I am new to this forum and need help with my dumb cane. A friend gave me a 5 feet tall dumb cane and I find saps on both the tips and the edges of the leaves. Does anyone know how does this happen? Is there anything I can do to stop it? Thank you.
Could be gummosis, which is caused by excessive soil moisture. Or it could also be scale insects which excrete a substance called honeydew. Check for small "bumps" on the leaves that scrape off, and also be sure to let the plant dry out between waterings.
Dear L. Plant: Thanks for the reply. I will look again to see if I find the scale insects. If I do find them, do I spray something to get rid of them? I only find the saps on 2 of the leaves (there are 6 total). Do I have to wait till the soil is very very dry then water it again? I have been mopping the floor religiously for the past 3 months. Thanks again. y2kmei
If you do have scale you may need to use an insecticide depending on how serious the problem is. Don't let the soil get very very dry, but don't water if the soil still feels moist to the touch.
Hi Y2kmei, is it really sap or honeydew what drops from your plant to the floor? Sap contains some kind of sugar and minerals ( and in case of your dumb cane is poisonous and irritating! ) Honeydew -as it says - contains lots of sugar and "glues" - easy to detect I suppose. And because of the location - on the tips and edges of the leaves - I guess it is a phenomena called guttation. I don't know whether this expression is german-botanic or international. Some plants f.e. the dumb cane segregate ( secrete? excrete? ) especially during the night cellulare water because they are not able to transpire adequately due to lower temperatures and higher humidity. Try to water not on top of the soil but down into the coaster (expression?) and use a clay pot with a good draining soil. Btw it is possible to grow dcs without peat based commercial soils - only with compost and garden soil. Good luck and I estimate your plant is in health! hermann
Will the same sap situation happen again every time I water it? I think I found some little black spots on the back of the leaves and I cleaned the leaves with a wet paper towel. Were these the scale insects? Thanks again for taking the time to help me and the plant.
Hermann: I don't know if they are saps or honeydew. I repotted it (from a clay pot to a plastic one) when I got it 3 months ago with soil I bought from the nursery. One of my friends told me I might have traumatized its roots to casue this problem. Should I repot it back to a clay pot? This plant otherwise looks perfect in my new place. Thanks. y2kmei
Sorry, guttation is the term I was stumbling for... it's late here. Rereading your post, it probably is just guttation as the "sap" only appears on the edges and tips of the leaves. Just let the soil dry out a little more between waterings and the problem should cease.
Hello Y2kmei, pot material and soil is a matter of preferences. You don't need to repot a healthy plant! But you might think about a change if you repot your plant(s) for other reasons like growth, renewal of soil or so. I use a very strange ( for the plastic-peat-perlite-and-miracle-grow-users I admit ) system: large saucer (expression?), clay pot, drainage, separating fleece, compost mixed with garden soil; fertilizing organically and watering abundantly with storage in the saucer. The well-draining soil and the porous material of the pot achieves a dry surface of the soil and an adequate supply of the roots with oxygene. When watering my dumb cane too much from top of the soil I experienced guttation as described above. Bye hermann
I checked the plant again this morning before work and I also found sap/honeydew on the surface of one leaf, in addition to those on the edges and tips. Don't know if it came out from the surface or got dropped from the leave above it.