Liz Douville in her greenhouse in Bend.

Most of the time we can treat our physical ills — feeling feverish; take an aspirin. Suffering the discomforts of summer flu or colds; get the chicken soup going. Sometimes we run into more than we can cure with self-medication and end up headed to our favorite medical adviser. We tell our tale of woe and the pieces of the health puzzle fall into place and we’re provided with a diagnosis and advice as to how to get back on our feet.

Late July is about the time of the summer when plants show signs of not feeling their best. By doing some observing, gardeners can make a checklist of symptoms and find help from a plant M.D. source.

With some guidelines in hand, you can develop a checklist to help identify symptoms. Most problems involve leaves, flowers or fruit, but inspection also needs to me made of stems, branches and trunk.

You would be surprised how many gardeners look for an answer to a problem on a plant they don’t know the name of. That doesn’t work. Some plant problems are specific to certain host plants which helps to narrow the search.

We all know that weather conditions can drastically affect a plant, cold, hot, dry, wet, windy and of course our unexpected frosts. Do you know what growing conditions are ideal for your plant? You may have pushed the survival button too far. You’ll know soon enough by the shriveled, burned leaves that the plant should have been planted in shade or part-shade. A plant that is tall, spindly, pale green and without any visible damage generally has been planted in a spot that is too shady.

Our heavy-handed watering practice can account for sickly looking plants as well. An example is the split of skin at the top of a tomato, which is caused by heavy watering. Do you see plants with older leaves that have yellowed? Check the soil around the plant and if it is soggy, you are watering too much.

When did you first notice a sickly looking plant? Has it been over a long period of time or maybe just noticed after spraying nearby for weeds or for insects. Maybe we can try and change our level of acceptance of a few annual weeds and damaging insects. If we kill all the bad bugs with sprays, what will the natural good bug predators feast on? I think we should try harder to be comfortable with a few tattered leaves and an annual weed or two. Think of it as giving the balance of nature a chance. Besides, it’s a great education for a kid to watch a good bug capture a bad bug.

Leaf damage can be pretty complicated so it is even more important to be observant. Take a fresh sample if you take it to one of the OSU Extension Plant Clinics.

Does the leaf have holes or chewed edges? Take time to look for pests on the top side of the leaf and on the underside. It could be weevils, beetles, earwigs, caterpillars or one of many insects (an insect has a jointed body, six legs and a hard exoskeleton).

Rounded spots, speckles of any size can be caused by spider mites. Thrips, in addition to powdery mildew, black spot, leaf-spot and rust. There is also a category of “skeletonizers” where the damage is done throughout the interior of the leaf.

Puckered, bubbled, cupped, curled, stunted, twisted, bumpy and warty are good words for a symptoms list.

The same checklist process can be applied to plants with problems on the stems, trunk or branches.

— Reporter: douville@bendbroadband.com