Insects and disease can pester any plant. The best way to help your plant resist them is to keep it healthy with adequate water, light, and fertilizer. However, even the healthiest of plants can become infested with insects or infected by disease. Checking your plants regularly, to insure you spot pests and diseases in the early stages, will help you treat the problem before it adversely affects the plant’s growth. The links below, while not comprehensive, provide illustrations and information on the most common pests/diseases and suggested treatments.

Checking for problems

Once a week, or so, lift up a section of the leaves/blooms to check the underside of the leaves (especially at the base). (Photo of healthy underside of plants) Insects often hatch in the cool, dark, protected underside of plants. By checking often you can spot and treat the problem before it stunts the plant’s growth. Also keep on eye on the top of the foliage to check for yellowing, browning, or other problems.

Symptoms

Diseases and insects can cause a variety of problems that may mimic the symptoms of improper water-fertilizer-light balance (see troubleshooting for more details on those symptoms). However, the presence of residues, webbing, eggs (or their castings) signal the presence of disease or infestation. It is worth repeating that regular checking is the key to identifying and treating problems before they severely damage or stunt the plant. If the problem you are encountering is not listed below, contact your local county extension agent for more information.

Common problems include:

Aphids (photo coming soon)

Spider Mites (photo coming soon)

Thrip (photo coming soon)

Bud Worm

Powdery Mildew

Leaf Miner

Updated August 2006