What's wrong with my sunflowers?

[stilllovingmysleep]

I have grown sunflowers from seed a month ago which are doing really really well indoors and are huge. However one of them has developed some whitish spots on some of its leaves. The other suddenly has some tiny tiny flies around it! See the pictures. Help: what do I do?

I can't see from the photo - is there a tiny tear and a thinning of the leaf, or is there a bulge there, like a wee beastie is actually inside the leaf? If the latter, it could be leaf miners.

They are tiny black flies, super tiny.

I squished many of them and also took the sunflowers outside as perhaps the fresh air will do them good.

On the other sunflower there are tiny white spots on some leaves.

Shovetheholly will probably know better but a lot of these flies/mites can be got rid of with diluted washing up liquid sprayed from a sprayer bottle thing.

Elephant thanks I'll try this tomorrow! All my sunflowers are out now, I just hope the snails / slugs don't get to them in the meantime!

I am going snail hunting now. {Evil Mahahaha}

Good luck sunflowers! My youngest DS has grown some too and we have just transferred his outside. Cue me checking up on them many times a day as he will be distraught if anything happens to them - he's taken amazing care of them so far.

Mimsy Twill be brilling with Ds's sunflowers

Sounds like blackfly! Do what elephant suggests! You can wash the insects off with water too, which really helps.

Shove I just reread this thread, sorry if my comment sounded a bit off. I really meant that you do seem to know a lot about gardening and your advice is always sound.

Awww, elephant - I didn't read it that way at all! You are really kind . But I know a lot less than other posters on this forum who are true professionals - I just have more time to answer than they do!!