Thanks Kimmsr - I saw this information but I still don't know what my problem is. I have contacted Logees and am waiting to hear back from them. In the meantime, I have taken some pictures of my plant in its current state. As you will see in the pictures, the spots seem to be spreading across the majority of the plant, and many of the leaves are beginning to turn reddish-brown before eventually falling off. In addition, (this doesn't show up in the pictures as well)I have also noticed that most of the new-forming leaves are developing burnt edges and/or are developing strange splits along their edges as they grow. A few weeks back I sprayed the plant once with a mild fungicide, because one of the other plants in my garden was being attacked. In the past, I have also added small doses of plant acidifier to the soil, but I haven't done this in at least 2 months. Aside from this, the plant gets about 12 hours a light a day, and is watered regularly with Brita-filtered water. Do you have any idea what my problem might be? If you think there is too much fertilizer or acidifier in the soil, should I replant? Thanks so much, Charlie Frohman

I had an arborist out to check on a 10 yr old Black Cherry tree because it didn't have any leaves on 25% of the crown. He said there are boerers in the main stem, located in the amber ooze. Then he said there is some type of blight or wilt on the branches. He didn't really say what to do but that an incecticide injection could take care of the boerers but the blight or wilt is hard to control. Should I cut this tree down because the wilt or blight and boerer could spread to other trees? Or are they specific to this tree and I can maybe save it? This is the first year it has shown any signs of disease. Althogh a gorgeous tree, shape, berries, vibrant fall color, white spikes of flowers, I will sacrifice the tree so the diseanse doesn't spread. I read that if it is wilt it could be in the roots so I wanted to replant in that area I need a wilt resistant species.

I also recommend putting plants with tiny, open flowers among or near your vegetables. This year, I planted sweet alyssum and yarrow and have a sedum in my borders that produces tiny yellow flowers through late spring, and my lemon thyme really hit its stride and has been flowering profusely for weeks. Between these, I always have something blooming that draws small wasps and tons and tons of hoverflies (not exaggerating--a LOT of hoverflies), and almost all of the aphids I've found on my plants have been dead or dying. Obviously not a quick fix for an existing problem, but something to consider for next year's garden planning, maybe. I'm usually skeptical about how effective these sorts of strategies really are, but this one really does seem to be working for me.

Fireblight on Raspberries...