Wet summer weather always brings in a surplus of plant diseases, but few are as dramatic as clematis blight, caused by the fungus now called Calophoma clematidina (formerly Ascochyta or Phoma clematidina) (Fig. 1). The rest of us simply call it clematis blight or clematis wilt. Why the confusion with both the common and Latin…Read more about Blasted Clematis Blight[Read More]
Resources for landscapes and gardens in the Midwest
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Help IR4 Help You! The IR-4 Project provides the research necessary for pesticide registration on ornamental plants. IR4 operates as a unique partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – both the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES), the Agricultural Research Service (ARS),…Read more about Help IR4 Help You![Read More]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one…. A tree is in a slow decline year after year. You are called to your client’s property only to find the root flare well below grade. Most professionals in the Green Industry have encountered this at some point in their career. The most common reason for the slow…Read more about Another Case of Mortality from Planting Trees Too Deep[Read More]
Trees stressed by prolonged drought are more subject to attack by boring insects. This article provides tips and a video link on how to manage pines for borers. Record breaking heat and sporadic rainfall during July of 2023 took their toll on landscape trees. Cone bearing evergreens, like white pines, are especially susceptible to drought…Read more about Beat Back Borers Attacking Pines and other Cone Bearing Trees[Read More]
Despite the sublime name, tree-of-heaven, Ailanthus altissima, is a particularly bad actor when it comes to trees encountered in the Midwest. This native of Asia was introduced to North America more than 150 years ago and has since become a widespread invasive pest. Rapid growth, extremely high seed production (hundreds of thousands from a mature…Read more about Tree-of-Heaven is not so Heavenly[Read More]
The final month of summer is here, meaning children are returning to school and pools will be closing soon. The end of summer also signifies shorter days, cooler temperatures and a nearing finish line for the long marathon run by our cool season lawns. Summer is tough on the fescues, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass…Read more about Turn Around a Down Lawn with Seed[Read More]
Black vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) is a serious pest of several ornamental and fruit plants, such as azalea, Cyclamen, caneberries, yew, rhododendron, grape, and strawberry. It is not a widespread issue, but when they occur, infestations can be devastating to a grower. A few larvae can be lethal to a Rhododendron, and the foliage feeding…Read more about Black Vine Weevil[Read More]
In the last five years, we have received 233 samples from Indiana, alone, with concerns ranging from boxwood leafminer to Volutella dieback and cold damage (Figure 1, 2, 3). Often, we find multiple problems on any given sample, and very frequently we see Volutella in association with dark cankers of stems that appear to have…Read more about Boxwood Browning, Blights, and Cankers – 2023 Update[Read More]
Poison hemlock was introduced to North America as a garden/ornamental plant. It is a native of Europe, and it is a member of the Apiaceae (parsley) family. Purdue experts Bill Johnson and Marcelo Zimmer wrote about poison hemlock in a Purdue Pest & Crop newsletter. They wrote that poison hemlock can be noticed very early…Read more about Recognizing and Managing Poison Hemlock[Read More]
I have lost count of the number of times I’ve witnessed people working with chainsaws in shorts, a tank top, and flip flops with maybe a pair of earbuds, and it makes me cringe every time. According to the CDC, over 36,000 chainsaw-related injuries a year are reported with annual medical costs of more than…Read more about Chainsaw Safety, PPE[Read More]
It’s that time of year when we remind everyone to watch for spotted lanternfly (SLF) infestations. Spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, and has since spread throughout the eastern USA. Its preferred host is the invasive Tree-of-Heaven, but it also feeds on a wide range of important plant species,…Read more about Spotted lanternfly egg hatch is here[Read More]
All plants are susceptible to attack by pests and pathogens. Under certain conditions, a homeowner may require the use of a pesticide, but only after they’ve included, or exhausted the use of cultural practices like removal of diseased tissue (sanitation and eradication); considered resistant varieties to replace continual problem plants; and making sure the plant…Read more about Fungicides, Homeowners, and the Garden Center[Read More]
This series will highlight unique and interesting landscape plants that are not as common in the landscape. Many of these plants aren’t readily available at your local nursery or garden center. If you are interested in purchasing one of these plants, I recommend contacting your local nursery or garden center about availability. Japanese Painted…Read more about Plant Picks: Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum)[Read More]
The unpredictable Midwest weather has gardeners checking their rain gauge daily, because one rule gardeners learn early on is that landscapes need about an inch of water each week. Of course, there are many factors that will impact the accuracy of this very general rule such as soil type, average temperature, sun exposure, plant type,…Read more about What is an Inch of Water?[Read More]
As we get into the throngs of summer, disease activity takes hold on the cool season turfgrass species we commonly use on lawns. This spring/early summer 2023 much of the state has been in a considerable drought, missing approximately two inches of normal precipitation in both April and May, and three inches below normal so…Read more about Know thy Host, Know thy Disease[Read More]
Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) has been a reliable mainstay in home landscapes for generations. This spring-blooming perennial is also known by a string of other common names, including flowering moss, moss phlox, moss pink, rock phlox, and thrift (not to be confused with sea thrift which is Armeria maritma). Creeping phlox is native to a…Read more about Anthracnose on Creeping Phlox[Read More]
Periwinkle (Vinca minor) has a few disease issues that can cause severe damage to Vinca in cool wet weather, including Rhizoctonia stem and crown rot, Phytophthora root and crown rot, and Phoma stem blight. The last disease, Phoma stem blight, can cause severe damage to Vinca early in Spring when new stem growth emerges (Fig…Read more about Phoma stem blight of Vinca[Read More]
Some of the questions that I get asked quite frequently are “Are my trees ok?”, “Do I need to have an arborist come work on my trees?”, and “Is there anything I can do to help my trees without hurting my savings?”. Just like many questions, the answers are dependent on the situation. There are…Read more about Can I Prune Like the Pros?[Read More]
The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) continues its eastward spread across the US. In 2022, seven new counties were added to the distribution map of this invasive insect. While it is not present in Indiana yet, it is confirmed throughout the eastern USA from northern Georgia to Maine, extending west into Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky….Read more about Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Distribution update[Read More]
For some, the term “shade garden” may be an oxymoron. When imagining a garden, most will think of a sunny area filled with flowering plants. So, it’s not surprising that gardeners would often fill shady areas with a hardy, evergreen ground cover and never look back. However, ornamental shade gardens have been the source of…Read more about Throwing Shade on the Perennial Garden[Read More]
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