Frangipani pests & problems
Frangipani Rust
If you can see little puffs or pustules
of golden yellow powder that start
out on the underside of your leaves
and resemble pollen, this is frangipani rust.
Frangipani rust is a fungal plant disease that is spread via the powder (spores) that get carried away with the wind or through overhead watering. Spores can spread for many kilometres in strong winds or just a few centimetres with a slight bump or breeze. See below our recommended way to control and help prevent the spread of rust to other frangipani plants.
Spider mites
These super tiny crab like insects
draw sap from the centre leaf vein
and then quick spread right across
the entire leaf. Damage resembles thousands of white dots. treatment - spray the infested plant leaves on both sides with our mite spray to kill all spider mites and eggs. Repeat spray after one week. Sydney Frangipani mite spray is effective on most sap sucking soft bodied insects.
Moth larvae
Moth larvae are one of the most
common problems of older frangipani
trees in the Sydney region. Trees start
to exhibit a crumbly beard like formation
on branch joints and along branches. Once the crumbling mess has been removed the moth larvae will be found as the cause of the mess. These pests will destroy the cambium layer if left untreated.
Recommended Treatment - For smaller infestations first, feed your tree well with frangipani fertiliser. Next, you need to remove the crumbly areas (see picture lower left) and spray these pieces with our mint pesticide free insect spray before placing in the bin. Finally, any large wounds should be sealed with our plumeria repair paste. Check the rest of the tree for moths and larvae and spray with mint pesticide free insect spray
For large infestations in Sydney call us for a quote
No leaves only flowers
When frangipani trees produce little
or no leaves at all, just flowers then it's very likely that the plant or tree is not receiving any nutrients or water from the roots. There can be many reasons for this and the outcome is not always positive for the tree unfortunately. For smaller potted plants, a dose of Yates anti rot is advised to try and prevent any further rot and to stabilise the plant. It's kind of like antibiotics for plants. For larger trees there can be various issues and generally an inspection of the tree is required. If you're in Sydney you can contact us below for a quote to book a site health check to determine the exact cause and treatment.
Anthracnose
Anthracnose or black spot is a fungal
disease that is similar to frangipani
rust and is brought on by hot humid
conditions. It is generally spread by overhead watering and by infected leaves touching other plants close by. A bit easier to contain than frangipani rust.
Recommended treatment - Treat with our Stop Rust spray. Remove the leaves and re-apply if new outbreaks appear.
Curl grubs
Curl grubs are beetle larvae that feed
on the roots of potted frangipani and
other potted plants. If you notice your
plants are starting to wobble in their pots and the tips of the frangipani are starting to really taper to to very small tips then the roots might be getter devoured by these little pests. The adult beetles lay their eggs in the loose soil or bark. Once hatched, these grubs feed voraciously on the plants roots, damaging potted frangipani plants and prevent the plants from feeding properly and growing in a healthy and vigorous manor.
Recommended treatment - Treat by doing a soil drench with Eco-neem biological insecticide
Possums
Possums are opportunists when it
comes to frangipani. They will only
bite branches that are newer, softer
growth and generally will only eat what they can reach from the safety of a nearby fence or roof. This usually occurs in winter when theres not a lot of their normal food available. Leaves are occasionally eaten in spring & autumn but they don't really like the taste of them and only tend to go for them if they haven't tried them before.
LED lights tend to keep them away but the best solution is to ensure they can't reach any branches from adjacent structures. Magnolias suffer also.
Scale insects
Scale are sap sucking insects that look
like barnacles or hard flat flakes that
attack leaves and stems. Scale is a
problem that can be made worse
by ants protecting and milking the scale for a sugary secretion. Scale are sap sucking insect that attacks leaves and stems.
Recommended treatment - spray with Sydney Frangipani mite spray then repeat spray after a week and gently scrub scale off using a mild or worn nylon kitchen scour pad. Check underneath
leaves for further infestations. Spray any ants in the vicinity to prevent further scale being spread.
What are these things?
