Expert: Greg Simpson - 7/31/2006

Question
Hi,

I have a very young Aloe Vera plant, which I only bought a few weeks ago.  The plant grows in a pot and gets plenty of outdoor sunlight daily (I live in FL).  It has been doing very great, growing stronger, greener and taller just about every day, with three new leaves shot out already.  However, I noticed this morning that there are small patches of tiny, dry brown spots developing at the bottom of the younger leaves in the center of the plant.  The spots look almost like scab, each in the size of a sesame seed.  Please let me know if my plant is sick and what I need to do to save it.  Many thanks!  

Answer
Dear Rye,

You may have a pest called "scale insect". See this website for additional information:

http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/scalein.html

Hopefully this will help. I could not find anything specific to Florida, but treatment should be the same.

Sincerely,

Greg