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A viral infection, for which, sadly, there is no cure. Some cannas seem able to shrug it off, but it has the potential to spread quickly from plant to plant, so it's best to remove and dispose of affected individuals at the first sign of trouble. It

starting to fall away from the base. In severe cases the stem becomes infected too, and the whole plant may die.Orange-brown spots on foliage and stems. Leaves may die and drop from plants, weakening the plant and resulting in death in extreme cases.Remove

flower buds might never open, or do so unevenly.When disturbed, the bugs quickly drop to the ground or fly away, so you'll have to be quick if you want to catch and squish them. Remove their hiding places by keeping the area under plants free of debris

Earwigs, which can be up to 14mm long, hide during the day and emerge at night to feed. The females lay eggs in late-winter, usually in the soil, which hatch in spring. Although earwigs can damage plants, they also eat small pests and their eggs, including aphids and codling moth...

.Promptly pick off and destroy affected leaves. If leaf spot is a persistent problem, try growing your primulas under glass.Spraying with myclobutanil may help give some control, although they're not specifically labelled as a solution for primula leaf spot

. Infected foliage must be disposed of immediately, as the fungus can survive on the plant if left lying on the ground. The early, large-flowering varieties are most prone to attack, with smaller-flowering species (eg, C. montana) being the most resistant

There are many different fungi that cause this problem, each of which usually affects a particular plant or group of plants. In each case they produce similar symptoms. Affected plants will have discoloured leaves, often also distorted when young

of these are available as biological controls, however, they need time to tackle the problem, so don't expect them to hoover up the aphids overnight. Small clusters of aphids can be squished with your fingers or washed off with a strong jet of water. Insecticidal soap

knife and dust the wound with fungicide.liliesspring, autumnMore advice on growing liliesDividing day lilies videoRemoving lily beetlesPlanting lily bulbs in a potDeadheading lilies

, and can be picked off by hand.The moment you spot an infestation, spray them with pyrethrum. If the plants are in flower, spray in the evening, so pollinating insects aren't affected.verbascum, buddleia, figwortsmid-spring to midsummerMore advice