Search - Articles

These miniscule sap-sucking insects multiply rapidly on leaves. Large colonies are immediately evident, as are the symptoms - silvery-white discoloration of the leaves and distorted shoot tips and buds.Packed clusters of tiny white insects on leaves

The culprit is Trionymus diminutus, a 4mm sap-feeding mealybug that breeds relentlessly when the weather is warm and isn't killed by winter frosts. It deposits a white, waxy substance at the base of the sheathed phormium leaves. A mild infestation

.Identifying bumblebeesThere are six bumblebees likely to visit gardens, all varying in colour, size and tongue length. Each species favours different nest locations, such as below ground, trees or long grass.Similar to the white-tailed bumblebee, but with mustard

.apples, pears, quince, walnutsspring, summerMore common garden pestsMullein moth - on verbascum, buddleja and figwort.Elephant hawk moth on fuschia plants.Caterpillars on any plants.Cabbage white caterpillars on brassicas and nasturtiums.

White, waxy, sap-feeding aphids colonise cracks, crevices and pruning cuts on the bark of apple trees in the second half of spring. They then spread to new growth and create soft swellings. If the bulges split open in frosty weather, infections

Monty Don's advice on planting summer cabbagesCombatting cabbage white caterpillarsTackling LeatherjacketsBrowse a variety of vegetable plantsChoose plants by soil type

Also know as American gooseberry mildew, this greyish-white powdery growth of the fungal disease Sphaerotheca mors-uvae appears on new shoots, which can become distorted and die off. The mildew also affects the upper leaf surfaces and stems

Hedge bindweed, Calystegia sepium, is able to spread rapidly to creep between cultivated plants, making it difficult to eradicate. It's able to re-grow from small pieces of cream-white root, so cultivating a border often aids its spread. It can make

summer cabbagesTackling cabbage white caterpillarsCombatting LeatherjacketsBrowse a selection of hardy perennial plants View plants by suitability to sun exposure

Keep lawn edges trimmed by cutting with a half-moon edging toolLook out for cabbage white butterfly eggs and rub them off with your fingersRemove blanket weed from pondsFeed hanging baskets and patio pots every weekPrune fast-growing hedges like