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Spirea > Leaves > Leaves discolored white, yellow or pale green

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  • Image: 1
    Credit: M. Grabowski, University of Minnesota
  • Image: 2

    Credit: M. Grabowski, University of Minnesota

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green arrowChimeras

  • Light colored branch or shoot appears on a non-variegated plant
  • Show up suddenly on shoots or individual leaves
  • Not a sign of nutritional or chemical disorders or virus diseases
  • More information on chimeras...
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  • Image: 1
    Credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
  • Image: 2

    Credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

  • Image: 2

    Credit: John Hartman, University of Kentucky, Bugwood.org

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green arrowPowdery mildew
Podosphaera oxycanthe

  • White spots or blotches on leaves
  • In severe cases leaves may be completely coated with white powdery fungal growth
  • Leaves may be stunted, reddened, scorched and curled or puckered by midseason
  • More information on powdery mildew...
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  • Image: 1
    Credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
  • Image: 2

    Credit: F. Peairs, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

  • Image: 2

    Credit: Jeffrey Hahn, University of Minnesota

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green arrowTwo-spotted spider mite
Microsphaeria penicillata

  • White to yellow stippling on foliage; leaves can be off-green
  • Heavy infestations will cause leaves to turn white, yellow and ultimately grayish bronze; premature leaf drop may occur
  • Webbing may be present, especially when heavily infested
  • Mites usually appear in late June to August; they are more prevalent in hot, dry weather
  • Adult spider mites are small (approximately 1/50 inch long) and are hard to see; they are yellow to dark red with dark spots (need magnification to see)
  • More information on two-spotted spider mite...
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  • Image: 1
    Credit: Chazz Hesselein, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, Bugwood.org
  • Image: 2

    Credit: M. Grabowski, University of Minnesota

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green arrowNon-selective herbicide injury
(Round-up, Kleen-up, and other glyphosate products)

  • Yellowing, wilting, browning leaves and eventual death of foliage and plants
  • Damage usually appears first in new tissues
  • Shrubs sprayed during the summer or fall may not have noticeable injury until the following season when leaves appear as stunted, narrow, strap-like, and chlorotic
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  • Image: 1
    Credit: M. Grabowski, University of Minnesota
  • Image: 2

    Credit: M. Grabowski, University of Minnesota

  • Image: 2

    Credit: Paul Bachi, University of Kentucky Research and Education Center, Bugwood.org

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green arrowVerticillium wilt
Verticillium dahliae

  • Leaves on one to several branches turn red to yellow, wilt, die and fall off
  • Dark olive to gray streaks are often visible in the sapwood if the bark is peeled back
  • Symptoms may appear in several branches or in the entire shrub
  • Symptoms are often most obvious in late summer and autumn but can occur throughout the growing season
  • More information on verticillium wilt...

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