Question
I've noticed for about a week know that the leaves on my dahlias have been turning whitish. and the buds just stopped growing. I have tons of bottons. I live in Fl and we've been having lots of rain in the past couple of weeks. Yesterday I went out to pull out the deseased plants and found that on the underside of my calla lilies and other plants I have some red tiny critters. And lots of webs. Help Please My calla lilies didn't do so great last year and this year to my surprise they have come back so i just started pulling them out and putting them in pots. My garden was doing fine till the rain I don't know what it could have been. I have other Dahlia's that are not in that same garden that are not in that condition. What should i do? I'm afraid of pesticides i tried that once and killed alot of my other plants. Is their something safe I could use. Thank you

Answer
Hi Viv,
Thanx for your question.  The tiny red critters are probably spider mites.  There are a number of organic solutions available at your local nursery in the form of Neem Spray or other biological controls so you don't have to use chemicals.  Just ask the nurserymen what they have that is non-chemical.  Spider mites can also be sprayed with soapy water or with a solution made from hot chili peppers (about 3 or 4) processed in a food processor with a teaspoon of Dawn soap and 2 cups of water.  Strain the mixture and put the juice in a spray bottle.  Be careful and don't let it get in your eyes.  Spider mites cannot tolerate the concentration of soap and chili juice.

The dahlia problem sounds like a fungal problem which would definitely be associated with an overabundance of moisture.  Fungal issues are harder to treat sometimes if the weather doesn't cooperate.  You can help prevent fungal problems by ensuring that dahlias aren't planted too closely together and have enough space for air circulation.  What county are in you in?  I can possibly hook you up with some good local resources.  Let me know.
Tom