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Pine wilt disease kills a susceptible landscape pine within a few weeks to a few months of infection, and no spray or injection saves a tree that already shows symptoms. The 9 strategies below start with the honest decision about…
Ovulinia petal blight turns healthy azalea and rhododendron blooms into slimy brown masses within 2 to 3 days of the first spot. The fungus behind it is Ovulinia azaleae, and it attacks petals only. The 9 strategies below save the…
Flip a spotted coral bells leaf and look at the underside. Raised orange-brown pustules on the underside mean heuchera rust. Flat spots with no raised bumps point toward leaf spot instead, and the whole page runs 9 strategies from that…
Halo blight on beans is a bacterial disease that marks bean leaves with small dead spots ringed by broad yellow-green halos. The halo is the calling card. These 9 strategies walk you through telling halo blight apart from common bacterial…
Brown spots that show up on oak leaves in July and August are usually Tubakia leaf spot, a cosmetic late-season fungus, and 9 strategies separate it from the two diseases it mimics. The spots look alarming on a lawn tree,…
Raspberry leaf spot is a fungal disease that strips leaves from raspberry canes in wet summers. 7 prevention strategies hold it back, and the first one costs nothing: check whether the spots sit on primocanes or floricanes before you do…
Hypoxylon canker has no cure once it turns active on an oak. The 9 strategies below catch the disease early, save the trees that still stand a chance, and protect the oaks around them. The signature is bark that peels…
Spend 60 minutes on prevention before you sow, because net blotch has no cure once it lands on a barley plant. Net blotch is a fungal leaf disease of barley that starts as small spots and spreads into a dark…
White rust on brassicas is a blister disease caused by the oomycete Albugo candida. The 9 strategies below carry a gardener from identification through prevention, starting with the cost-benefit call that decides whether treatment is worth the effort at all.…
White leaf spot has no cure once spots appear on a brassica leaf. The plan below runs 8 prevention strategies, and the first move is a decision about whether this minor disease deserves your effort at all. The rest of…
Check the lowest leaves of your pear tree in midsummer. If you find small purple dots, 1 to 3 millimeters across, that grow into purplish-black spots with a black pimple at the center, you are looking at fabraea leaf spot…
Cytospora canker kills branches from the lowest limbs upward, and no spray cures a canker that already sits under the bark. The fungus enters through wounds on stressed trees, then girdles branches over years. Spruce past 15 years of age…
Dogwood anthracnose can kill an unchecked flowering dogwood within 2 to 3 years. The fungus Discula destructiva starts on the lowest leaves and climbs, leaf spots first, then twig cankers, then girdled branches. Catch it at the leaf-spot stage and…
Cylindrosporium leaf spot is a fungal leaf spot disease that shows up as small purple-red spots, yellowing leaves, and round holes where dead tissue drops out. The same genus attacks 6 host groups: cherry, oak, spiraea, mulberry, apple, and crucifer…
Sheath nematode is a low-damage lawn nematode. The 7 steps below test the lawn and rule nematodes in or out, starting with the assay that replaces guessing. The signature is no signature. Thinning, yellowing, and wilting mimic drought, disease, and…
Reniform nematode has no cure once it is established. The 10 strategies below prevent it in the home vegetable garden, starting with the soil assay that names the nematode before a single seed goes in. The signature is no signature.…
Pine needle rust on a mature pine is harmless. The 5 checks below tell whether it is harmless and protect young trees, starting with the spring blister check that confirms the identification. The signature is orange blisters and white tubes…
Spots on pepper leaves have no cure once the bacteria establish. The 8 strategies below prevent bacterial spot in the garden, starting with the clean seed and transplants that keep the bacteria out of the bed. The signature is small,…
When you ask what’s wrong with my strawberry plant, start with where the damage sits. 11 common problems cover almost every sick strawberry plant in Australia. Fruit damage points to gray mold, birds, or slugs. Leaf damage points to mildew,…
White spots on rosemary leaves come from 7 causes. Run the wipe test first. Wipe a spot with a damp finger. Powder that brushes off points to powdery mildew. Dots that stay put point to pests, burn, or scorch. I…