Lenticels
What are these little cork like bumps
along the stem resemble barnacles
on the hull of a boat. These are actually lenticels and are part of the plants respiratory system. Their function is gas exchange between the outside
atmosphere and the plants internal tissue. Mostly visible on varieties like Darwin blood red, Bowen yellow, Cherry clusters and Aussie Pink. These are TOTALLY NORMAL and should not be confused with scale insects or pests of any kind so you can relax now.... phew
Aerial roots
Aerial roots or advantageous roots
happen on branches and trunks of
frangipani trees. This can usually
indicate that the tree is searching for nutrients it needs for growth. Older trees or trees with a damaged cambium layer quite often throw out aerial roots. If no obvious issues are present then a lack of nutrients left in the soil is the quite probably the cause. Recommended treatment - feed with our specially blended frangipani fertiliser twice a season to increase the amount of organic nutrients available to the tree.
My flowers have changed colour
Many coloured frangipani have naturally
occurring chemicals in their flowers that actually tan or get darker and more intense during heat waves or heat events. This usually occurs in the one or two days before the flower opens or on the day of opening and can make people think it's a different variety or that something is wrong. These flowers can also fade greatly over time after opening. "Did my tree change colour?" Many pinks, reds, tri colours are like this and it can be a confusing time for someone trying to identify the cultivar. This variety to the left is Blood Sun. The top flower opened during a cooler period and has faded over time whilst the bottom flower recently opened during a very extreme heat event. Aussie Pink is also one of these varieties.
Lichen
Lichen grows on the bark of the trees
and is harmless to the tree. There are
two main types of lichen, the smooth
one protects the tree quite well against
sunburn, however the other type of lichen is mossy and holds water. We recommend the removal of this type of lichen as excess water against the tree in winter can promote rot. The picture on the left is that of the smooth lichen.
Recommended treatment - For mossy lichen remove with a wet scour pad.
Leaf minors
These little bugs do destroy the look
of the leaves but rarely do they do any
real damage. They are easily spotted
at the end of their silvery trail.
Recommended Treatment - If you really want to get rid of them just remove affected leaves and place in the green waste.
Holes & cavities
Holes and cavities can be a result of
the pith receding after pruning or
just from a rotten branch. These holes
can hold water and cause further damage from rot.
Recommended Treatment - For deep holes its is best to fill them with Sydney Frangipani Plumeria Repair paste to prevent water from ponding and seal the area off from insects. Sealed wounds means happy frangipani trees : )
Fall armyworm eggs
This is the egg sac of Fall armyworm caterpillars. The caterpillars are the larval stage of the moth known as Spodoptera frugiperda. These pests are not harmful to frangipani from what we have experienced, however lawns and other plants nearby can be damaged quite badly if these pests appear in very high numbers.
Recommended Treatment - blast the leaves with water to remove the entire nest and eggs when you see them or pick of the affected leaves and bin them in the garbage not the green waste.
Fungal infections
Fungal infections usually start from
within a branch that has rotted and
has started to decay.
Recommended Treatment - Cut off all branches that exhibit fungus or rot and keep cutting back to white healthy flesh and flowing sap, then it is most important to treat the soil by watering with Yates Anti-rot liquid concentrate. This works to kill of the fungal infection attacking the plants healthy tissue giving the frangipani every chance to recover.
Black tip
Black tip is a partial die off caused
by cold, still, winter air descending downwards that first affects the tips
of frangipani plants. Furthermore, frost events will kill entire mature frangipani trees from a single night of frost. Frangipani are NOT frost tolerant and should never be located where frost can occur. Once the plant cells freeze they turn mushy & black and that's it, their gone!
Recommended Treatment - Cut off all branches that are black & mushy and keep cutting back to white healthy flesh and flowing sap as pictured in the three photos to the left. Then treat the soil by watering with Yates Anti-rot liquid concentrate to kill off any infection.
Ant infestations
The presence of ants in your pots
or in nests on your frangipani tree
generally means your plants are
too dry as ants don't like water and will make nests in dry soils, dead branches and holes and cavities where the dry conditions suit them.
Recommended Treatment - Spray with our Mint pesticide free spray to kill ants and nests on plant and in hole cavities. Fill holes and cavities with our Plumeria repair paste to stop easy access to pests like ants. Place a one inch wide ring of Vaseline around the trunk to prevent ants from climbing the plant. Fertilise and water often during summer
Trunk sunburn
Sunburn is usually more likely to
occur when the plants are lacking
water during summer. Frangipani love
lots of water during hot weather and it is advisable to water frequently during this time. Potted plants can have trays filled with water under them to prevent burning. Remove the trays when the heat wave passes.
