If you have a mite infestation that bad, you should be able to see them with a magnifying glass; or if you hold a sheet of white paper under affected leaves and flick the leaves with a forefinger, the mites should fall on the paper where you'll see them moving. It's possible it's something fungal - maybe Botrytis (aka gray mold), or one of the many fungi in the Erysiphales order that cause powdery mildew. If you mist your plants, you should stop. If your plants are crowded, separate them and use a fan to create air movement. Oxalis plantings get tired. Every so often, you should let them dry completely. I used to steal my mom's away every fall & put them in the basement where they were forgotten until spring. I would remove all the soil and repot the bulbs in a fast draining soil and give them back to her around Mother's Day. They would grow like crazy until I stole them back the next year. I did that for at least 20 years until she passed. So, if you can part with them for a while, a cool. dry rest will bring out the best in them. There are lots of home made fungicides you can use, and you might consider using one before you let them go dry. For a while, I used MG 12-4-8 or 24-8-16 on them regularly. Eventually I discovered Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 fertilizer, which is now my 'go to' fertilizer for everything I grow. It allows you to fertilize at the lowest doses possible w/o the plant suffering deficiencies, and there's a LOT to be said for that - especially when you might be using a soil that doesn't allow you to flush the soil when you water, for fear the soil will remain soggy for so long it has a considerable negative impact on root function, or worse, causes root rot. Oxalis responds extremely well to a very coarse and gritty soil. Al

You guys have been VERY helpful - wish i could buy you all a beer... Turns out the engine is a Tecumseh and NOT a Briggs & Stratton ... No where on the engine did it say Tecumseh - I finally found a sticker on the side of the engine with some numbers which turned out to be sears parts numbers and then finally I traced a part number to 36680 (a tecumseh Starter motor part number) Anyhow - i found a couple of aftermarket starters for the about $49-59 dollars a real Tec. Starter (#36680) is about $125 bucks (definitely not going to happen). I question the value of this tractor no cutting deck, rough shape, etc. --- I would not pay $50 dollars for the tractor - So Im not sure I would spend the $50-60 to actually repair it... As suggested - I will continue to search for a bargain starter - I know if I wait long enough Ill get it for a good price... BUT to confuse things further - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Today I ran into someone who put out an older Snapper lawn mower with a 8hp Briggs and a 30ish inch cutting deck onto their front lawn (for free!) Its rough - but its free... (wow - that 8HP B+S engine is a lot bigger than the 8hp tecemseh engine) Its a pull start unit (no electric starting), owner tells me it will fire up with starting fluid but wont run, it did run last spring... So Im thinking Ill "grab her snapper" - toss the sears tractor (but keep the tecumseh motor just in case). And work the Briggs motor/carb into something usable.... QUESTIONS: -- - - - - -- - - - - - - 1. Do any of you happen to know if theres enough meat on the back of that funky looking Snapper tractor to mount my crumy little ball hitch to drag around my trailers? The Snapper Im talking about looks roughly like this one http://www.snapper.com/rear_engine_riders.html except older i did not think to look for that when i was looking the snapper over... 2. Do any of you know if the engine mounting bolt patterns for a 8HP Tecumseh and a 8HP B&S engine are the same??? Granted the snapper has the mowing deck (but I got a scotts 2046 for mowing). The sears is a good slow mule for my intentions of moving trailers, moving stone and logs around the property Plus im gonna have to take the pully into consideration (that sounds messy)... im guessing crank diameters dont match... 3. Do you think the Snapper has a torque-y transmission transaxle (whatever it has under there) to do roughly what Im doing with my Sears? The Snapper Im talking about looks roughly like this one http://www.snapper.com/rear_engine_riders.html Im thinking the Snapper might be a good choice Your thoughts please Mucho Thanks - Dave

one thing is for sure.. if you are fixated on this minor damage.. you do not have enough hosta .... you need more hosta-like diversions to keep you from fixating on these ... minor leaf damage .. from whichever reason you listed.. resulting in necrotic tissue in the little spots.. if in fact it is a rust.. its because of the dead tissue.. not the cause of the dead tissue ... i like the frost.. cell burst theory.. ken

First guess is that it needs a little more N fert. Try something soluble and quickly available like fish emulsion. It could be getting fusarium wilt. Watch for wilting YB is good flavored but typically a poor producer and often weak plant.