Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Deciduous > Hydrangea > Spots or blotches on leaves
Hydrangea > Leaves > Spots or blotches on leaves
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Four-lined plant bug
Poecilocapsus lineatus
- Small, round depressed spots which may be brown, black or translucent on leaves
- Dead plant tissue may fall out causing a "shot hole" effect
- Newly hatched nymphs are red with black wing pads and become yellowish green with a black stripe on each wing pad as they develop
- Adults are one half inch long, yellowish to yellow green in color with four longitudinal black stripes on the wing covers
- More information on four-lined plant bug
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Cercospera leaf spot
Cercospera aborescens
- Leaf spots are first round and purple to brown
- Older leaf spots have a thick purple border and a tan to gray enter
- Severely infected leaves become yellow and may drop
- Leaf spots often form on lower leaves first and gradually spread upward in the plant
- More information on cercospera leaf spot
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Powdery mildew
Erisyphe polygoni
- White spots or blotches on leaves
- In severe cases leaves and young shoots may be completely covered with white powdery fungal growth
- Leaves may be stunted, curled or puckered
- Red or purple blotches may occur on upper leaf surfaces
- More information on powdery mildew
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Anthracnose
Colletotrichum gleosporoides
- Slightly sunken brown spots on leaves
- As spots grow, dark brown rings give the spot a 'bull's eye' appearance
- Spots can grow to 1 inch in diameter
- Spots can be found on both leaves and flower petals
- More information on anthracnose
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Botrytis Blight
Botrytis cinerea
- Flower buds, petals, or entire blossoms turn tan to gray
- Flowers become covered with fuzzy gray colored fungal spores in wet weather
- Brown, round to irregular spots on leaves, often where petals have fallen
- Common during cool wet weather
- More information on Botrytis Blight
