Brown Spots on Bamboo Leaves: Detect by Images and Fix the Problem

Join me in this post to find out “What are brown spots on bamboo leaves?” along with their images. you also will learn how to fix your problem. keep reading.

My academic major is Plant protection and graduated from PhD in plant pathology. I work as a gardening adviser. In this post, I want to tell you about one of the most common problems that indoor and outdoor gardeners have with bamboo plants: leaf spots on bamboo leaves.

If you have lucky bamboo in your house or plant bamboo trees in your garden, I am sure you have seen spots on bamboo leaves. They may be brown, yellow, or white. What are they? can they kill your bamboo? how can you fix them?

In this post, I want to speak about brown spots on bamboo leaves. If you have seen yellow or white spots, you can read my other posts. Now, keep reading to tell you all the things you must know to solve your problem.

Several reasons can cause brown spots on bamboo leaves. It can be due to pathogenic or environmental agents. In the following, you can find 4 of them with their images. Compare the images with the spots on your bamboo leaves and try to detect the causal agent of your problem. I also will provide you with tips to fix your problem.

Please note that in this part I only mention the Brown spots on leaves, if you see other signs such as leaf tip burn, deformation, chlorosis (yellowing), etc. I will discuss them in my other posts.

 ➡ You can also hear the audio version of this article.

1: Fungal Brown Spots on Bamboo Leaves

Let’s start with the most dangerous reason: the fungal pathogens. Please note that the exact detection of the problem must be done with an expert but I try to help you detect the most propel reason by images.

T the pathogenic leaf spots on bamboo are often:

• Brown spots with yellow margins on bamboo leaves

 

• Brown spots with a white centre on bamboo leaves

These spots are usually round but by spreading the disease, they may join together and create irregular forms. Finally, you will see the necrotic spots on bamboo leaves.

As far as I know, bacterial pathogens are not important on bamboo plants but several fungal pathogens can cause spots on bamboo leaves. I won’t mention their names here because it may be boring for you, however, if someone is interested to know, ask me below this page to list them with references.

If you detect that the causal agent of brown spots on your bamboo leaves is a fungal pathogen, keep reading to treat your plant.

How to Treat the Pathogenic Brown Spots on Bamboo Leaves

• Most of the fungal pathogens that cause brown spots on bamboo leaves love humid environments, so if you space between plants for better airflow, you can decrease the problem.
• You can decrease the pathogen population by removing and destroying infected plants or plant parts. It will prevent the infection of healthy plants too.
• When you see the pathogenic brown spots on bamboo leaves you must avoid sprinkler irrigation until fixing the problem. Please read about the best ways to water bamboo plants.
• In nurseries, the application of fungicides can control the diseases.

2: Sunburn Brown Spots on Bamboo Leaves

As I told you in my previous article about bamboo light requirements, lucky bamboo thrives in bright indirect places and too much direct sunlight will scorch their foliage. The symptoms of sunburn on bamboo leaves are the leaves turn yellow or white.

• First, the affected leaves are white or pale yellow and then will turn brown. Finally, the leaves will be withers.
• Please note that in sunburn brown spots on bamboo leaves, the edges of the leaves often become completely dry, especially if the sunburn is severe.

How to Fix the Sunburn Brown Spots on Bamboo Leaves

Unfortunately, the damaged leaves cannot be reversed but you can save your plant by following remedies:

• Find an area with bright indirect sunlight but no direct sunlight and move your bamboo into there.
• Cut the damaged brown leaves off.
• Misting your bamboo plant for a few days. It will encourage your plant to the new growth.

It will take time for your plant to recover and you must take care of the bamboo plant carefully.

3: Tap Water Causes Brown Spots on Bamboo Leaves

Several plants such as Dracaena species are sensitive to fluorides and other salt in tap water. lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is not a real bamboo plant and belongs to Dracaena Genius.

The symptoms of fluoride toxicity in lucky bamboo plants are:

• Tip burn: First the tip of the leaves turns pale yellow to white and then gets brown and will die (leaf necrosis).
• The scorched areas can be also along the margins (edges) of leaves and can spread inwards.
• You may also see the early symptoms as tiny brown spots on bamboo leaves near their tip.

Please note that fluoride toxicity is not the only reason for bamboo tip burn, other factors can also cause it.

How to Fix and Prevent the Tap Water Brown Spots on Bamboo Leaves

• Use rainwater, or tap water diluted with rainwater.
• Avoid using potting mixes that have a high percentage of perlite. Perlite contains some fluoride. I told you about the best soil mix for lucky bamboo in my previous article.
• Superphosphate fertilizers often have high levels of fluoride. The best fertilizer for lucky bamboo is a liquid-balanced fertilizer.

Conclusion

I provided you with the most common factors that can cause brown spots on bamboo leaves including fungal pathogens, tap water (Fluoride) toxicity, and sunburn. You must scroll through images and consider the growing condition of your bamboo plant to detect its problem exactly to fix it.

If you see Brown Spots on your Bamboo Leaves that I didn’t mention in this post, please tell me about them below this page and send their pictures to my email to help you. you can share your ideas and experiences to our readers.