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sassy270380

question about black mold/bugs and crepe myrtles

18 years ago

i am wondering if anyone knows whether my crepe has that black mold fungus or if its a bug...i have pics but don't know how well you all will be able to see it.. the bug is black with a white or yellow stipe on the back and on this leaves my guess is eggs..i hoping my CM doesnt have that mold even though they have been srpaed with a fungus spray..any suggestion would be of great help

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Comments (10)

  • 18 years ago

    Don't know what you have but it doesn't look like any crape myrtle I've ever seen.

  • 18 years ago

    texasredhead, it is crepe myrtles.i am asking a question about whether it looks like a fungus type that they may have,and/or, about the first picture about what type of bug this could be.i tried to describe it because the pictures aren't very clear....

  • 18 years ago

    It looks like insect eggs and some new hatchlings. That said, I can't see sufficient detail to know precisely which critter.

    In any event, if only one leaf is affected, not a problem.

  • 18 years ago

    I have 5 crape myrtles and none of them look anything like your "crape". By the way, all of mine are in full bloom and have been for two months and will continue to bloom through September. Tell me again if your "crape" blooms and when.

  • 18 years ago

    texasredhead,i really don't know what kind of crepe myrtles i have to be honest...i bought them from home depot and all the tags said was "red crepe myrtle",i have 3 so far that are in late bloom i guess since they were bought about a month ago those are red,i have another that appears to white with tinges of pink,so apparently the tags were wrong,but i did pay for them and would like to see them grow,if you would follow my link to photobucket you would see where i have questioned what kinds of crepes i really bought as i left the tag on it,...i also bought some from lowes and were also the wrong colors..i was just concered that they had that black mold and was wondering if anyone could tell and also some type of bug all over which i mentioned in my first post...i also had to trm some of the branches as they were broken...thanks anyhow

  • 18 years ago

    The black mold is called black sooty mold, an indication that your crape myrtle has/had aphids or other sucking insects. You'll need to get rid of those insects and the black sooty mold will go away on its own. No need for a fungicide. Actually, that black stuff is not a plant disease at all....just a simple mold growing on the excretions provided by the insects.

    There is no way to identify your other critter without a closer image....any way that you can do that?

    Crape myrtles that are labeled 'red' or 'white' and not a named hybrid are very likely seedlings and often inferior in some respects to the named hybrids. Sophisticated and careful breeding programs have introduced hundreds of disease and insect resistant crape myrtle varieties, with superior aesthetic features.

  • 18 years ago

    thanks for the info rizo, i best try and get rid of those bugs it seems...what does aphids look like anyhow...the ones i have seen on the inside of the leaves are black with a light stripe on its back..the other day i was looking at these things when it seemed like eggs on the leaf i posted,then started to feel as though something was crawling all over me to the point i had to come in and take a shower

  • 18 years ago

    my crepe myrtles all have had aphids this year, if you spray them down with the hose & spray nozzle in the morning for several days in a row the gross little bugs will die. I noticed the shiny aphid droppings on the leaves and ground around the plants too. It looked much better after 3 days of spraying the plants down with nothing but the water. Good luck.

  • 18 years ago

    Sassy, the eggs and the black (with stripe) insects 'might' be from ladybugs, which are natural predators of aphids and other small, soft-bodied critters. The larvae of the ladybugs could be what you are seeing....they eat aphids, too.

    Attached is a google image page, so that you can see several pictures of Crape myrtle aphids.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Click here

  • 18 years ago

    thank you rhizo for the info,i have been spraying them with bugs be gone every 3 days and they seem to be almost bug free except for those pesty little beetles

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