Why Are My Curry Leaves Sticky? And How To Fix It

Curry leaf plant is also known as Murraya koenigii, which is native to India. It used to prepare delicious south Indian food. Curry leaves have a great aroma, which will always be a special ingredient for your food. It is very bad if your is plant is suffering from scales or other pests. check the below information details to fix this.

The main cause for the curry leaves sticky is scale insects, they suck all the juice by leaving all the sticky residue they secreted on the plant causing curry leaves to plant sticky. to fix this mix 2 teaspoons of detergent soap with a gallon of water, pour it into the plant, (can also apply a small amount of rubbing alcohol) using the soft cloth or cotton swab clean the plant with fresh water.

Alternatively, we can also use a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth or cotton swab to remove as many scales as possible slowly without harming the plant.

I faced the same problem, when I checked my curry leaves the plant, leaves are sticky and on leaves found small insects, Actually, they are small in quantity at first if you don’t take action they will fastly multiple the number of small insects called scale then it will infect the whole plant.

It’s easy to get rid of scales insects when they are in an earlier stage which means in small quantity, I followed these procedures to get rid of Scale on my curry leaves the plant.

How to get rid of scale on my curry leaves plant?

This is one of the most common problems for curry leaves plant when they are well established. It also infects the growing small plant also.

Controlling or getting rid of scales on curry leaves plant is not a big deal, There are several natural methods to get rid of scales on indoor plants, follow this procedure it will help you for sure.

TIP:IF YOU FIND HONEYDEW (STICKY LIQUID) ON PLANTS, PLACE THE STICKY PAPER NEAR THE PLANT, TO AVOID ANTS COMING NEAR THE PLANT, AND PROTECT SCALE FROM NATURAL PREDATORS.

The main and usefull trick is scales breathes through their armor, easiest way to kill them is by saffocation.

1. For earlier stage

1. Mix the 2 teaspoons of detergent to 1 gallon of warm water. (Depends on how big your plant is)
2. Dip the cotton swab to mix you prepared earlier.
3. wipe down the area completely (soapy water helps to wipe out scales easily).
4. Also alternatively you also use a small quantity of rubbing alcohol to wipe out the scale.

2. For large infection or more number of scales.

Use the same mixture in spray bottle and spray full plant with this mixture, coat the infected areas completely

Dish detergent clogs the scales breathing ability. Other things you can use to spray is

1. insecticiday soap spray
2. Natural product is Neem oil spray for plants. This is also good in removing spider mites, fleas and even flew on plant.
3. Horticultural oil (Follow direction on label)

Out doors we use normally above listed things for curry leaves plant.

Caution: don’t apply this method when temperature is over 85 F and beaware these can also kill natural predators at this temperature.

3. We use another method to kill scales on curry leaves plant or for other trees,

• The chemical is applied to soil or buried in the soil where roots are there.
• The plant absorbs those chemicals and they will be spread to the entire plant.
• As scales suck juice on plants, they take chemicals also, and eventually, it kills them.
• This approach takes time from six to eight weeks.

Above approach can be used if the plant is big that is tree.

4. If you are doing it for outside this natural technique will help you for sure.

Natural predators like ladybug, parasitic wasps helps to get rid of scales naturally.

5. If it is not a large infestation, scrape the tree manually, scrub off with a toothbrush, or by using hand gloves make sure each part is scrubbed and even under the leaves to get rid of scales.

6. Prune the heavily infested area instead of getting them treated with soapy or horticultural oil.

7. Check the scales after applying oil, or removing them from the plant, it may appear again and again same treatment is required.

There are other pests also affecting your plant.

How to get rid of aphids on my curry leaves plant?

check the backside of the leaves for aphids that looks smaller than 1/8 inch. Curry leaf plants also affected by peach, melon, and foxglove aphids looking for tiny things examine the leaf for small white skins and honeydew. Ants also may present due to honeydew. Due to the production of honeydew curry leaves will not grow properly and leads to the brown or yellow color of tips of leaves, Apply insecticidal soap or horticulture oil to kill these.

How to get rid of thrips on my curry leaves plant?

If the curry leaf plant is affected by the thrips which commonly feed on the foilage of curry plants, you can check for thrips by placing white cloth or paper under the leaves and shakes the stem slightly. the insects will drop on paper or cloth, they are thin and very light in colour their damage seems in silver, brown colour in leaves. Apply insecticidal soap or horticulture oil to kill these.

How to get rid of Powdery mildew on my curry leaves plant?

check the leaves for the white small substance called powdery mildew. It can attack curry leaf plants, leading to distorted and discolored foilage. White spots on leaves are always present, yellowish-brown spots may appear at the tips and throughout the entire body of leaves when the disease is severe. Applying sulfur and horticulture oil fungicides before powdery mildew is present helps prevent the disease.

Once it is recovered give less nitrogen fertilizer (sparingly), if possible repot the plant. You can also see how to repot.

Repotting curry leaves plant with proper soil

If you are repotting the plant in same container, you need to santize the pot before you put the new soil.

If you are planning to put old soil, before that you need to boil the soil with hot water, this makes any bacteria that affects plants to die.

Pot the plant with good potted mix, which can be well drained.

Things to consider while you repotting the curry leaf plant.

We need to put good potting mix for pot that will drain well.

You also should consider the next pot size while you are repotting and make sure it has a drainage hole at the bottom.

If you are pruning roots use sanitized tools, otherwise your plants may affect by a previous plant that was suffering from some disease.

Bonus tip: Feed the plant with Baked salt or Epsom salt twice every month as fertilizer to improve the plant

Tips:

1. Feed Curry leaf plant with a tablespoon of Epsom salt (which contains magnesium)/ baked salt into yogurt or 1 gallon of water twice a month (every 15 days) to improve the plant growth. If you overdose you will burn the plant. (My grandmother taught this.)
2. Feed buttermilk to plant during warmer months to improve growth ( when there is no mold).
3. cut the seed-bearing part to get new shoots and leaves to grow healthily.

FAQ:

How to get rid of scale on curry leaf plant?

The main cause for the curry leaves sticky is scale insects, they suck all the juice by leaving all the sticky residue they secreted on the plant causing curry leaves to plant sticky. To get rid of this mix 2 teaspoons of detergent soap with a gallon of water, pour it into the plant, (can also apply a small amount of rubbing alcohol) using the soft cloth or cotton swab clean the plant with fresh water.

Final Thoughts:

I hope, helped you to recover the plant from the scales. Happy Planting.

Let me know in the comments did you succeed in saving your plant?