Plumeria Diseases - Pictures and Treatment

Plumeria Diseases

This page is dedicated to all the Plumeria growers who want to give their best to protect their Plumeria plants from pests and diseases. On this single article page, you will find a complete chart of all the major diseases of Plumeria with the symptoms and pictures.

You might be wondering how I found all the disease pictures of Plumeria.

I have grown over 40 Plumerias of different varieties. I am growing these in Zone 10. A lot of my family members are growing Plumeria in different zones. This helps me to gather more knowledge on Plumeria.

Whenever I witness a disease on the Plumeria plant, I take pictures and make myself busy with the treatment of that particular disease. Once I find the best working/tested remedy, I share it with you through my articles.

Those familiar with the website GardenVive already know how obsessed I am with Plumeria.

Plumeria diseases and problems with symptoms

Disease Symptoms
Powdery Mildew White powder on leaves
Rust Fungus Orange spots on leaves
Black Tip Fungus Blackening of leaf tips
Root Rot Wilting and yellowing
Stem Rot Soft, mushy stems
Curling Leaves Leaves curl inward or outward
Yellow Leaves Leaves turn pale or yellow
Mealybugs White, cottony masses on stems

For those who have been patiently waiting for their Plumeria plant to bloom but are still without flowers: what to do when plumeria is not blooming.

I have all of those above-mentioned issues on my Plumerias. (Except powdery mildew)

Among all those problems, the hardest to cure is black tip fungus and stem rot.

Let's understand each of those diseases one by one with their symptoms, treatments, and pictures.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a common disease on other plants but for plumeria, it is very unusual to see.

I have never seen powdery mildew on any of my Plumeria plants ever. I felt it would be worth sharing with you.

After spending a few hours of research on the internet, I found that someone reported the powdery mildew on Plumeria to the Florida Extension Plant Diagnostic Clinic in January 2017. The reference Link is given below:

First confirmed report of powdery mildew (Erysiphe sp.) on Plumeria

You can find the picture of the leaves on that page as well.

Treatment:

If you ever notice white powdery substances like those, mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 0.5 tablespoons of liquid dishwashing soap in 2.5 liters of water. Now spray on all the infected areas. Repeat this twice a month and you can see good results after the first month.

Rust on Plumeria

Pathogenic fungi are responsible for Rust disease on the plumeria leaves.

Rust on Plumeria leaf
Rust on Plumeria leaf

Treatment: Mix water and Hydrogen peroxide and spray on your Plumeria plant. This will help to dissolve the rust faster.

To know more on this check my dedicated article on Plumeria rust - Treatment.

Black Tip Fungus

Black tip fungus on Plumeria
Black tip fungus on Plumeria

This is the hardest to treat if you are late identifying the disease. Once, your plant gets infected mostly the tips of the foliage or new leaves will start getting blackish. It will spread downwards and eventually kill that leaf.

If you leave it untreated for a longer time, the tip of the stem will rot and will spread further downwards.

Treatment: When you first notice this disease, apply fungicide.

You should cut the infected area before applying fungicide. If possible cut a few inches from the top. If you notice no white sap coming out from the stem it's alright, otherwise you will need to cut further down until you find white fluid coming out.

Curling Leaves

Plumeria Leaves Curling

This is not actually a disease for a specific reason. There might be multiple reasons behind this.

My plumeria got infected with mealybugs and when they started sucking the juice, the leaves started to curl.

You can check my full article here: Plumeria Leaves Curling - All Possible Reasons and how to cure

You will find the pictures as well.

Treatments are based on the reasons, so I suggest you go through the given guideline link and treat accordingly.

Plumeria leaf disease
Plumeria curly leaf with mealybugs

Root rot and stem rot

In both of these cases, you will find rotten inner layers.

Stem rot

To check the stem rot, you can use your nails. Gently press your fingernail into the stem. If it feels soft and mushy without any white sap oozing out, its stem rot for sure.

Root rot

Root rot symptoms are:

  1. Yellow leaves
  2. Premature leaf falling
  3. Mushy roots. ( you can't see this unless you uproot your plant)

Treatment: Reduce watering, check if the water drainage system is working properly, and no waterlogging.

Add some dry ashes of straw or add some mulch that can absorb extra moisture from the soil.

You should check my watering guidelines for Plumeria.

If rot is severe, trim away the affected stems and salvage only the healthy sections to create cuttings suitable for propagation. In this way, you can propagate new plants from old rotted plants.

Here is the guideline: Grow plumeria from cuttings

Mealybugs on Plumeria

Mealybugs on Plumeria Leaf
Mealybugs on Plumeria Leaf

In warmer regions, it is a common pest that you can see in Plumeria.

Treatment: Fill a sprayer bottle with 1 liter of water. Mix in 15 ml of liquid dishwashing soap, followed by 3 tablespoons of chili powder and 3 tablespoons of turmeric powder.

Now it's time to spray on all affected areas and on the soil. It will kill the eggs on the soil as well.

Another easy remedy is to rub the affected areas with alcohol.

You can check more in detail here: Get rid of mealybugs on plumeria

To learn more about Plumeria leaves yellowing check: Why plumeria leaves turn yellow and the treatment

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