Q. I have a lovely white azalea that has always been healthy and that flowered profusely every spring. It did not have as many flowers this spring, and the leaves appear yellow and curled. Some have pale green swellings on them, but it looks white on others. Can you tell me what this is and how to get rid of it?

A. Azalea leaf and flower gall is caused by a fungus, Exobasidium vaccinii. Young leaves become swollen and fleshy, with a pale green color. These become white when they begin to form spores. Once the spores are released, the galls become hard and brown. The spores produced will not cause new infection until next spring when your azalea begins to put on new growth. New growth is more susceptible to infection than older growth that has hardened off. Wet, humid weather creates a favorable environment for this disease to develop.

Pruning off and destroying the galls before they turn white is one of the primary controls for this disease. Send them out with the trash or burn them rather than attempting to compost them. This removes the spores that would overwinter on twigs and buds to cause infection the following spring. I imagine most of the galls on your azalea have already turned white; pruning them off may not be enough to protect it next year. As new growth starts next spring, make repeated applications of mancozeb (Dithane) to protect it until the leaves have reached their full size. Read and follow application directions.

Q. I planted broccoli for the first time this year. Imagine my surprise when I went to cook the first head I harvested only to find green worms all over it! What are they and how do I get rid of them?

A. Three insects damage members of the cabbage family. All are the larvae of moths or butterflies.

The cabbage looper's light green larvae feed between the veins, chewing ragged holes in leaves. They can also damage heads of broccoli and cauliflower. Mature larvae grow to an inch-and-a-quarter in length. The adult female moth is a mottled gray-brown and is usually active in the evening. The larvae move by arching their backs like an inchworm.

The pest may be imported cabbage worm. Adult female butterflies are white with two black spots on the forewing. They often are seen fluttering around plants in daytime. The larvae are light green with a light yellow stripe on their backs and grow to more than an inch. They do not arch their backs when they move.

The third possibility is the diamondback moth. Larvae are about one-third of an inch long. Their bodies are light green and have a pair of prolegs at the tail that form a V-shape. Adults are grayish-brown moths that are active from evening into night.

Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) provides effective control of all three types of larvae under one-half inch long. Carbaryl (Sevin), rotenone and pyrethrins are more effective on larger caterpillars. As an alternative to spraying, cabbage and related crops can be grown under floating row covers from transplant until harvest to exclude the female moth from laying eggs on host plants.