Fungus on Ivy

Types

• Anthracnose is a fungal disease that often affects ivy plants, spreading through spores in water. According to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the fungus Colletotrichum trichellum is responsible for most cases of ivy anthracnose. Leaf spot fungus is another cause of disease in ivy, which is often unsightly.

Symptoms

• The symptoms associated with anthracnose include round rings of necrotic tissue on ivy stems and leaves. Spots appear at leaf margins and turn brown or black, with fruiting bodies on affected leaves. Shoot dieback is possible, as well as premature leaf loss. Symptoms associated with leaf spot fungus in ivy include brown, circular lesions on affected leaves.

Control

• Anthracnose and leaf spot are best controlled by removing infected plant tissue and destroying it, using a drip irrigation system and watering early in the day so plants dry out completely since wet conditions favor fungal disease development. Applying fungicides is often an effective means of controlling fungal diseases in ivy.