Resources for landscapes and gardens in the Midwest
Landscape Report
Found 477 Articles
Galls are gnarly-looking problems for plants and now is the perfect time to be looking for galls on woody ornamentals in the landscape. Without their leaves, these abnormal growths on branches can be easy to spot as you look through the open canopy (Fig 1). There are many different types of galls or gall-like structures[Read More…]
Throughout the decades, many landscape fads have ended in failure. Dame’s rocket, wintercreeper, and purple loosestrife are a few examples of beautiful and vigorous ornamentals that have wreaked havoc on our natural ecosystems. Nursery professionals, as well as consumers, were unaware of the potential negative impacts of non-native species, often marketed as vigorous, hardy, or[Read More…]
Hair ice, also called ice wool, frost beard, and gnome beard is ice that appears like silky hair (Fig. 1) but forms on dead wood colonized by the fungus Exidiopsis effusa. It is fairly uncommon and not reported in Indiana…but who has been looking for it? Think of the bragging rights! It has been found as[Read More…]
It’s almost the time of the year to begin evaluating the season and looking forward to 2022 (after a trip or two to somewhere warmer for many of you) after the second of two of the busiest seasons on record. Though no one (or very few) is complaining about the glut of work available over[Read More…]
We are in the swing of the holiday season and Christmas decorations, ranging from trees to living wreathes, are for sale at stores. Thinking ahead, you might already have in mind how to dispose of plant material after the holidays, but it is important to take into consideration an important pillar of plant disease management[Read More…]
Key Information: Insects rarely get transported inside on decorations. DO NOT treat your decorations with insecticide. This is potentially dangerous to your family and pets. Don’t worry. Most of the insects that hitch a ride on decorations are harmless. A surprise, six-legged guest is the last thing most people want to deal with during[Read More…]
Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) is a Midwest native and is generally well adapted to growth across much of the region, but we get questions about dieback or ‘flagging’ on it fairly regularly. The two most common causes of twig dieback on this host are Kermes scale (Allokermes galliformis and A. kingii) and fungal canker/dieback[Read More…]
How did your weed control program perform this year? Could you be 10% more efficient? Could you make your clients 10% more satisfied with the level of weed control? In today’s labor market, improving efficiency is the single best way to reallocate labor to other, more profitable, jobs. One aspect of improving efficiency in your[Read More…]
Black root rot (BRR), caused by the fungus Thielaviopsis basicola,has a host range of several hundred plants. In the landscape, the most common hosts include pansies (Fig. 1), and vinca, along with calibrachoa and petunia. In perennial hosts, it often infects lavender, phlox, milkweed and butterfly-weed (Asclepius spp.). Even woody plants, like holly and elderflower[Read More…]
Now that fall has arrived many people have begun collecting next year’s firewood and clearing their yards of brush and downed trees. This can be a great way to both tidy up your property and save some money but there are a few pitfalls to avoid. Already dead trees or dropped limbs can make easy[Read More…]
Junipers have to be my favorite group of evergreens, behind a select few pine species. They have a fantastic fragrance, are evergreen, many can tolerate drought, are an ingredient in gin (definitely a bonus), and work well in a variety of landscape uses, including as a barrier plant. They look great year round, except when[Read More…]
Depending on where you are located in the Midwest, rainfall in 2021 has either been too much or too little. This trend was forecasted several years ago by climatologists, in that more droughts and more floods are projected as the ramifications of climate change take shape in the future. Though this statement doesn’t make logical[Read More…]
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