Always ensure your frangipani are well watered during the hot summer months. In extreme cases, the cambium layer will discolour, burn and the trunks split open causing stress to the tree and reducing the trees ability to draw food and nutrients from the roots. Leaves often get burned from the sun as well during hot weather events.
Leaf sunburn
Sunburn is usually more likely to
occur when the plants are lacking
water during summer. Frangipani love
lots of water during hot weather and it is advisable to water frequently during this time. Potted plants can have trays filled with water under them to prevent burning. Remove the trays when the heat wave passes.
Always ensure your frangipani are well watered during the hot summer months. In extreme cases, the cambium layer will discolour, burn and the trunks split open causing stress to the tree and reducing the trees ability to draw food and nutrients from the roots. Leaves often get burned from the sun as well during hot weather events.
Ring barking
Ring barking frangipani plants & trees
can happen really easily and can kill
all frangipani trees including fully
grown mature trees. Whipper snippers
usually to blame as the cord damages the soft cambium layer very easily and continued damage will kill the tree. Trees planted in the lawn are mostly affected.
Recommended Treatment - Prevention!! The best way to prevent ring barking the tree is to use a lawn guard like these concrete half circles. See photo to the left. Available at most garden centres.
Assassin bugs
Assassin bugs are predatory bugs
that hunt insects. They do not eat the
plants and are considered good bugs.
These bugs do however have a painful bite so it is highly recommended not to pick them up or touch them. We leave them alone and in turn they protect our plants from the bad bugs.
White flies
White flies generally like to breed in
greenhouse conditions. They are easily
controlled by spraying with our own
Sydney Frangipani mite spray.
Good ventilation will also discourage them. Thinning out the leaves and branches will help.
Recommended treatment - spray with Sydney Frangipani mite spray and repeat spray after two weeks.
Aphids
Who would have thought that I would have to add a segment on aphids for
frangipani but it happened this on quite
a few of our frangipani plants this season, so here's the best treatment - spray the infested plant leaves on both sides with our mite spray to kill all aphids and nymphs. Sydney Frangipani mite spray is also non toxic and safe to use around pets. Sydney Frangipani mite spray is effective on most sap sucking soft bodied insects and is available in our online store.
Weed poison drift
Thin, skinny malformed leaves are usually
a sign of poison spray drift. Weed killers
and other grass or yard poisons can bring
on this condition. This condition usually fixes itself over time. Remove malformed leaves and feed with a natural non chemical fertiliser and water regularly in the growing season. Also, it's worth checking what type of sprays are being used in the area and avoid further use in the future. Weed sprays containing glyphosate are usually to blame.
Shrek ears
This is an interesting occurrence and is
nothing to be concerned with. This is a
genetic trail of the traditional white and
yellow frangipani. Small leaflets or shrek ears appear on the leaf stems randomly. This is a handy thing to know when trying to identify cuttings. We have not seen any other plumeria varieties do this unusual leaf formation to date with the exception of Bali whirl as it's a sport mutation from the white and yellow frangipani.
Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are a nuisance mostly
but in large numbers they can do a bit
of damage to leaves. Not particularly
a problem in Sydney.
Recommended treatment - catch and release somewhere else perhaps : ) or if you have chooks
they might find them quite tasty.
Preditory hoppers
These little guys grow to a maximum of around 20mm long and are the GOOD GUYS! They eat other insects and and in doing so, protect your plants. Make sure you look after them and they will reward you with free 24hour security!
Mini mantis
These little miniature praying mantis grow to a maximum of around 30mm long and are also GOOD GUYS! They eat other insects and and in doing so, protect your plants. They produce a long thin strip that is secreted to the sides of pots or under leaves (usually beige in colour) that is their is egg carapace.
Wavy leaves
No, its not a new variety that you
have discovered : ) Wavy leaves are
caused by a lack of water. Well, you might say that's
impossible because you water every day! Well here
are the causes of a lack of water take up. 1) Soil has become hydrophobic and the plant needs repotting.
2) Plant is too small for the pot and needs a bigger pot. 3) More frequent watering is required during the
growing season. 4) The roots may have rotted and water is no longer being absorbed by the plant.
In most cases repotting into new soil and a bigger pot
and frequent watering will fix the problem however,
the wavy leaves will stay wavy but the new leaves will be straight. Just remember, when your leaves are waving at you they need water : )