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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]



On the third Thursday of every month, the national Climate Prediction Center releases their 3-month climate outlook for temperature and precipitation.  These outlooks are presented as the level of confidence (i.e., probability of occurrence) for conditions to be above or below normal.  Since last fall, these outlooks have been consistently favoring above-normal temperatures and precipitation…Read more about Cool and wet conditions now predicted over next few months.[Read More]


To effectively control Taphrina leaf curl fungicides must be applied before bud swell. If you remember seeing red, curled, distorted, leaves on Prunus spp. last year (Figs 1,2) and wondered what might have caused this symptom, the answer is most likely Taphrina leaf curl. Taphrina is a fungal disease that survives in bark and bud…Read more about Taphrina Leaf Curl on Ornamental Flowering Peaches and Nectarines[Read More]


One of the most common diseases found on boxwoods is Volutella blight and dieback, caused by the fungi Pseudonectria foliicola and P. buxi. Both fungi are considered weak pathogens, always around but not causing much damage until plants are injured or stressed, rarely infecting otherwise healthy plants. Volutella blight alone usually doesn’t kill boxwoods, but…Read more about Volutella Blight and Dieback of Boxwood[Read More]



Determining the cause of dieback and decline symptoms in landscape trees can be very difficult due to the many cultural, environmental, and biological factors that could be involved. The first place you should look for a culprit when dealing with this type of tree problem is the base of the trunk and the roots. Stem…Read more about Stem Girdling Roots[Read More]


Offering 27 virtual, on-demand sessions from the IGE 2022 Live Educational Program Only available until May 31st, so sign up now! UNABLE TO ATTEND OUR IN-PERSON EVENT IN JANUARY? NEED TO EARN CCHS/CEUS? THIS VIRTUAL PROGRAM PROVIDES A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE AND EARN CREDITS ON YOUR SCHEDULE, AT YOUR OWN PACE. Click here…Read more about 2022 Indiana Green Expo Available Virtually! Sign up now for 27 education stations and receive CCH’s[Read More]


Surflan (oryzalin) is a part of many preemergence weed control programs.  Being in the dinitroaniline (DNA) herbicide family (along with trifluralin, pendimethalin, prodiamine, and others), this product controls many weeds with minimum phytotoxicity to landscape plants.  Oryzalin is also on the lower end of preemergence herbicide pricing, thus increasing the use of this product.  You…Read more about What Happened to Surflan (oryzalin)?[Read More]


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