Scott, I can't understand why after all this time you automatically suggest Surround AND bagging for the northeast. As I've explained here many times, and you apparently can't believe, in the northeast if you protect the trees for the 3 or 4 weeks following petal fall of latest blooming apples it is quite likely that bagging or subsequent sprays will be unnecessary. The orchards I manage cover a fairly wide swath of territory and direct fruit pest insects haven't been an issue for me after the above mentioned time in my part of the northeast. I think it a reasonable assumption that as you go further north there will be less pressure rather than more. Apple fly maggot is the only big question mark, in my opinion, as to whether further protection will be necessary. That and indirect pests like JB's which can't be bagged out. The one exception I've had in my own orchard and not the ones I manage is later plum curculio damage on Euro plums, but out of all the trees I manage I consider this an aberration. She, on pest issues, you should know that the closer the advice comes from your region the more likely the relevancy. I manage orchards from coastal Greenwich up to Canaan CT and from Kingston down to Ossining NY and areas in between.

Actually I never had any devastating disease problems with my plants. Most of the plants I lost (and these were no more than only a few dozens over the past 4 years) during the winter months because I wasn't able to provide adequate conditions - lack of space, poor ventilation, not enough light... Avoiding these and generally working on prevention had saved me from any real trouble so far. The reason I have asked for a book was to have a quick and easy reference to help me to identify some problems that I can't currently relate to anything particular. It is far more efficient to look at some description and photos to identify a problem and if needed to dig further do discover all possible reasons, instead of taking pictures by myself, posting to forums and asking questions that have being answered hundreds of times probably. For example I have Lagerstroemia indica plants and some of them are having some warts on their leaves as if the leaf is dusted with salt or more correctly like if salt crystals are protruding through their epidermis or maybe like some cysts filled with liquid, it is hard for me to describe it. Obviously I am lacking a basic knowledge in this area. I had troubles with all possible pests on my Clianthus puniceus plants and I am tired of babying them so I am about do discontinue them. They are not dying, but are losing their good appearance and hardly ever get to flower. They are looking good enough for sale just for a short periods of time after intensive treatments with quite poisonous chemicals against spider mites, heavy pruning and heavy feeding to develop some new foliage... I have some Aristolochias that show some browning of the lower leaves that I cant identify. Nutritional deficiency related problems is another topic I need to know more about. Otherwise everything grows as vigorously as it can, making my greenhouse to look ridiculously small... again.... :) Currently I am growing more than 250 species of plants with widely varying cultural requirements - carnivorous, succulents, bulbs, shrubs, vines from all around the world. I am slowly heading to reducing this number and some specialization, but I will always want to try some new plant so it is unlikely that the number will drop significantly. Compared to my tiny space and not so good location this number is big.

Forgot to mention it, but you can see it in the photos, the veins of the Early Girls especially, but on all the tomatoes in general, are purpleish. The leaves aren't turning colors, but they're kind of tough and leathery. I'm starting to feel like a garden hypochondriac. Every time I look up a new tomato disease or pest, I'm convinced that's what I have, so I'm hoping you all can help me narrow it down. After looking at pictures, I'm thinking maybe the bugs are thrips, and maybe they've spread TSWV to the plants, but some of the physical symptoms of TSWV don't sound exactly right on the money. I'm so confused. I always thought gardening was so simple - throw plants in the ground, water, voila! Not so, I'm afraid. Soooo not so.

Flowerlillies: I have seen this before. It appears to be scale. Get several Q-tips and a bottle of Isopropyl alcohol. Pour some of the alcohol into the cap of the bottle. Dip the Q-tip into the alcohol. Now, wherever you see those white, powdery patches on the leaves and stems of your plants, rub the Q-tip on them. Make sure all the white patches are dabbed well. If you've already done this and still need help, you will not like my next suggestion. You most likely have them on the roots of your plants which is why you are seeing deformity. They are literally, slowly, eating the plants alive. What I have done in the past is re-plant any and all plants in the affected plants vicinity. I took no chances. I know this is a pain and labor intensive but being on a balcony actually makes this easier to do. If you have a lot of container plants, work them in batches. Unplant 3 or 4 of them. Make sure to do it over a box or trash bag to catch any of the possibly infected soil. get another plastic bag and gently wrap the roots of the plant and carry it over to the sink or bathtub. Submerge the entire plant in luke warm water with a mild dish detergent. Use just a capful of detergent. Dunk the entire plant, count to ten then do it again. Do this with the rest of your plants, again, working in batches of 3 or 4 if you have many. Before you re-plant make sure you use fresh, new soil. Discard any old soil you've had. There is obviously something in there that is attractive to this pest. Also, what I do is take the soil in batches inside a large plastic container and Nuke it in the microwave for at least 1 minute. This will kill nearly anything such as larvae living in the soil. When the soil has come back to a normal temperature, I mix in my fertilizer, perlite and any other additive. But, more importantly, I spray the soil with Neem Oil. Spray liberally and mix it into the new soil. Make sure to wash your containers in hot soapy water. Now you can re-plant. I would spray the plants with Neem oil at least every 7-10 days. Once this infestation is over with, I would still as a preventive measure spray them once a month and lightly spray the top part of the soil as well. Hope this helps, best of luck- NJC