Hi Dave,
I don't know,it almost sounds like spider mites.They are so tiny to see.

Hmmmm.....I dont know,but I have recently learned also that in the winter,brugs usually have small leaves,they dont get large like the ones were used to seeing in the summer.

I would continue using the Ortho,in my opinion.
Have you given them anything else? Can you post a pic?

How many brugs do you have? What varieties,if I may ask?

I'm a fellow Floridian :)

Happy Gardening!
Breezy

Yep - spider mites - get out the water hose and spray three times a day until they are gone, and then keep your eyes on the new growth, looking for webbing.

Dave,

Is there any way that you could post a picture of your plant? Although spider mites are hard to see with the naked eye, you can still see their webbing and the insects themselves.

But Broad or Cyclamen Mites are microscopic and they are some nasty little buggers to get rid of. I had a bad infestation of them this past summer. Some people like Neem Oil as a treatment, but what did the best for me was, the light weight horticultural oil, at a little more than the recommended rate. A lot of people swear by Avid, but it will put a BIG dent in your pocket book.

Here is a link to a search on Broad and Cyclamen Mites.

Hope this helps,

David

Here is a link that might be useful: Google search on Broad or Cyclamen Mites

No, I've checked carefully for spider mites, good god I know what they are. I know what they look like and where to look for them. These plants seem to be free from infestation. The leaves are not only tiny, they are distorted and curled and very thick and stiff feeling. I'm a photographer, so I'll post a pic because I'm really curious about this. I just haven't had a moment to take one yet. Dave

Dave,

Here is a link to a picture of one of my brugs that had Broad Mites this past summer. I don't know how to post a picture in the body of the text, so I have to provide the link.

Anyway, is this what your leaves look like?

David

Here is a link that might be useful: Brugmansia with Broad Mite Damage

Might be thrips. Get a piece of plain white paper, hold
it under the area that has the problem, brush or tap
the area and see if any small (1/32") tubular looking
bugs fall on the paper. Exhaling slightly on them will cause
them to move around. It will distinguish them from the
normal plant debris that will also drop on to the paper.
If they are there, ortho systemic will probably get them. If
not there are stronger (pricey) chemicals that will work.

Jack

Brugmansias have been known to have a toxicity to systemic insecticides and it sounds like the normal reaction to it. as the systemic fades the newest leaves during that time should start develpoing normally

Hi Dave,

I am growing couple of plants from seed. They are nearly 4 feet now. All of a sudden, new growth is stunted with leaves thick, waxy and distorted as you described. I am not seeing any pests either

Did your plants recover? Please let me know

Thanks,
Jim

Dave,
I had the exact problem 2 years ago and my brugs are just now putting out normal leaves. It was not mites or thrips. I even tried cutting the largest one way back (well, to be honest, Hurricane Charley cut it way back) in the hopes that it would return to form but it didn't. Systemic? I think so. I was concerned that it was a virus and stopped giving out cuttings but now that it finally is starting to look good again, I'm back to thinking it was something I fed it or sprayed near it or ...
Honestly, I still don't know what it was, but I've heard other gardeners in Florida have had the same problem.
Kate

Does yours look like this?
{{gwi:456329}}

It could be a virus -- I've had problems with that before.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Brugmansia and Datura Society/ Brugmansia Virus and Diseases

Good to know that your plants recovered. I am starting to think its salt damage. Brugs are not very tolerant of salt. The tap water we get here is quite alkaline. This combined with acidic fertilizer results in salty soil.

Let me know your thoughts

Solstice, your picture looks like herbicide damage. This usually happens in spring when there is a windy dry day such as when there is a dust storm.

I have been growing Brugs for over 20 years. Please answer if this brug is grown in the ground. What type of fertilizer are you using? //

BelindaM.

Five years ago I had this happen to EVERY plant in my yard The cause was Me being a dork, I used regular lawn fertilizer on all my landscaping and vegetable plants. If thats what caused your leaf problems they will look ugly for awhile but they will pull out of it.
Good luck!

I've got the same problem. I think it may be the fertilizer. I was using the Miracle grow pretty heavy this spring then I started seeing these messed up leaves and then no leaves at all at the tips. And mine is planted in the ground.{{gwi:456332}}

This happened to my brugs in 2004 as I overwintered them inside. My leaves were like solstice98. It wasn't a pesticide/herbicide as I certainly didn't use that indoors and I didn't have any salt damage either. I too checked for spider mites thinking it might be them; but it wasn't. The only thing I could think of was that I used an insecticidal soap to spray for aphids. They did pull through and started growing normal leaves once I placed them outside for the summer.

I too am puzzled.I have seen this on rare times on my brugs.One of my brugs that comes back every year from the roots has a leaf nearly hidden under the other healthy leaves that has this look.All the other leaves look very healthy and green.But the one leaf looks like the one in the pics.Very strange.

I have tips that look like jaxfl dudes and am wondering if I should cut those tips off. Just like his, there are some with no leaves at all. Will pinching those tips off help or hurt my brug?

Hello,
I thought I'd bring this back to the top of the forum. I'm hoping that someone will see it and post more info. My brug (frosty pink) has had this same leaf problem. This is it's first year and it is planted in the ground. It has grown to about 3 ft. tall, but has produced no flowers. I first noticed the distorted leaves last spring. I've sprayed it with Ortho Systemic Insecticide and Fungicide, with no results. I also tried Neem Oil, but it didn't help either. I've tried spraying it with soapy water, but no luck. And I tried rinsing it with the hose several times a day, but I still have deformed leaves. Does anyone have any new theories about what causes these distorted leaves?
Kathy

I had a couple brugs that grew some thick crinkled leaves. I pinched them off as they appeared and eventually normal leaves started growing agan. I did seperate them from my other plants in case it turned out to be a virus but all seems well now.
Karyn

I remember now that I had this happened looking just like solstice98's plants. It was on bell peppers many years ago and I had it tested at the Cooperative Extension and they said there was no do disease present. This was also on other plants near my property line by neightbors lawn. Always late spring early summer.

Agree with davidwv and you might try hot water dumped over the entire plant. We have gone to using our steam cleaner on our but be warned if you don't know how to use one do not try this.

my brugs have deformed leaves, I spray them for bugs though. They go all summer outside with only caterpillars eating them, but inside they get mites, there's also several plant infections/fungus that can cause the plant to twist and curl up, send a leaf to your local nursery.