Spots on Lotus Leaves

[greatbarrierreef]

One of my lotus leaves has a bunch of white foggy spots on it and I don’t know what it is, nor what to do about it. Those spots have been there since 2-3 weeks ago and none of the other leaves have it, except for the leaf next to it that has a small spot or two

 

[mrsclem]

It looks like powdery mildew but have never seen it on a lotus. Any chance a chemical got sprayed on the leaves?

 

[greatbarrierreef]

It looks like powdery mildew but have never seen it on a lotus. Any chance a chemical got sprayed on the leaves?

None that I'm aware of, unless it carried over from a neighbor. Do you think the white powdery spots are a cause for concern? Should I remove that leaf or is there a way to treat it?

 

[Lisak1]

Lotuses do occasionally get powdery mildew. While I've never had it on lotus leaves, I've had it on peonies and lilacs and phlox. To treat it, I use a spray bottle with water, a few tablespoons of baking soda and a few drops of dish soap. Spray the leaves until they are dripping. You have to repeat it every few days. Essentially you are creating an environment on the leaves where the fungus cannot grow by altering the pH.

 

[mrsclem]

Do not cut the leaves off The stems are hollow and if water gets in the tuber will rot.

 

[greatbarrierreef]

Lotuses do occasionally get powdery mildew. While I've never had it on lotus leaves, I've had it on peonies and lilacs and phlox. To treat it, I use a spray bottle with water, a few tablespoons of baking soda and a few drops of dish soap. Spray the leaves until they are dripping. You have to repeat it every few days. Essentially you are creating an environment on the leaves where the fungus cannot grow by altering the pH.

I don't have any baking soda on me, but there's apparently a treatment for the fungus that uses a water + milk solution. Do you think either treatment would be safe for the lotus?

 

[Lisak1]

That's the good thing about natural treatments - they may not work, but they also won't hurt anything. I"ve never tried the milk one, but it surely can't hurt to try!

 

[TheDrizzle]

Was there water on the leaves that dried? That happens from hard water droplets drying on the pads on mine quite frequently.

 

[Lisak1]

Was there water on the leaves that dried? That happens from hard water droplets drying on the pads on mine quite frequently.

I thought about that... and then realized I've never had a drop of water sit on a lotus leaf long enough to dry! They just roll right off.

 

[greatbarrierreef]

Definitely seemed more like mildew than dried hard water. The only water than I ever have fall on the leaves are from the rain. But the spots stopped spreading after a bit and mostly just turned into darkened yellow spots