There's definitely a water-transport issue going on here. Is the soil moist in both the containers and the ground? Yes Grab one of the poorest ones and pull it, then have a look at the roots and lower stem. Look for nubbles along the roots or cankers on the stem. no nubbles or cankers Then take a sharp knife and slice the stem down to the pith right at the soil line. You're looking for brown or black coloration either in the wood or in the pith, hollow stems, or anything else that doesn't look like fresh green healthy plant. all looks green from the inside. The problems appear to go from the outside in. Also check the brown tops. Is it kind of a purplish-brown, or black, or real dirt-brown? Are the new leaves distorted at all? New leaves look absolutely healthy. When I put on my strongest glasses (I have several different pairs from different eye exams over the years) I saw that there appeared to be very tiny holes being made in the leaves that were browning, but not yet crispy. Then I saw tiny, tiny green insects. So would they be the culprets or are they just taking advantage of a sick plant? I feel lousy about this. I usually stand guard over my plants and check them several times every day. But we've had to be out of town a lot these past few months. Thank you for your help.

It resembles what happens to the leaves in the Fall when cold weather arrives and kills the leaves. So, yes, a late frost may have damaged them. If so, it would have damaged the leaves in old/new growth. But "only once". Meaning the new leaves would have been zapped, the plant would create replacement leaves but these replacement leaves should n-o-t turn black. If the replacement new leaves also turn black, something else is afoot. Hopefully this will not affect flowering but it might if stems also turn brown and stuff like that. Since this is just how the leaves look now and since you can monitor how the leaves blacken/change better than us, I will also give you a link containing information about various fungal diseases. Of interest, the article talks about Anthracnose, a fungal infection common in wholesaler facilities (you can get it by simply buying their infected stock). This disease produces dark lesions in the leaves. The lesions can appear dark brown, black, etc and both leaves and flowers can be infected. Of course, it is hard to tell if flowers are affected if you do not have any flowers yet, hu? Oh well. Hopefully this is not what you have (knock on wood) but review the information given, compare it to what you see and determine whether if any applies. http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1212/index2.tmpl

I'm a first time wanna be dahlia grower. I'm hoping someone on here can help. I ordered some dinnerplate tubers from Swan Island. Followed directions to a tee. Put in ground in April. Had to replace 3 or 4 of them. How big should they be now? I live in South Carolina. We've had rain this season but obviously we've also had plenty of heat. Only one of them is about 18 in tall - the others less than a foot. Thank goodness I didn't spend anymore than I did. BTW - the mixed pkg I bougt from big box are easily 3 ft tall and are beginning to bloom. Is there anything I can do to save these dinnerplates? Sandy soil, have fertilized with 5-10-10 2x but only after tubers were established. Have used snail bait. Thanks

Black bottoms is blossom end rot (BER) -- due to uneven soil moisture which, in turn, means that insufficient calcium is transported to the cells and then they die. Radial cracking is "normal" with some kinds of tomatoes but is made worse by erratic moisture levels. The spotted leaves may be a disease -- Perhaps your County's Extension Service office could help you with that. Find that office here -- http://npic.orst.edu/pest/countyext.htm