Lilacs are awesome. They smell great and add a splash of color to a gray and brown winter landscape. But did you know that lilac leaves turning white can actually be a sign of something being wrong? It’s true! While this might not appear to be very important, leaves turning white on your lilac in the winter can often mean there is a disease present or some problem with your plant that may need to be corrected.
Lilacs are a beautiful addition to your garden, but if you’re seeing white splotches on leaves and branches, it can be worrisome. Don’t worry: It’s not something that will kill your lilac (although it does make them look ugly). Instead, it’s a fungal disease called Lilac Blister Rust. This disease is caused by a rust fungus, Melampsora allii-populina, that also infects several species of poplar trees (Populus spp.).
The plant is reacting to stress.
Stress is the most common cause of leaves turning white on cannabis plants. The plant is reacting to stress, which can come in many different forms:
- Temperature changes – Hotter days and colder nights (we call this a “temperature shock”)
- Humidity changes – High humidity levels lead to more frequent watering, which may result in root rot or other problems if you’re not careful. It’s important not only to keep the soil moist but also make sure that it has proper drainage so that nutrients don’t get locked up by clogged pores in your potting medium.
- Light fluctuations – When the light cycles change from summer to winter, your plants will start showing signs of stress if they aren’t given enough time for their photosynthetic systems (the part of them that makes food) to adjust accordingly. This change is most noticeable during fall when you first notice green leaves going brown and falling off right away instead of slowly wilting over time like usual!
It could be an insect problem.
If you notice white marks on the leaves of your plants, it could be a sign of an insect problem. There are two likely culprits: aphids and thrips.
Aphids look like small green or brown dots on your plant’s leaves, stems, buds, and flowers. They feed on the juices inside the leaf tissue and can cause deformed growth if left unchecked. To control them effectively, spray with isopropyl alcohol every four to seven days when plants are actively growing until they’re fully mature (about one month after planting). Make sure you also check your plants’ undersides for signs of an infestation; this is where these little suckers hang out when they’re not in plain sight!
Thrips resemble tiny black flies with skinny legs sticking out from either side of their bodies at different angles—they’ll also fly around your garden if disturbed but are otherwise very hard to spot without a magnifying glass (and really good eyesight). Look for yellowing foliage that has brown spots along its edges—these spots usually appear first near buds before spreading throughout entire leaves within weeks due to feeding damage caused by thrips feeding habits over time. If this sounds familiar then apply neem oil as directed above every couple of weeks until harvest time rolls around again next season so that any adult insects don’t make more…
Lilac Blister Rust
Lilac Blister Rust is a fungus that affects Lilac trees. It is not a bacteria or virus and does not cause disease. It is the only fungal disease of lilacs in the United States and it causes white spots on the leaves of your plant. It gets its name from these white spots, which resemble blisters.
In spring, spores are produced by mated female rust fungi called urediniospores which make their way to leaf buds, where they settle and begin to grow on new leaves as soon as they unfurl from their bud (you can see this happening if you look closely at your lilac tree). The spores enter through stomata (tiny holes) in the leaves resulting in tiny brownish spots called uredia where they continue to grow until summer, when they produce more urediniospores to repeat the process again next year.
Lilac Blister Rust disease is caused by a rust fungus, Melampsora allii-populina, that also infects several species of poplar trees (Populus spp.). The fungus overwinters on the bark and twigs of infected host plants. In spring, it produces yellow or orange spores that are carried by wind to uninfected plants, where they germinate and grow into hyphae. These hyphae form galls on leaves as well as sporangia containing urediniospores which can be dispersed by rain or irrigation water.
When these spores land on young lilac leaves, they germinate and produce small orange spots similar to those caused by powdery mildew; however, they usually do not cause any damage at this stage because the plant is not yet growing vigorously nor producing flowers or fruit. Later in summer, when lilacs bloom and become more vigorous, the symptoms become more severe, with large brownish red blotches appearing on upper leaf surfaces which turn yellow before falling off prematurely.
Can a Plant Really Turn White?
A plant turning white is a common sight, but don’t panic if you see your plant losing its color. Plants can turn white for many reasons, and in some cases, it’s not necessarily bad news.
Here are four possible reasons why your plant may have suddenly turned white:
- It’s stressed from being moved or watered too much, causing it to drop its leaves as a survival mechanism
- The plant is dying, either because of old age or lack of water or nutrients (this can happen with cacti)
- The plant is infected with disease or pests like spider mites (in this case, there will be other signs such as webbing on the leaves and brown spots)
- The herbivores are eating them (in this case, there will be signs such as webs and/or holes in the leaves).
What Should You Do?
- Examine the soil and look for insects like aphids, which may be sucking out nutrients and causing the leaves to appear white.
- Use your finger to check if there’s moisture in the potting mix. If it’s dry, use a watering can to water your plant thoroughly until water runs out of the bottom of its pot.
- Check for nutrient deficiencies by testing your soil and giving it additional nutrients as needed based on what you find.
- Make sure your plant isn’t being overwatered or overfertilized and that its roots aren’t rotting from too-wet soils or salt burn from too much fertilizer being applied at one time.
Can This Happen to Other Plants?
Yes! It can happen to any plant at any time, in basically all stages of its life. It also happens every time of year and to every part of the plant.
Check your plants carefully and try to identify the problem so you can treat it.
Check your plants carefully and try to identify the problem so you can treat it. Look for signs of insects, diseases, or stress.
Insects are small creatures that live on plants. They may be hard to see but they can cause damage by chewing on leaves or other parts of the plant.
Diseases are caused by things such as fungi or bacteria attacking a plant’s roots, stems and leaves—and can often lead to death! Some diseases are spread from one plant to another through soil particles or water splashing from one leaf to another; others move from infected plants into healthy ones through wind currents carrying pollen from diseased flowers onto healthy ones (this is how many plant epidemics start).
If your plant is under stress for any reason (such as being over/under watered), then it might not be able to fight off infection well enough on its own – which makes finding out what’s wrong even more important!
You can’t treat the lilacs. You have to remove the infected leaves.
While you can’t treat your lilac bushes, you can remove any leaves that become infected. You should also avoid moving the infected plants or exposing them to the air. This will help prevent the spread of the disease.
If your plant is already showing symptoms of white spots on its leaves, remove it from your yard and dispose of it properly by mixing it with other yard waste and putting it in a compost pile or bagging it up for trash pickup on garbage day.
Cut down the nearby poplar trees to help keep the disease from spreading.
If you have a poplar tree near your lilac, you may want to consider cutting down the infected tree(s). If possible, cut down the entire tree and burn it. Do not compost or dispose of any infected branches or leaves in your garbage or compost pile.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has helped you identify why your plant may be turning white. If it’s a disease or some other type of pest, you can use these tips to treat it. If not, don’t worry too much—if the leaves are just discolored and not falling off, they should return to normal within a few weeks or months. You may have noticed that most of these problems happen in winter or spring time when plants are under stress from cold weather (or due to being inside), so we recommend checking up on your houseplants regularly throughout the year!
