We had a particularly cold, wet spring. Even when the days began warming, we had some pretty cool nights. I think we may have acquired some pests that we normally don't see, at least not in the abundance we have this year. The Northern Cricket, also known as the Mole Cricket. Has anyone ever even heard of it before? I have the problem you are describing with my Daylilies. Their foliage began yellowing, then browning, then falling down dead very early in the season. And it has only gotten worse with time. I noticed a strange looking bug on one of the flower stalks and looked it up in my bug book. It was a Mole Cricket, and the map showed that the entire State of Minnesota was potentially host to this cricket. It is brownish black and its rear end has a tail that looks like a pincher sort of thing. The front legs are large for a bug and are built for digging. My book says that they will burrow into the ground around a plant and will feet on bulbs, roots, and tubers. They will also climb plants, or jump up on them, and gnaw stalks. I had already noticed that I had a lot of tiny cricket sort of things hopping around my flower garden. I think they were just that small because they were newly hatched because when I tried the remedy my book suggested, a much larger cricket came scurrying out - one large enough to clearly see all the physical characteristics my book described. My book said to mix hot pepper and mild soap in water and douse the plant. I don't know if they meant tobasco or cayenne, so I put some of both in. I also don't know if a mixture like that can burn a plant or if things like earthworms are bothered by it too. I can tell you that big cricket was mighty unhappy. It skittered and rolled around for a while and then dove into the dirt. I have no idea if this is a repellent or if it is lethal. Also, because there is already so much damage to my daylilies I have no way of knowing if it is helping anything. I am going to do my best to get as much of the dead and dying foliage off, and then watch to see if the foliage just keeps browning and dying off at the same rate. My daylilies have looked this bad very late in the fall as things start going dormant, but they began looking like this almost from the moment they appeared in the spring. I wish I could post a picture so you could see if this is the same kind of die-off you are experiencing. I have put the mixture on just one of my daylilies, the one where I saw the cricket up on the stalk, but I am going to do it to all of them. My flower garden is about 75 percent daylilies. Two of my hostas look just about as bad, so I may treat them too. I would be interested to know if any Minnesota gardeners were aware of this cricket before and how they handled it. I share your dismay. It is hard to watch our plants struggle like this. Carmellia

The gravel was rinsed and I don't think it was treated with anything. The plants are growing beautifully and have developed lots of leaves. The stems are firm along the entire length. I'm just wondering if they might snap when they get big. What I thought was strange was that those were the only 2 out of about 25 that it happened to. There's a 3rd cutting in the same pot that was unaffected. All the other cuttings had the same amount of gravel, light, etc and their stems are normal. I'm going to make a "splint" around the bottom half of the plant and hope that will give it enough support as it grows. If it does snap I guess I'll just root the piece that breaks off.

Catfacing? Looks like it. Not uncommon for first tomatoes at all. Any idea on the identity of the white guys? Whitefiles? Again, looks like it to me, from your picture. Go to the link I've provided to compare. Here is a link that might be useful: IPM whiteflies page

That's a possibility. I had some older seeds from that variety that I might have planted this season. I wonder if it will flower and if it does if the blooms will also be deformed? Thanks.