I have a crepe myrtle that has white on the leaves

Question

This tree is young, planted a couple of years ago. It bloomed but the leaves started getting white on one side only. There is no visible sign of insects and the leaves aren’t dying, just white looking on one side. Can you help me?

Answer 1

It sounds like it may be powdery mildew. It won't harm the tree but does look unsightly. If you treat the tree with a fungicide, it will clear it up. This is normally caused by a lack of circulation among the leaves. You may want to look at doing a little pruning to open up the tree a bit and allow better air circulation. This will help prevent this and other fungus in the future.