Calshaye - I think to identify the problem we need to see the pics of your algae and Powdery Mildew. Something doesn't ring right. Powdery mildew on perlite? I can imagine some fuzzy mold on perlite, but not PM. PM looks like somebody sprinkled your leaves with fine white powder. You will not be able to see it on perlite no matter what. If it is a fuzzy mold, not PM - it is harmless - and replacing the soil on the surface is probably the max you need to do. Algae - if you have it - no reasonable amount of Physan is going to kill it. Very concentrated Physan probably will - but your plants will be killed first. It is mostly harmless, it consumes the fertilizer to some extent and it is absolutely bad if you are trying to grow something from seeds.It will choke them. otherwise - replacing the top layer of the soil is probably the most you need to do - or just leave it alone. How much fertilizer you put in your water? What is the brand of your 7:7:7? It would be really helpful if you take pics, if you have trouble posting them here - send them directly to me - if you click on my name - Gardenweb will give an option to send an email. Good Luck and so far do not do anything. Irina

Thank you, thank you -- all of you. I am going to try to post some pics I took today. I am hoping they will be more revealing. Sorry that last one is so blurry. Berndoodles, thanks for the pics of leaf hopper damage. I think I certainly have that, don't you (referring to the pic with the lovely bugs)? I also found some webbing, so I think maybe I have spider mites. Oh, joy! And I also think I have powdery mildew. I would love anyone's advice. I sure wish I had a flatbed scanner. My daughter has one, but she is out of town. And I wouldn't mind if we had a Bug Man out here in Colorado. However, I took samples to my local nursery and the very nice rose lady there confirmed that I have several separate problems. She thought that the drooping rosebuds were caused by thrips and told me to go home and cut all of those drooping buds off and dispose of them. She thought I had powdery mildew, too, and also spider mites. She advised that I use Bayer All-in-One spray, so I bought that, but after reading the instructions, I decided to try Neem Oil because the instructions said not to use when bees are active, and they are very active on Ballerina, at least during the day, but maybe I could use it at night. I sprayed yesterday very thoroughly with Neem oil and will repeat in 7 days. However, since my roses are so badly infected, and with multiple buggies or whatever, maybe I will have to go toxic. Another problem with me using a toxic spray is I have large pots of herbs close to Ballerina, in fact right beside it. I think I could cover the pots with black trash bags or something. But I also have black raspberries whose vines are kind of intermingled with one of my New Dawn climbers. I'm not sure if I can cover all of them enough. Maybe if I used a hand sprayer rather than a hose-end sprayer it would be easier. So what do you think? Thanks again. Marlene

Lol....don't worry, Jenny. The link provided by kimmsr isn't a "treatise" but a simple fact sheet. Don't rely on it alone to provide you with plenty of information. Visit the Vegetable gardening Forum to read others' experience with this dreaded pest. Since you have only a few plants, you can prevent infestation by employing quite a few tricks of the trade. Read other fact sheets, too. The SVB is tricky, but not impossible to control.

Thank you ALL for your responses. Each has helped clarify add'l thoughts I've had and brought up new ones! I THINK I've made a decision about what I need to do. As of this moment, I'm going to buy a 30" black glass induction cooktop - 4 burners. When I want to use one of my non-induction pans, I'm going to use a heavy-duty gas, 12,000 BTU portable unit that runs on Butane (1 hr. of continuous high BTUs usage; 2-3 hrs. for medium)! It's clear that my needs for those won't be often, but it WILL solve most of my issues that were bothering me and I won't have to give ALL of my favorite pans away that I so feared. And I'll still have access to BOTH induction AND gas (my original duel-fuel passion)! The reviews for this particular 12,000 BTU gas unit were outstanding and it's cost is less than $50 for the privilege. I was considering the Bosch Flexinduction or the highly praised (by reviewers) Frigidaire FGIC 3067MB. But, now I've noticed here the Bosch 800 being discussed for less $$ than the Flex if one doesn't need the flexible pods (which I don't, really). Frigidaire has about all the goodies EXCEPT individual burner timers at around $1100 or so with just terrific reviews on amazon - an amazing price point. Can anyone point out some detriments of these three that I may not have noticed or be aware of? What would all of us unknowing people do without all your input and kind help??