Praying Mantis at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens

3. Jim Chatfield
Got diseased or buggy plants? Who you gonna call? Ohio State University professor Jim Chatfield, that’s who! This pest and disease myth-buster talked for oh-so-short a time on Why Good Plants Go Bad in an entertaining and practical way that made troubleshooting plant problems almost sexy. Among his bon mots, did you know that only 7.4 percent of all insects are pests, and that only .7 percent actually cause significant damage, or that once you see symptoms, it’s too late to control a disease (isn’t that a comfort?). To help you diagnose pesky problems in your garden, download 20 Questions on Plant Diagnosis and learn the dos and don’ts of how to keep plants healthy.