Holes in Indoor Plants’ Leaves
For nature lovers looking to bring nature into their humble abode, there are some risk factors involved. It takes an extensive amount of work to develop your green thumb, but the benefits outweigh the challenges. Nonetheless, with this guide you can prevent holes from forming in your plants as well as other issues associated with indoor plants.
Plants can develop holes in their leaves for a variety of reasons, most commonly pests and bugs, often times disease in the foliage. As with any organism, the plant’s vibrancy will decrease under unfavorable conditions, and it may eventually die. Plants will adapt more quickly to their new indoor environment if they are properly cared for.
Why Indoor Plants get Holes in the Leaves?
Those new to green thumbs should be patient with themselves. There is a lot to learn and a huge variety of indoor plants available. It is rewarding to nurture a living thing and with practice and persistence, the skill will develop itself as well.
The first thing we usually do when indoor plants have holes in their leaves is to check for pests and insects that may be eating the leaves. Inspect the plant thoroughly for signs of disease or insects taking over.
After looking for these basic and most common causes of holes in the leaves, look closely at the health of the plant.
Therefore, do not be alarmed if the color of your plants changes slightly or a few leaves drop. This is very normal in the first week of transportation for the plants to adjust.
The houseplant should begin to thrive after a few weeks of getting used to its new home. If you continue to get plants with holes in them and are choosing improperly, you may need to switch nurseries.
You should make sure to inspect the plant before you purchase it. This is vital to ensure that you don’t purchase plants with holes or infestations.
Symptoms to Look at
Observe the leaves for wilting, roots that appear chewed up, and holes in or tears in the leaves. Check the color, size, shape, length, and width.
If the coloration is off or the plant looks decayed, you may have a nutrient problem with this plant specifically, with his neighbors, or the nursery as a whole.
Most nurseries spend a lot of time and effort to understand the plants and flowers they grow, so most of their stock thrives and is lush, which is how they stay in business. Therefore, if you feel upset with the nursery or salesperson about dying plants, it is usually not their fault. They may not be aware of a single plant breed issue.
In this guide, we will look at the problems you may encounter with hole in your indoor plants, as well as the solutions you can try. Our first focus will be on pests.
Pests Attacking Your Plants
We will spend the most time and attention on this section, since it is the primary cause of the holes in your plants.
There are indicators that indicate insect activity on your plants at close range: bite marks, tiny mouth marks on leaves, holes, and tear marks.
Another symptom of predation is distorted leaves or leaves that look like they’re peeling off from a living organism feeding on the plants’ nutrients. No matter how obvious the bite marks appear, small or stunted plants may also indicate nutrient deficiency, as well as pests or improper care.
We discussed choosing the right spot for the plant in your home in the previous section after first being thoughtful about the purchase and placement of the plants.
In addition to choosing the right plant placement, you will also want to ensure that they receive natural light with a good amount of water each day (or as often as the species of plant requires) and that there are no pest problems in the area.
Placement of potted plants can make all the difference in their proper absorption of nutrients. You will need to research what kind of light and intensity this plant needs, as well as if the area is well insulated and the humidity level aligns with the needs of this breed.
A plant that hasn’t been considered for all of these factors simply has a higher chance of not surviving.
The humidity in your plants is an important factor to consider because its moisture is likely to attract pests and insects. In the kitchen or bathroom, humidity is usually higher since more moisture is moved through these areas frequently. You might want potted plants in these spaces, but it’s also the most dangerous.
Plants can be very useful in the kitchen and to provide more oxygen in the bathroom and lower air-flow rooms that do not get as much fresh air. Please keep in mind the elevated risk for pests. We will discuss preventive measures shortly.
Different types of pests
Aphids
The bugs are small, brown, sometimes black, and they are found on the undersides of leaves, away from the sun. They stunt your plant’s growth by robbing it of the nutrients, which results in curled or distorted foliage.
Mealybugs
You’ll find them sitting on stems, on leaves, and exactly where leaves attach to stems. They look like cotton balls, but if you don’t treat them your plants will die and lose their nutrients.
Mites
They are not insects, but light-colored arachnids. These are the same arachnids that spiders and scorpions are, so if you imagine scorpions all over your plants, you’ll understand why a treatment is required. Besides distorting the nutrients and growth pattern of your plants, mites can leave leaves covered in webbing that makes them appear like an abandoned haunted house. If you see the yellow tone on the foliage first, begin looking for more mite warning signs.
Scales
These will be the standard brownish black bugs that live on plants. They will be found on leaves and are the ones that nibble on the leaves. They actually use your indoor plants as smoothie straws, sucking the juices out of them until they die. Unfortunately, these vampire insects are very small, but quite deadly, so they must be treated.
