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“ What’s Wrong with My Plant”? Helping Master Gardeners Help You By Ron Johnson, University of Illinois Extension DeKalb County Master Gardener Identifying what is wrong with a plant can be a complete mystery to some people. Others believe any problem will be solved by an application of insecticide no matter what is the cause. In order to correct plant problems, the cause must be identified correctly. Applying an insecticide on a tree with a fungal disease will not help. First identify the plant down to the cultivar if possible. Each plant has a set of growing conditions which must be met for it to thrive, plus it may have insect pests and diseases which also cause problems. Next determine exactly what you are seeing that is abnormal. Symptoms are changes in growth or appearance by the plant in response to a damaging factor. This might be slow growth, off color or wilting leaves. Signs are evidence of the damaging factor. You may see the actual insect, fruiting bodies of a fungal disease or bacterial ooze. In the case of problems caused by abiotic issues, you might see an old wire wrapped around the trunk of the tree or see the tree has been planted six inches too deep! Now check out the environmental conditions. Is the soil well drained? How many hours of sun does the plant get? Are the pH and nutrients appropriate? Last on the list is look for a pattern of damage. Generally speaking, random damage that spreads is usually caused by a biotic problem such as insects, fungi or bacteria. Uniform damage that occurs once and does not spread especially if it is occurring across a multitude of kinds of plants is usually caused by a non-living issue such as poor drainage, chemical or frost damage. Careful observation of signs and symptoms will allow a Master Gardener to answer your questions accurately and often quickly. Main Points • Identify the plant • Determine what is abnormal (compare to healthy); what seems to be the primary problem? • Look for symptoms (response to a damaging factor, changes in growth or appearance) and signs (evidence of damaging factor, fungal fruiting bodies, bacterial ooze, insect skins, webbing, exit holes, honeydew). • Check the environmental conditions (water, soil, pH, sunlight, temperature, fertilizer, pesticides, neighbors plants), injury. • Is the damage random or uniform on the plant? • Use books, internet, or University of Illinois Extension DeKalb County Master Gardener’s Hort Help Desk (815) 758-8194.