Sticky leaves?

[goosey]

Two days ago I noticed that the ivy leaves looked as if they had been sprayed (a speckled sheen) with something and were sticky to touch, they are still like that. Today however the Viburnum Dawn has the same stickiness on some of the leaves - what can it be?

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by goosey

Two days ago I noticed that the ivy leaves looked as if they had been sprayed (a speckled sheen) with something and were sticky to touch, they are still like that. Today however the Viburnum Dawn has the same stickiness on some of the leaves - what can it be?

Could it be this? Although I think it's the wrong time of year, but you never know these days!
WHITEFLIES – The adult whitefly is a tiny, moth-like insect commonly found in greenhouses, but also known to infest outdoor plants such as rhododendrons, honeysuckles and viburnums. The young insects feed on sap and foul the leaves with a sticky excretion called honeydew, which encourages sooty mould. Control is difficult, but spraying with permethrin-based insecticides or malathion will help.
Garden Centre - A directory of common Garden pests and diseases

[goosey]

Originally Posted by agrumpycow

Could it be this? Although I think it's the wrong time of year, but you never know these days!
WHITEFLIES – The adult whitefly is a tiny, moth-like insect commonly found in greenhouses, but also known to infest outdoor plants such as rhododendrons, honeysuckles and viburnums. The young insects feed on sap and foul the leaves with a sticky excretion called honeydew, which encourages sooty mould. Control is difficult, but spraying with permethrin-based insecticides or malathion will help.
Garden Centre - A directory of common Garden pests and diseases

When I read your reply my heart sank as I have Rhododendrons, honeysuckle and two different Viburnums.
I had a look and gave the plants a shake expecting lots to fly out, there was no sign of white fly. That's good news anyway, but doesn't explain my problem.

[diapasonbill]

Hi Goosey,
I dont know if Ivy suffers from scale insects, We certainly get similar problems on some of our Camelia's!
Have a look on the underside of the foliage above the sticky leaves to see if you can see anything.

We use an organic spray based on fatty acids (sounds horrible), but you do need to identify the problem so you can obtain a product that claims to treat the pest.

Or - should we leave nature to cope and put up with loosing our garden plants or having them look black & sticky?


Bill.

[Hornbeam]

Could be red spider mite. They are almost invisible to the naked eye and can leave a speckled sticky sheen on leaves. They will only be a problem on tender plants in greenhouses etc. I don't spray with anything - chemical or organic. In a wildlife garden you have to have aphids and other "pests" for the ladybirds, lacewings, bluetits and other good guys to eat. If you spray anything that might be a threat to your plants, you remove a vital step in the food chain. Do nothing.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by goosey

Two days ago I noticed that the ivy leaves looked as if they had been sprayed (a speckled sheen) with something and were sticky to touch, they are still like that. Today however the Viburnum Dawn has the same stickiness on some of the leaves - what can it be?

Sounds like 'honey dew' from aphids. Unless these are particularly prize plants I wouldn't worry about them at all. If you do need to control aphid numbers on a few bushes where there are obvious concentrations around young shoots - take a small size stiffish paintbrush and simply brush off onto a sheet of card, deposit in a suitable container and dispose of as you deem appropriate. As already suggested the organic spray is an alternative for larger areas - though dilute washing up liquid is also effective.

One thought - do you have trees overhanging your ivy and viburnum ? if so the aphids may be present there and you'll just have to live with the honey dew deposits. Messy thing nature.

CM

[goosey]

I have taken some photos now, the first is the ivy and the second th Viburnum. There are a lot of black fly on the ivy but none on the Viburnum.
There are no trees over hanging the garden and they are not prized plants only to the fact they are invaluable to insect and moths in the garden, so I wouldn't treat it with anything.

[Hornbeam]

Looks like honeydew. It is a secretion from sap sucking aphids. It is sweet and ants love it so much that they actually farm the aphids and "milk" them for the honeydew. Probably the aphids are on higher foliage and the honeydew is dripping down. So you need more ants to mop up the excess

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Hornbeam

Could be red spider mite. They are almost invisible to the naked eye and can leave a speckled sticky sheen on leaves. They will only be a problem on tender plants in greenhouses etc. I don't spray with anything - chemical or organic. In a wildlife garden you have to have aphids and other "pests" for the ladybirds, lacewings, bluetits and other good guys to eat. If you spray anything that might be a threat to your plants, you remove a vital step in the food chain. Do nothing.

I agree, a lot of my plants have been smothered in aphids but it's sweet to see the sparrows and bluetits eating them. Also had a few ladybirds and lacewings. I just spray them (aphids)with the hosepipe and hope for the best.

[smartie]

I recall that we were all exclaiming on the lack of aphids - and ladybirds - last year, and that the "official" view on the reason for this was that we'd had a cold spring (remember, everything late last year?) during what would have been their first breeding season. So as we've had the opposite conditions this year I imagine that is why there are so many already. And maybe why the gardens are full of ladybirds.