HelpfulGardener.com

Howdy yall.

All of my butterfly weed, as well as some Salvia and other random, are experiencing a disease I have never seen on them. I'm going with lanternfly but that is an absolute guess. Looks vascular and non fungal but I really want a knowledgeable answer, which I can not produce. No pics online show anything similar, usual aphid stuff. The leaves furl, on top of the overall lack of health of the plants. Please id! I love these guys they mean a lot to me.

Have you had them long?

Asclepius tuberosa, as well as most salvias are drought tolerant, which conversely means they don’t like wet feet, prefers well drained soil and less organic matter, more gritty sand, etc. and generally neutral to alkaline soil, without too much nitrogen. They also need full sun — at least 6 hours, I would think.

I would consider those factors as first suspect.
(where they are growing and what kind of soil, mulch, etc you are using).

If these are not the likely issues, are there any other clues?

Thank you for your response. Their location and situation is far from ideal but they have been established for at least a few years. Cheers

It does look like some kind of sucking pests judging by the puckering of the leaves. Are you sure they are not mites? There are other kinds of mites besides spider mites. I don't get a lot of spider mites, I do get broad mites.

YES! @imafan, that was my next thought —

The abnormally hot temps experienced by almost everybody has, I think, created conditions in our gardens that encourage pests that are normally more active in hotter regions than our own.

I believe the usual test for mites — in addition to examining the underside of the leaves for silvery sheen, dusty or russetted appearance, or webbing in advanced infestation — is to hold a piece of copy paper underneath and tap or flick the leaf to see if the tiny mites fall on it. Rub any speck with finger and see if it smears.

BTW I would cut off individual leaves showing these symptoms—they may be harboring nurseries for pests or disease and, moreover, any struggling leaves signal vulnerability and attract additional pests.

If you have a way to magnify by x80 to x150, try examining the underside of these leaves with magnification, too.

(I was able to use a children’s lighted magnifying loupe + my iphone camera to obtain confirmation of russet mites on tomato leaves several years ago)

Broad mites cannot be seen with the naked eye and their bodies are translucent so it is hard to see them with the paper test. The paper test works well with spider and russet mites which are larger.

I can only tell broad mite damage by the conditions (warm, dry, and dusty), and the puckering especially of the newest growth.

They usually don't turn leaves yellow, but spider mites and thrips can cause stippling on the leaves.