https://growing.guidePractical growing knowledge for a greener, happier life. From first seed to last harvest.https://growing.guide/problems/sticky-leaveshttps://growing.guide/problems/sticky-leavesMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Honeydew is the sugary waste of aphids, whitefly, scale and mealybugs. It makes leaves shiny and sticky, attracts ants, and grows black sooty mould. Look above the sticky leaves for the source.https://growing.guide/problems/white-rothttps://growing.guide/problems/white-rotMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000White rot is a soil fungus that attacks onions, garlic and leeks. Leaves yellow and wilt, and the base of the bulb is covered in white fungus dotted with tiny black resting bodies that survive in the soil for 15 years or more.https://growing.guide/problems/verticillium-wilthttps://growing.guide/problems/verticillium-wiltMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Verticillium fungi live in the soil for many years and block water flow inside the plant. Older leaves yellow in V-shaped patches and wilt, often on warm afternoons first. Strawberries, tomatoes and potatoes are common hosts.https://growing.guide/problems/wind-damagehttps://growing.guide/problems/wind-damageMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Wind dries leaves faster than roots can replace the water, browning edges on the windward side. Gales tear leaves, rock roots loose and snap or flatten tall crops like sweetcorn, sunflowers and dill.https://growing.guide/problems/misshapen-rootshttps://growing.guide/problems/misshapen-rootsMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Root crops show everything that happened underground: stones and fresh manure fork them, uneven water splits them, pests tunnel them, clubroot swells brassica roots.https://growing.guide/problems/spots-on-leaveshttps://growing.guide/problems/spots-on-leavesMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Spots with clear edges usually mean a pathogen. Size, colour, rings and halos narrow it down, and so does the plant: tomatoes, potatoes and brassicas each have their usual suspects.https://growing.guide/problems/rotting-stem-basehttps://growing.guide/problems/rotting-stem-baseMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Rot at the base usually means roots and stem are sitting wet. Water moulds, fungi and soft-rot bacteria then move in.https://growing.guide/problems/vine-weevilhttps://growing.guide/problems/vine-weevilMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Vine weevil adults nibble neat notches from leaf edges at night; their white C-shaped grubs do the real harm, eating roots through autumn and winter. Container plants, strawberries and blueberries suffer most.https://growing.guide/problems/wirewormshttps://growing.guide/problems/wirewormsMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles. They live in the soil for years and are most numerous in ground that was recently grass. They bore neat holes through potato tubers and carrots.https://growing.guide/problems/mottled-leaveshttps://growing.guide/problems/mottled-leavesMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000A mosaic of light and dark patches, rather than distinct spots, usually means a virus. Nutrient shortages and weedkiller can look similar, but make a more regular pattern.https://growing.guide/problems/uneven-wateringhttps://growing.guide/problems/uneven-wateringMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Plants cope with steady conditions, not with drought followed by a flood. A sudden drink after a dry spell swells fruit and roots faster than their skins can stretch, and interrupted water supply starves fruit of calcium.https://growing.guide/problems/early-fruit-drophttps://growing.guide/problems/early-fruit-dropMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Plants shed fruit they cannot support after stress, poor pollination or pest attack. Some drop is natural: many fruit trees thin themselves in early summer.https://growing.guide/problems/holes-in-fruithttps://growing.guide/problems/holes-in-fruitMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:40 +0000Holes in fruit are the work of animals: slugs hollowing strawberries, caterpillars boring into tomatoes and cobs, fruit flies and moths laying eggs, birds pecking.https://growing.guide/problems/blossom-drophttps://growing.guide/problems/blossom-dropMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:39 +0000Tomatoes, peppers and beans abort their flowers when conditions are wrong for pollination: days above about 29 °C (85 °F), nights above 22 °C (72 °F) or below 13 °C (55 °F), drought, or very humid air. The plant keeps flowering and sets fruit when the weather settles.https://growing.guide/problems/boltinghttps://growing.guide/problems/boltingMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:39 +0000Leafy crops and roots flower when the season tells them to: longer days, a hot spell, drought, or a cold snap for biennials. Once a stalk rises the plant puts its energy into seed, and the leaves or roots you wanted decline fast.https://growing.guide/problems/colorado-potato-beetlehttps://growing.guide/problems/colorado-potato-beetleMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:39 +0000In North America and much of Europe, Colorado potato beetles and their plump red larvae can defoliate potatoes in days. (In the UK it is a notifiable pest and not established.) Hand-picking and row covers work well in gardens.https://growing.guide/problems/leaf-spothttps://growing.guide/problems/leaf-spotMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:39 +0000Many fungi cause leaf spots: Cercospora on beet and chard, Alternaria and ring spot on brassicas, and others on strawberries, hydrangeas and sunflowers. They are rarely fatal but spread in wet weather and weaken plants.https://growing.guide/problems/scale-insectshttps://growing.guide/problems/scale-insectsMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:39 +0000Scale insects spend most of their lives fixed in place under a waxy shell, sucking sap. They weaken plants and drip honeydew that grows black sooty mould. Citrus, bay, hydrangeas and houseplants are common hosts.https://growing.guide/problems/fruit-flieshttps://growing.guide/problems/fruit-fliesMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:39 +0000Several fruit flies lay eggs into ripening fruit. Spotted wing drosophila attacks soft fruit in Europe and North America; Queensland fruit fly attacks guavas, feijoas and citrus in Australia. Their larvae turn fruit to mush.https://growing.guide/problems/fusarium-wilthttps://growing.guide/problems/fusarium-wiltMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:54:39 +0000Fusarium wilt fungi live in the soil for years and block the plant's water-conducting tissue. Leaves yellow and wilt, often on one side of the plant or one side of a leaf, and cutting the stem shows brown streaks inside.