Three months ago, I brought a 5-foot ficus tree to a similar non-direct lit area indoors. This is pretty scary if you love your orchids and care for their environment. Thank You for Your Assistance, Vicki Plant Expert Reply: Vicki, You will need to apply a houseplant spray to the plant in order to kill the insects. It's very sticky and I thought it might be sap but I've never seen sap in that form before. It will take about 3 to 4 weeks for the cutting to grow roots. Well, you’re in the right spot. So I have 2 umbrella tree plants in my freerange. Post #4216436. You should notice that over the coming weeks you won’t have any sticky leaves and leaves will stop turning yellow and dropping off. The fungi start feeding on the honeydew and it quickly spreads to surrounding leaves, stems and plants. They can multiply quickly and they leave a sticky residue behind which will start to grow a black fungus. Many species excrete a sticky, sugary substance, honeydew. September 4, 2012 They’re Back! I brought the plant home from work and spraye . For a relatively small infestation of aphids, this alone should be enough to get the pests off your bonsai and your sticky leaf issue should stop there. It may be a couple of months before you actually get a new plant. I have had it for several years and I do not remember it producing this sticky substance a couple of years ago. From The Garden Forum: Hi Friends,I have an English ivy indoor plant that has become very sticky, secreting a strange sticky substance. Wondering how to prevent sticky leaves on house plants? Check the undersides of the leaves, and you may find the culprit: large groups of aphids and/or the sticky residue they leave behind after feeding. Like any population living in a crowded, unnatural environment, these plants are prone to pests and disease. If what you find is what I think it might be, this sticky substance is referred to as “Orchid Nectar”, “Orchid Honey” and even “Honey Dew” in the Orchid community and is very common and completely harmless. About 10 years ago, in Virginia, it became infested with small dots that I believe to be scale insects. During the spring and fall, aphid populations increase dramatically because of the warm weather. 1. Aphids are soft-bodied insects, about one-tenth of an inch long, with wings or without, and can be just about any color, but are often light green, yellow, or brown. You can identify a mealybug houseplant infestation by their cotton-like residue they leave on plant leaves and stems. Take a closer look at the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves and the stems. I have an indoor potted ivy plant. We have taken advice and what we have are either aphids or scale – insects which suck the juices out of the plant. I do not know what is causing it and if there is something I can do to stop it. Aphids feed on the sap of phloem vessels – this is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients to the plant for healthy growth. And that is present on the leaves. Scale insects can be found on a wide range of ornamental plants, fruit trees and bushes grown out of doors. Examine stems and leaves for specks, webbing, sticky residue, white bumps and branch dieback -- all signs of either spider mite, mealy bug or scale infestation, to which money plants are particularly susceptible. Learn more here about identifying, treating, and preventing this pest. Most will be controlled with an insecticidal soap spray (making sure you spray the undersides), but some may need a systemic. Some of the leaves were turning yellow. stogeo Hermitage, TN Nov 21, 2007. Aphids, mealybugs, scales and whiteflies all exude a honeydew or sticky substance on the leaves. Use a sharp knife to take a cutting from the plant and remove the top most leaves. House plants are great – but maintaining them can be a chore. Bookmark. Why is there sticky sap on my plants? If you look closely, you can usually see them - they'll be round or oval shaped. Sticky leaves of any tree are usually evidence of an aphid infestation or occasionally an infestation of a tree above the lemon tree. We noticed the leaves are sticky. The problem is that these insects are excreting a sticky substance called honeydew. They attach themselves to stems or leaves and suck sap from the plants. Other signs of mealybug damage on plants include a sweet, sticky honeydew secreted by the plant-killing bugs. However my initial assessment was very similar to OP (kimiko84); I did notice spots of sticky juice on the underside of the leaves but I did not notice any pest. Not know what this is pretty scary if you ’ re in summer! 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