What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?): A Visual Guide to Easy Diagnosis and Organic Remedies

by David Deardorff, Kathryn Wadsworth

Overview

Dealing with a sick plant is one of the most frustrating situations a gardener can face. More often than not, we have no idea what is causing the problem, or how to fix it. Fortunately, help is at hand. What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?) provides an easy system for visually diagnosing any problem, and matching it to the right cure.

This innovative and easy-to-use guide is split into three parts.

Part One presents easy-to-follow, illustrated flow charts — organized by  where on the plant the symptoms appear — that allow readers to accurately diagnose the problem. The format is so simple it doesn't even require knowing the name of the plant; all you need to know is whether the problem is affecting its roots, stem, flowers, or leaves. It does not matter whether the plant is a houseplant, perennial, vegetable, tree, or shrub.

Part Two offers a 100% organic way to fix the problem.  From improper growing conditions and environmental factors, to molds, pests, and diseases, every problem has a safe, natural solution. Part Three shows photographs and drawings of stressed, damaged, and diseased plants that help with accurate comparison.

Whether your garden consists of herbs on a kitchen windowsill, a vegetable garden, an elaborate backyard border, or a container on a patio, What's Wrong With My Plant? is an indispensable resource. If you can see it, you can fix it. Curing a sick plant just doesn't get any easier.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780881929614
Publisher:	Timber Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/02/2009
Pages:	452
Sales rank:	264,376
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

David Deardorff, botanist and expert plant pathologist, loves to write and lecture about how to grow healthier plants. As a research biologist David has lived and gardened in many environments, from the desert southwest to the maritime northwest to the tropics. Currently, he and co-author Kathryn Wadsworth can be found presenting workshops around the U.S. on a wide variety of topics, from ecology to gardening. David earned his Ph.D. in botany from the University of Washington. He coordinated plant pathology research at the University of Hawaii and served as faculty advisor to the Master Gardener Program at Washington State University. 

Kathryn Wadsworth, writer, photographer, and naturalist, enjoys sharing the wonders of the natural world with others. While leading eco-tours around the world she has studied plant life and explored natural history from Australia to Alaska. Currently, she and co-author David Deardorff can be found presenting workshops around the U.S. on a wide variety of topics, from gardening to ecology.

Editorial Reviews

"I wish I had [this book] sooner, so I could have prevented the spread of fungus. This is a valuable reference for gardeners of virtually any skill level and experience."

Mr. McGregor's Daughter Blog

"Where does this book belong on my bookshelf? Front and center."

May Dreams Gardens Blog

"What’s Wrong With My Plant is a wonderful book for the gardener facing his/her first garden problems. It's also a handy reference guide for experienced gardeners."

Oklahoma Gardening Examiner

“[The book] is almost as good as having your own consulting plant doc at hand.”

Plant Talk blog

“What’s Wrong With My Plant? has trouble-shooting flow-charts and solutions aplenty.”

The Tampa Tribune

“This is a welcome reference book for any gardener, one to keep front and center on your bookcase so that when problems show up, you’ll be able to avoid your worst plant nightmares and continue to have a garden as your own paradise.”

The Southside Times

“[This book] is an answered prayer for all gardeners.”

Real Dirt blog

“This is a book that will grow dog-eared and dingy from use, yet remain on gardeners’ shelves for years to come.”

Times-Picayune

You’ll have experts waiting on your book shelf to help you. Because if you haven’t asked yourself ‘what’s wrong with that plant’ yet, you will one day.”

Garden of Possibilities

“This is the smartest, best-thought-out book on diagnosing plant problems (and how to solve them) that I have seen in all my years as a gardener.”

Chronicle Herald

“It’s like having a Master Gardener at your beck and call, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, any season of the year.”

About.com

“You’ll have experts waiting on your book shelf to help you. Because if you haven’t asked yourself ‘what’s wrong with that plant’ yet, you will one day.”

Garden of Possibilities blog

"This is one of the best books I've seen for guiding the gardener through the maze of maladies that can visit garden plants. ... This book is a valuable tool and long overdue."

Washington Post

"David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth have produced one of the best and most easily used keys to diagnosing a wide range of plant problems … makes a great gift for any gardener."

Warwick Beacon

"An essential book for anyone who gardens."

Garden Design Online

"A valuable resource for all gardeners."

Marin Independent Journal

"Its 500 color photos and 600 line drawings facilitate fast identification of diseases, pests and other problems. … And, equally important, this comprehensive text explains how to use environmentally friendly remedies to restore plant health."

The Ledger

"It’s a handy reference book for figuring out how to help your plants stay healthy."

Garden Gate

"This is a massive undertaking, covering virtually every problem a gardener might come across. Because it’s easy to use, well written, and well illustrated, What’s Wrong With My Plant?...is an important reference that will help gardeners successfully diagnose their own plant problems and make educated decisions about how to solve them."

American Gardener

"This is a massive undertaking, covering virtually every problem a gardener might come across. Because it’s easy to use, well written, and well illustrated, What’s Wrong With My Plant?...is an important reference that will help gardeners successfully diagnose their own plant problems and make educated decisions about how to solve them."

New York Times Book Review

"Many gardeners find it hard to ask for help. The excellent (and sturdy) What's Wrong with My Plant? ... will be indispensable to them, and to the rest of us as well. The information is concise: “A borer’s hole and frass (poop) are obvious on this asparagus stem.” (Thank you very much.) The illustrations are clear, the remedies organic. I promise you, things will go wrong. Be prepared."

Stonington-Mystic Patch

The book is a combination of drawings, photos and easy to understand advice on organic methods for diagnosing and treating a whole host of plants issues.

Muskogee Phoenix

"What’s Wrong With My Plant is a wonderful book for the gardener facing his/her first garden problems. It's also a handy reference guide for experienced gardeners."

May Dreams Gardens Blog - Valerie Easton

"I wish I had [this book] sooner, so I could have prevented the spread of fungus. This is a valuable reference for gardeners of virtually any skill level and experience."

Mr. McGregor's Daughter Blog - Deborah Roberts

"Where does this book belong on my bookshelf? Front and center."

May Dreams Gardens Blog - Molly Day

Written by plant pathologists, What’s Wrong? thoroughly covers diagnosis and cure in three parts: Simple to follow, illustrated, flowcharts of problems, organic approaches to cures and photographs to clarify diagnosis.

From the Publisher

…excellent and sturdy…the information is concise…The illustrations are clear, the remedies organic.
—The New York Times

Dominique Browning

Plant pathologist Deardorff and naturalist Wadsworth have created a book to diagnose and organically treat plant problems, whether related to cultivation, pests, or disease. The first section of the book is divided by plant part, from whole plant to leaves to flowers to fruits to stems to seeds. Gardeners use the symptoms present in their plant—or specific part of the plant—to answer a series of questions, arranged in flow charts and illustrated with color drawings, which lead them to a diagnosis of the problem. The entry then refers the gardener to the pages for solutions and, if available, a photograph of a plant with that problem. The authors stress providing the proper growing conditions for plants as well as preventative measures to avoid issues. However, if an insect/disease problem does occur, they offer solutions in Part 2—first changes in growing conditions, then biological/chemical products, all approved for organic gardening. Part 3 includes photographs of common troubles. VERDICT This attractive, comprehensive, authoritative, and easy-to-use guide, allowing gardeners to diagnose and organically treat a wide range of plant problems, is a worthy purchase.—Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove Lib., IL

Library Journal