Thrips
Bugs ranging in color from light brown to light tan. They may look white when young or you can see their eggs. They feed on leaves and flowers, resulting in nutrient deficiency and discoloration.
Whiteflies
This plant resembles another annoying bug that is similar to the gnat as it sprouts holes everywhere that cause it to turn pale yellow or ghost white. Creepy, creepy, and not okay.
Knowing the major pests and their behavior will help you understand how to effectively treat your indoor plants and rid your home of them!
How to Treat Pests
For pest control to be effective, you need to identify the pest completely. It is also important to choose a natural and non-toxic treatment if you, your pets, or children are around.
It’s always best to start with non-chemical treatments, such as a stream of water to drown the insects and remove their webs/hold on your plants. Others recommend dusting and wiping down plants often, just as you would do with bookshelves. Botanists also swear by this method.
Some swear by picking up each pest by hand. However, if you are trying to get rid of bugs that are almost impossible to remove, such as fleas, you may need to hire a professional.
In most cases, damage caused by insects that have large mouths like caterpillars and slugs can be seen under the leaves. You can look for them by examining the green train of fecal pellets they leave.
Gardeners say picking them up and putting them outside is the easiest way to not kill the slugs. You might also want to be sure not to leave small weeds on your plants that tiny critters can hide in.
If you’ve had to clean the plant and purchase new soil, yet still have a pest problem, you might want to try using a different brand of soil and stop using the same pot. Changing the soil may also help you eradicate pests.
The soil from the nursery may contain bugs. You may inspect the plant, but the problem is in the soil. You may see millipedes or pill-bugs, neither of which harm your plants. As they feed on dead organic matter, they will not damage your plants. If you do not want them in your garden, simply catch them and set them outside.
You may want to keep your plant away from other plants for a while to avoid transferring the disease from one plant to all of your plants. Isolate the problem plant and go from there.
Make sure leaves don’t touch as pests can easily spread from plant to plant if they have a convenient bridge to pass through.
Also, you can pick up plant sprays at the nursery that will help combat pests. Just make sure they are non-toxic and won’t harm your plants’ clean air.
Disease in House Plants
Plant disease is another common cause of premature death in house plants. It may not cause holes in the leaves, but you’ll have plenty of other problems if they keep getting sick.
Houseplants are usually not prone to many diseases, but some can be weakened by moving from greenhouse conditions to inside the home. They will spend this period degenerating the immune system and rebuilding while acclimating to a new indoor environment without natural sunlight or rainfall.
If you use the wrong pesticides to treat holes in your leaves, the plant could become ill, necessitating the use of harsh chemicals that will poison the plant or harsh bleach.
Below are some symptoms of houseplant diseases, along with their remedies:
Leaf spots
Your plants will develop this problem due to fungal issues or bacterial overgrowth.
How to Fix. Infected leaves should be removed, air circulation should be increased, and water should not be used on the leaves, creating a high moisture environment that will foster bacteria growth. Keep the water in the soil and be aware of it.
Powdery mildew
Essentially a fungus which will result in leaves falling or being distorted, this pest is commonly mistaken for the white cotton ball pest but is powderier and will affect a much larger area.
How to Fix. You’ll have to increase air circulation if you want to reduce powdered mildew and place it in a room with lower humidity. Kitchens and bathrooms are usually the most humid spots in a home, so moving them out of there will probably solve the problem. If you see leaves that seem deeply infected, remove them immediately to avoid spreading infection to other leaves and nearby plants.
Root and stem rots
A darkened root or stem will be noticeable on your indoor plants. Look for soft brown or black roots or you might see your plant rotting, wilting, or die completely.
How to Fix. You should not overwater your plants. Remove infected leaves to prevent infection. Repot your plants in a sterile mix with no bugs if necessary.
Final Thoughts
Unless your plants constantly die due to holes in the leaves, you should not worry too much about holes in the leaves. Plants are living organisms prone to growing. Originally from the wild, plants are covered with insects and pests. They are equipped to handle this, so a slug here and there that you have to place outside is no big deal.
A healthy plant is often dependent upon where it is placed in the house, sunlight, clean soil, and regular waterings according to its brand (some plants can only be watered once or twice a month with dry-environment breeds like cacti).
If you check your house plants regularly for pests, you’ve done the hard part. Now you can take care of them without worrying about replacements.
It’s not detrimental to your plant if it has a few holes here and there. In the real world, a plant would suffer significantly if it had holes, so as long as they are well loved and cared for, they will continue to grow.
Invest in your plants and you’ll find that they’ll appreciate your care, your home will feel lighter and fresher, and your green thumb will flourish!
As real plants, your plants are bound to have some imperfections. It’s funny how in that way, flawed beauty is just like imperfection.
I choose the raw, real, and imperfect every time over the artificial. What about you?