Water lilies in ponds are very susceptible to fungal diseases, including leaf spot, due to their preferred location in the wet. You can find out exactly how it expresses itself and what you can do to save your water lilies in this article.
How do I treat leaf spot on water lilies?
If you diagnose leaf spot disease on your water lilies, you should immediately dispose of theaffected leaves in household waste - not in the compost to prevent the fungal pathogens from spreading. It is also important to check the culture conditions and change them if necessary.
How can you recognize leaf spot on water lilies?
Leaf spot disease on water lilies is manifested bypoint-like spots, which are usually yellowish-light brown at first and becomedarker over timeas well as dry out, causing holes in the leaves. Eventually the foliage dies off completely.
What causes leaf spot on water lilies?
Water lilies are at greater risk of suffering leaf spot disease simply because of theirwet location. Overview of other favorable factors:
- Water temperature too low
- unsuitable plant substrate
- incorrect fertilization
- Lack of light
- too small plant containers
How can I prevent leaf spot on water lilies?
To prevent leaf spot on water lilies, you should optimize thecultivation conditions for the plants. Here are the most important care tips:
- Make sure that the water temperature does not fall below 20 °C.
- A balanced clay-sand mixture is recommended as a substrate.
- Fertilize the plants appropriately.
- Water lilies are light-hungry plants and therefore need a bright location. They should be exposed to the sun for at least 6 hours a day.
- Use sufficiently large plant containers.
Tip
Fungal triggers for leaf spot disease in water lilies
Leaf spot disease is commonly caused by a fungal attack on both water lilies and other plants, more specifically by fungi of the Colletotrichum or Phyllostica species. Bacteria or viruses rarely act as triggers. If you do not treat diseased water lilies promptly, the plants will soon die.