A-Z of Diseases

Bacterial Canker is a fungus particularly common on Cherries and Plums. The disease weakens the plant and can cause extensive die back.

Blight causes discolouration of the leaves, turning them brown from the edges inwards. The fungus will also affect potato tubers and tomato fruits.

Botrytis is a plant disease often found on indoor cyclamen and outdoor flowers such as dahlia and chrysanthemum kept in very humid conditions.

Cuckoo Spit is a mass of frothy bubbles on stems of plants, in particular chrysanthemum, geum and solidago.

Temperatures below zero will always affect tender plants, and sometimes hardy ones when grown in containers.

Grey Mould is an extremely common fungus and grows on many plants. Its greyish fuzzy fungal growth develops over infected areas.

Iron can be locked up in soil so roots of raspberries, azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias and other ericaceous plants cannot absorb any reserves.

Pale yellow areas develop especially on foliage of fruit and vegetables. Tomatoes and rhododendrons are especially prone to show symptoms.

Oedema occurs when plants take up more water than required for transpiration of the leaves. Often occurs in plants grown under glass.

Shoots may die back for any number of reasons including water-logging at roots, frost damage, disease problems or general lack of plant nutrients.

Powdery Mildew, just as the name suggests, is a white powdery fungus which grows mostly on the upper surface of leaves.

Rust spores need a moist environment in which to prosper. The fungus develops mostly on leaves but also on stems.

Smuts can be identified by small dark spots on stems. Larger dark swellings again on stems often accompanied by leaf distortion.

Virus is normally seen as spotting of the leaf, growth distortion or yellowing or mosaic patterning of leaves.