Powdery mildew often appears during hot, humid spells in late spring. The main symptom is the appearance of white spots on the stem and leaves. If illness affects your plan, try to improve ventilation around planes to avoid excessive humidity. When powdery mildew appears, infected branches and leaves should be immediately cut off and then destroyed. If the infection is severe, control it with 1:10 diluted milk, Bordeaux mixture, or a special fungicide.

Stem rot is often caused by overwatering. It is drought tolerant and requires less water than most other plants. If you see this symptom, apply fungicide to the soil. You can also mix the fungicide into the growing medium before you even plant your sweet Sandia echinacea.

Aster yellows are often carried by insects or else caused by a poor growing environment. It manifests as turning of its flowers, uneven green in the leaves, slow growth, and even wilting and death. Any infected plants should be removed from the ground and destroyed.

Aphids congregate on the tender stems and leaves of plants and are visible to the naked eye. If the infestation is not too great, spray the aphids with plenty of water (cold if possible); If the infestation is very serious, use a special pesticide for aphids and repeat the operation to overcome it.

Tobacco whiteflies (also known as sweet potato whiteflies) live under leaves and feed on plant sap. These pests can cause your plant to blacken, soften and crumble, and will also turn your leaves yellow before they fall apart. Use virtuous insects such as ladybugs or green dragonflies, they are two fierce predators of whiteflies, so try to make your garden attractive to these types of life-saving insects!

Eriophyid mites live and feed on flowers. If your flowers appear hypoplastic or misshapen and are missing petals, it may be due to the presence of these pests. Most of the time, the plant can support a large number of spider mites. We recommend that you use pesticides in case of severe infection. This problem can be solved by pruning the infected parts of the plant and getting rid of overwintering females with dormant oil.

The Japanese beetle is most prevalent in early summer and feeds on the sap in large populations. They land on leaves and flowers, starting at the top of the plant and then nibbling down; without a reaction from you, they will quickly devastate your plant. It is very difficult to rid your garden of this unwanted intruder, especially when a large population has made it their home. The best way to do this is to act in prevention, or, even worse, to detect the problem from the beginning. Japanese beetles are attracted to ripe or rotting fruit, as well as certain weeds, which should be removed from your garden as part of prevention. If you see these pests, remove them from the plant and kill them with soapy water.

In addition, there are pests and diseases that are less common but still require your attention.