Before you get jumped on by someone else, I think you made a little typo, Jodi. Light CAN, at times, be the most limiting factor in growing - it's just not ALWAYS the most limiting factor, or the most important factor, and it certainly cannot negate the effects of other limiting factors - you can't make up for a dry or over-fertilized plant by giving it more light. That would be a ridiculous suggestion, as we all agree, I'm sure. The most important factor changes, and if you're working on eliminating limiting factors you'll find they will arise in a succession, but it is always the most limiting factor that is most important. Example - A plant that loves bright sun is doing poorly. It is in the shade, but it is dry and malnourished, and has scale. The obvious most important potential limiting factor to correct is the moisture level. Then, we really have no way of knowing whether light, the malnutrition, or the scale infestation are the next most limiting. If we correct one issue, say light, we may or may not have corrected the next most limiting issue. If we did not, we cannot expect the plant to grow at beyond it's limits. If we DID - if light WAS the next most limiting factor, then the next most limiting issue, after light, becomes the most important. Light is just 'somewhere in the queue'. Don't get me wrong, I'd never try to diminish the importance of light and it's influence on healthy plants, but plants grown in perfect light die quite often from other limiting causes. Since I assume the viability of the organism is the measure by which we judge the importance of limiting factors, it can ONLY be concluded that when plants in perfect light die, light was NOT the limiting factor, it was not king, and it did not negate the limiting effects of other factors. Never, is everything exactly perfect, and as soon as you get one factor as close to perfect as possible, the factor that is farthest from perfect becomes the most important issue to deal with. It takes thousands of parts to build an automobile on an assembly line. The part that is in shortest supply will always have the greatest potential to bring the line to a stop. Replenish the supply of that particular part, and the next part that is in shortest supply claims the greatest potential to bring the line to a stop ....... and so it goes with plants. Keep us posted with pics, Mike. Where do you find the time to take & post so many shots? Good job! Al

Usually, the aphids will be a problem only for a couple weeks at most. Then the good bug (like Lady bugs) will come along and eat 'em up--problem solved. Of course, if you have been spraying insecticides, you've probably killed off most of the good bugs--which is why you may have to stop the insecticides for a year. The next year, the good bugs should show up to help you. While you wait for the good bugs, you may have to manually get rid of the aphids for a while--gently run a finger and thumb up around a heavily covered bud. That will kill most of them there. If you are squeamish, the soap spray will help--until the good bugs come along and take over the job. Or some people use a stiff spray of water to flush the aphids off the buds. If your blooms are getting all eaten up, I'd guess you have a different bug problem than an aphid problem. If it happens, take pics and show them to us here. Maybe we can help you figure our the problem and solution. As far as fungicides go, most of Bayers products aren't that good or have some negatives built into them--my advice is to stay away from anything they sell that says all-in-one or three-in-one or anything like that. On the other hand, the Bayer spray called Bayer Garden Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs is excellent. Follow directions carefully, and everything should be fine after a couple sprayings. Hope that helps. Kate

I've noticed after examining all my azaleas very well that not only does one have either psyllids, mealybugs, or spidermites. I can't tell, they all look so small. I'm leaning more towards psyllids because of this pic I found http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/ornamentals/1-53.jpeg The little white bugs in the pic look just like whats on my azalea. However I could not find any info about them causing yellow-green looking leaves. I found this pic: http://webpages.charter.net/bb4caps/pict1.jpg It looks like it "might" turn into this, but nowhere near this bad yet. The plant is very big 6ft tall, and 5 ft wide, and all new growth is very light green- almost yellow. The only insect that I found on it looked like http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/ornamentals/1-53.jpeg but I didn't see that many, and hard to believe they could affect the plant all over so soon After researching about that azalea I found a problem that I have had for close to a year now. One azalea has lacebugs. I determined that by this picture http://web.utk.edu/~extepp/profiles/OT/ornamental/insects/lacebug-Inj.jpg That azalea has that for sure. I've been reading about oils neem extract and such. Can someone tell me what I need to buy to get rid of both of these problems? Thank you so much.

Thank you to everyone who replied to this, I also have a sawfly situation on my hands, although it isn't as bad as last year..... yet! Last year I didn't know what the spots were, and I let it get waay too far-gone, and my poor roses were naked by July, NOT THIS YEAR, BUGS!!! When I have more time I will go through and read each & every one of your replies, as right now I'm in a hurry to get to work & can't, but even just scanning through this I saw some helpful advice that I will implement asap. Those darn sawflies can be so frustrating, why can't they just eat one of the thousand other plants available in my area, why do they have to eat our precious roses!? UGH!