Just got back from vacation and noticed this succulent is not doing so well. I have attached pictures. Spots of a light brown gel on the leaves. Tops with new growth are black. Lots of small webs on the plant. Any idea what to do and what it is? I live in Mesa, AZ so it is hot, but this plant has done well in this spot for a long time. Thank so much. Renee
You may have spider mites.
Do they leave a liquid on the leaves? If so, do I wash and then spray with something that kills mites? Thanks so much!!
I have successfully used Bayer's 3 in 1 spray for insects, diseases and mites on my cactus and succulents.
Could be mites as Daisy says, but it also looks like you had a case of crown rot. Does the plant receive a lot of overhead water (say from the roof, or a nearby sprinkler system)?
It has been a relatively wet spring, and the rains we had in May and June were pretty uncommon as well - so if it gets water from say the roof it might have gotten a lot more water than usual, then add the sudden change to June heat and things could go wrong for an Aloe quickly. I regularly get a little crown rot in my A. dichotoma (like last August/September) it seems to recover every single time by letting it dry out for a while a make sure I do not let water accumulate in the crown.
You can hose the plants down to get rid of the visual parts of the mite, but given possibility of some rot present you might want to be careful with watering for a while - especially if water can accumulate in the central part of the crown. Any critters on the plant can be treated with insecticidal soap or neem oil. If that does not help something stronger like Bayer 3 in 1 could be used, but that contains a product that could be pretty bad for bees, so I always hesitate to use it on plants that regularly flower.
Yes, I agree with the crown rot. For some reason, I don't expect plants to have more than one problem. I live in a very simple world. 8')
