I was looking for a fullpage ad that ran in the New York Times
sometime after 1982. Also, for an article that the Wall Street Journal
wrote about it, due to the ad. It was run by John Peterman, before he
started the J. Peterman company.  He writes about it in his book
"Peterman Rides Again" pg. 45.

The book is foggy about the year.  It could be as early as 1982.  He
ran an ad that said "Send us your weak, your weary, your blotched,
your mysteriously yellowing leaves.  We'll tell you how to cure your
plants. Cost $6.85"  I dont now if there is more in the ad or not. 
Other than it was named National Houseplant Diagnostic Laboratory.

The Wall Street Journal picked up the story and wrote an article
about.  He also appeared on Good Morning America with Joan Lunden and
David Hartman and was on the same day as Tommy Lee Jones.

I know this is a complex question but was looking for the ad and the
Wall Street Journal Article

Hello.

The ad appeared in the New York Times on July 6, 1984, on page A11. 
You may purchase it from The New York Times historical archive.

Here is the direct link to the ad ("Display Ad 6"):
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nytimes/results.html?st=advanced&QryTxt=%22your+blotched%22&x=0&y=0&By=&Title=&datetype=6&frommonth=07&fromday=06&fromyear=1984&tomonth=07&today=06&toyear=1984&restrict=none&sortby=REVERSE_CHRON


-------

The Wall Street Journal article was:

"This Company Hopes to Flourish From Customers' Shriveled Plants"
By Teri Agins. 
The Wall Street Journal.  August 1, 1984. pg. 1

I read the article through a library newspaper database.  I can't
reproduce the entire text here because of copyright restrictions, but
here is a brief excerpt:

"Would anyone spend $7 to save a dying $4 fern? 
John Peterman hopes so. In April, he started the National Diagnostic
Houseplant Laboratory in Lexington, Ky., and began running ads asking
plant owners to send him their sickly leaves for analysis and
diagnosis."

If you're a Wall Street Journal Online subscriber, you can obtain old
articles from their archives at:
Wall Street Journal: Search
http://online.wsj.com/advanced_search

Alternatively, a very brief abstract of the article may be purchased
from Dialog Select via this direct link:
http://openaccess.dialog.com/business/cgi/search?fileno=475&Subject=&Fulltext=peterman&Byline=&startYear=1984&endYear=1984&PDstartMonth=&PDstartDay=&PDstartYear=&PDendMonth=&PDendDay=&PDendYear=&FormName=NewsUSMajor&Search=EW.NewsUS

Again, I've read the complete article, and I can answer any questions
that you have about it.  It's actually rather brief.  There are only
about 7 more sentences about Mr Peterman beyond what I excerpted
above.

I can also direct you to your nearest library that has the Wall Street
Journal on microfilm.  Let me know if you need any additional
assistance.

------------
search strategy:
new york times historical, "your blotched"
wall street journal search: 1984, peterman

Thanks.

Thank you very much.  That was exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you for the generous tip.
-juggler

juggler-ga,

Nicely done!

paf