If you are one of those gardeners who are knee deep in hostas, I recently read some disease information in the Delaware Valley Hosta Society's summer newsletter that I will pass along.

The disease, called southern stem blight, is one that loves hot weather and seldom appears before June. It is not a new disease, but one that seems to be getting more problematic in our area. I have seen it on occasion.

Infected plants will show stressed leaves that tend to fall over from the crown. With closer inspection you will spot small, hard, spherical balls about the size of mustard seed near the junction of the petiole and the leaf. The diseased leaves will also give off an unpleasant odor.

Recently, someone discovered that a Bayer product called "All in One Rose and Flower Care" is quite effective in controlling the disease. It is one of those all in one products for the home gardener. It is a systemic chemical for both disease and insects as well as a nitrogen fertilizer.

If you have the problem, try it now, but more important, use it next spring in early June before symptoms appear. Since it contains fertilizer, be careful using it in the fall. Fall fertilization on any plant often will promote unwanted growth, which slows the plants preparation for winter.

With our hot, muggy weather and irregular rainfall, diseases and insects seem to be flourishing. I will quickly admit that especially disease identification is difficult to determine without professional evaluation.

For starters, I will point out that, generally, if the plant problem appears on the new growing tips you are looking at an insect problem. If it starts with the lower leaves it can usually be traced to a fungus, virus, nutritional or moisture problem.

I'll slowly close with a review of some recent problems I have seen or heard about. Spider mites are very small red insects that feed on the underside of leaves. Look for small webbing, leaf bronzing, pitting of the under part of the leaf. Repeated use of an insecticidal soap helps but they are difficult to control.

Early blight and late blight seems prevalent on tomatoes this year. Of course there are the Japanese beetles and the troublesome aphids. Various funguses, some a problem, others quite harmless are commonly out there.

A good reference source to consult with specific problems is the Master Gardener's Hotline at 394-6851 in Lancaster. They are there at least week day mornings and are tied to Penn state University.