation. That particular way of watering ensures that all salts from your tap water and fertilizer solutions remain in the soil where they can create quite a bit of mischief.
How to CLEAN plant leaves
Wipe with Damp Cloth: If your rubber plant leaves are just lightly dusty, simply take a damp sponge, cloth, or paper towel and gently wipe the surface of the leaves.
Wipe with Soap/Water Mixture
If your leaves are pretty dirty and you want to get a better cleaning, add a little dish soap to warm water. You don’t need much. Just a couple drops on a wet sponge, or mix up some soapy water in a container.
Gently wipe the leaves with the mixture to remove any dirty or heavy dust buildup. When you are done, be sure to rinse the plant off with plain water to remove any residue, or wipe the leaves off with plain warm water.
Wipe with Vinegar/Water Mixture
Use a soft cloth dipped into a solution of vinegar and water (1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 quart of distilled or rainwater). Some say to use a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water.
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17 янв 2024
