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Fatsia - rust, pests or deficiency?

toby.wagstaff101Gpd40enttoby.wagstaff101Gpd40ent Posts: 5
edited 22 January in Problem solving
Hello All, 

Im trying to work out whats going on with my fatsia.

It has grown over the last two years or so since planting.

It suffered from pests the first year but recovered.

Now its covered in the yellow mottle pattern seen below.  Is this rust or something else? It is in a brick raised bed so the soil may be slightly shallow but the pattern doesn't seem to match deficiency photos I've seen. It's mostly in shade and is kept relatively moist most of the year. 

 Any advice would be lovely. Thank you.

Posts

  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    It looks pretty normal to me.  Every yr some of the leaves will gradually go brown and shed.  🙂  Unless every leaf on your plant is looking like that I would just stand back and see what happens. 
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I agree it looks normal for a fatsia. They do often get winter damage but the new growth should be a nice deep green.
  • toby.wagstaff101Gpd40enttoby.wagstaff101Gpd40ent Posts: 5
    Thanks both. All the leaves have some mottled effect to varying degrees. The pictured one is one of the more dramtic though. Reassured that it's not unusual to see some similar patterning. I think I'm just wishing it was luscious green like some other plant I've seen. 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Has it been mottled through the year, or just now?
  • toby.wagstaff101Gpd40enttoby.wagstaff101Gpd40ent Posts: 5
    This is terrible but I couldn't say when it started. Referring back to a photo I know they were relatively okay in June! 
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    A foliar application of seaweed extract might be worth a try. It’s a tonic rather than a feed. I use it whenever a plant looks as if it’s struggling and it seems to help.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I wouldn't feed until spring though, when the new growth is starting.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    Old age?  I'm feeling the same.

    Feeding is rarely a cure for a plant issue.  Perhaps, though, an application of sequestered iron might not do any harm.  You can do the iron and the seaweed in one product.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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