Gardeners - especially first-timers - worry about the health of their plants. How can they prevent problems, or figure out the cause and cure if something does go wrong? World-renowned "plant doctor" Stefan Buczacki provides reassurance, authoritative advice, and answers to questions about even the most mysterious gardending predicaments. He puts his scientific knowledge to full use in an entire section devoted to prevention, explaining how plants work and how you can limit the number of diseases to which they can succumb. Tips pull in the novice, offering encouragement on running a vigorous, sustainable garden from the outse. But, if sickness or a pest does take hold, here's the nitty-gritty on conquering it, using a variety of organic, commonsense, and traditional methods. And you won't even need to know the name of the problem, because photographs offer a quick visual referenece to over 100 common troubles - as long as you can recognize what the plant looks like, you can locate the treatment.