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white foamy spots appearing on my Acer's Trunk?

Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Gb

When watering my Acer i noticed small white spots over the trunk. when I touched them they wiped off, leavin a goo on my hand! It was like melted marshmellow, anyone know what it is??


On plant Acer


Answers

 

Cuckoo spit - bubbly stuff produced by leaf hoppers? Harmless and can be washed off.

14 Jun, 2009

 

sounds like scale insect. did it have a small conical brown cap? can be removed but it takes an age.

14 Jun, 2009

 

If it's foamy, I'd go for cuckoo spit too. In itself, it's harmless, but inside will be a small bug called a frog hopper. This sucks sap and can cause new growth to curl and warp, but will not kill the plant. Easily removed by hand or hosing off.

However, scale insect as SBG says is also a possibility, but they're not 'foamy'. They're more solid and white looking.

14 Jun, 2009

 

Have just been in the garden. Identical white gooey stuff as you describe on the stems of Rosa rugosa and I am pretty sure now that it is the egg-containing deposits of scale insects. Very like melted marshmallow! Yuk. Brown scale insects found on lower leaf surfaces too.

15 Jun, 2009

 

cookoo spit

15 Jun, 2009

 

melted marshmallow is a good description of the scale offsprings protective goo.

15 Jun, 2009

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