Honeydew, or the sticky liquid excrement that accumulates beneath trees infested with sucking insects, can attract stinging insects, pit the finish of your car, and coat your plants and picnic tables with black sooty mold. Learning which trees are prone to these problems can keep you from getting tied up in a sticky mess.
Resources for landscapes and gardens in the Midwest
Landscape Report
Found 585 Articles
While recent temperatures have been moderate in many parts of the state, rainfall has been lacking. (See The Annual Drought Article). There are chasms in the clay of my backyard that will swallow my kids and dogs whole. While I am not truly worried about the safety of my smaller family members, a lot of…Read more about What is happening to the Weeping Willows?[Read More]
About ten years ago I was listening to a talk by a climatologist. She indicated that data is trending towards more floods and more droughts in the Midwest. At first listen this made absolutely no sense. How can a place simultaneously have more flooding and more drought? Well, if you’ve paid attention over the last…Read more about The Annual Drought Article[Read More]
Join us at the Purdue Turf and Landscape Field Day on July 26th! The Purdue Turf and Landscape Field Day is an annual one-day event with the objective of providing professional turf and landscape managers exposure and educational opportunities with the latest research and technical resources. The Field Day features research tours, talks on current…Read more about Purdue Turf and Landscape Field Day[Read More]
Arborvitae (Thuja spp.) fulfill several crucial roles in the landscape, especially windbreaks and screens (Fig. 1). Their relatively fast growth habit, wide variety of available forms, and inexpensive price point make them one of the most common conifers in the Midwest landscape. Due to the ubiquitous use of arborvitae, and their perceived problems, the Green…Read more about Stop Making These Arborvitae Mistakes! Common transplant problems of arborvitae.[Read More]
Trees need to be tough to survive the abuse we put them through in cities. Often planted parking lots and on streets, they are stressed by drought in the summer and de-icing salts in the winter. Honeylocust trees are a great choice for cities because in addition to their pleasing shape and fall color, they…Read more about Keep Honeylocust Trees from Becoming a Pest Nightmare[Read More]
Key Features Round, brown beetle Chewed leaves and flowers Chewed roots Symptoms Leaf margins are chewed by adult beetles. Leaves are stripped and left in a ragged appearance after adult feeding which is much different than the skeletonization caused by Japanese beetle feeding. Adults are about the size of Japanese beetles. Larvae are c-shaped grubs…Read more about Asiatic Garden Beetle[Read More]
Botrytis blight (also called grey mold) is caused by fungi in the genus Botrytis. The best known of these fungi, Botrytis cinerea, can infect many different hosts, including soft fruit, vegetables, annuals, perennials, shrubs and young tree seedlings (Fig. 1). Other common species of Botrytis are more host specific, including Botrytis elliptica (infecting only lilies…Read more about Botrytis Blight[Read More]
Over the past week I have identified three different fowl bluegrass (Poa palustris) samples sent in to the Purdue Plant & Pest Diagnostic Lab (https://ag.purdue.edu/department/btny/ppdl/). This is not concerning, just unusual. This is not a grass species that I see that often, but I have seen several samples this year, including a sample from my…Read more about Several Clients Submitting Samples of Fowl Bluegrass (Poa palustris) to Diagnostic Lab[Read More]
Biology: Pineapple weed (Matricaria matricariodies), behaves as either a summer or winter annual and it is commonly found throughout the United States. It is a weed of both high- and low-maintenance turfgrass lawns, landscapes, and nursery crops. Its ability to tolerate low mowing heights and highly compacted soils allow pineapple weed to compete with in weak…Read more about Spotlight on Weeds: Pineapple weed[Read More]
If you have ever seen gooey neon orange branches on trees and shrubs you may have been observing a phenomenon commonly known by the very scientific name of ‘orange goo’. Appearing in cool, wet weather during spring sap flow, the goo is caused by fungi, bacteria and yeast colonizing tree sap, especially where an injury…Read more about Orange Goo – Dramatic but Harmless.[Read More]
Japanese maple scales (JMS) attack a wide variety of trees and shrubs. They are common on dogwood, elms, flowering fruit trees, maples, magnolias, lilac and roses. Heavy infestations can kill tree branches. Unlike the closely related soft scales, these insects will be dry and not coated with sticky liquid excrement. All stages of this scale…Read more about Getting a Grip on Japanese Maple Scale[Read More]
Roses are a popular landscape and garden plant in Indiana. Black spot, caused by the fungus Diplocarpon rosae, is the major foliar disease of roses in Indiana. Infected leaves develop black spots, turn yellow and drop prematurely from the plant. Premature defoliation decreases plant energy reserves and results in reduced flowering of roses as well…Read more about Reduce Defoliation From Rose Black Spot[Read More]
There is much speculation on why trees finally just go past the point of no return and die. There are many causes of tree death, but the most common is environmentally induced death often aggravated by some opportunistic pest. However, how the tree dies, well, that’s a scientific and physiological process.
Ascochyta blight is a sporadic disease that can infect Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue and perennial ryegrass. Outbreaks are closely tied to high rainfall or irrigation events in mid to late spring, and drainage patterns. If the lawn is irrigated, Ascochyta can be a sign of too much irrigation. Current rainfall events are providing a prime…Read more about Ascochyta blight: Conspicuous but Usually Cosmetic[Read More]
When we see round holes in the bark of a tree we often think the cause might be due to wood boring insects or bark beetles. However, that is not always the case. Small holes arranged in neat, uniform rows and columns on the trunks of trees or woody shrubs are usually caused by sapsuckers,…Read more about Rows and Rows of Holes[Read More]
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