Book excerpt: Geared for professional perennial growers, this updated reference helps growers fight the most important factors leading to plant loss: insect and mite pests and diseases. The destructive pests are each given a chapter, with headings covering identification, life stages, monitoring, and controlling each species of each pest. Similar chapters do the same for diseases--with disease updates from the U.S. and international markets added. The lists and descriptions of beneficial organisms have been updated to reflect the latest research and successes, while an entirely new section has been added, comprised of four smaller chapters about controlling pests and diseases in four staple crops--Anemone x hybrida, Aster, Hemerocallis (daylily), and Hosta. The final section, A Visual Record of Plant Damage, includes 156 photos arranged by perennial species, showing damage from pests and diseases that can be used to help troubleshoot crop problems.