If the yucca or palm lily is treated with care, diseases or pests are very rare. If the popular houseplant is in a bright and warm place - if possible right in front of a window - is not watered too often and occasionally fertilized, it will grow quickly and develop strong, green leaves. A white, wipeable coating is often due to gall mites, but plant lice or powdery mildew can also be the cause.

Tea tree oil helps against mealybugs and mealybugs

Gall mites are often hidden behind a white coating

In the case of the yucca, the cause of a mealy-white and wipeable coating is rarely the powdery mildew, a fungus that is otherwise not uncommon in many plants cultivated in the house and garden. If you discover this type of damage on your yucca, you should first think of gall mites - tiny little animals that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Plant protection products based on sulfur or rapeseed oil help against gall mites - just as they do against powdery mildew.

Mealybugs and mealybugs

However, a white coating is not only due to gall mites, but sometimes also to plant lice such as mealybugs or mealybugs. In contrast to the gall mites, lice cause sticky leaves with their sweet excretions, whereby the soil around the affected plant can also stick. The best way to fight these stubborn little creatures is with tea tree oil: Mix 10 drops of tea tree oil with one liter of water and wash the leaves off regularly with it. In the case of a severe infestation, however, the only thing that helps is to remove the corresponding leaves and dispose of them with the household waste.

Powdery mildew is rather rare on yucca

Powdery mildew (not to be confused with downy mildew, the whitish coating of which cannot be wiped off) is rare on a yucca, but it does occasionally occur. The reason is a location that is too dry and/or too warm, which is why you should never place the yucca next to a heater during the winter months and it is best to put it outside in the summer. Remove affected leaves and spray the plant with horsetail tea or a mixture of tea tree oil and water.

tips

Downy mildew also has a white coating, but only develops in locations that are too damp and too cool. Here, too, horsetail or tansy tea and the generous removal of affected parts help.

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Trees