If you’ve grown tomatoes for a few years, chances are you use plants known to be free of and resistant to two common deadly fungal diseases, fusarium and verticillium wilt. But did you know that the blackened branch on a prized Japanese maple, towering ash, or verdant pepper tree may be the result of infection […]
Are Your Tomatoes Wilting? Read More »
Your garden is growing like crazy as we head into summer. Is it time to feed the lawn, the tomatoes and veggies, roses, and other flowers? Before you haul out bags, boxes, or bottles of plant food and sprinkle, spread, or pour them on, consider whether you really need to. Are the products beneficial to
Do you Really Need that Fertilizer? Read More »
One of the unwanted visitors to the spring garden arrives just about now. That pulsating mass of tiny pests that cloak the new growth on your roses, viburnums, or peach trees are at best an unsightly nuisance and at worst, creatures that can damage tender new growth on plants and spread disease. Welcome to the
It’s not just Aphids Read More »
Noticed any branches of your pear or apple trees that look like they’ve been torched or scorched? Might be a case of fire blight, a nasty bacterial disease. It most frequently affects pome fruit trees (apples and pears) and related plants – crabapple, ornamental pear, pyracantha, and quince. Infections may appear scattered throughout the crown
Could it be Fire Blight? Read More »
You don’t need a calendar to know that it’s spring. Signs of the season abound as bulbs pierce the ground with vibrant bouquets and trees and shrubs begin to flower. New foliage erupts from the bare branches and slender stems of prized fruit trees creating visions of bountiful crops, fresh peach pie, baked pears, or
Curly foliage is not what you want on your peach tree! Read More »
Gorgeous roses are a wonderful addition to any garden. But throw in a few days of spring rain and voila, you might end up with nearly naked plants. This dramatic effect is likely a result of infection by either blackspot or rust, the gardener’s plague of wet spring or fall months. Effectively managing these invaders
A Dastardly Duo of Diseases that can Plague your Roses Read More »
What in the world is garden sanitation? It’s simply the removal of plant material that can harbor pests and disease. By removing debris from your garden, you reduce the ability for pests and pathogens to negatively impact your garden next spring. Remove all badly diseased or pest infested plants, trash, weeds, and dying plant parts.
Clean up to Prevent Garden Problems Read More »
Spring is around the corner, and there’s a whole lot of planting going on. One of the features of the winter nursery is the availability of bare root plants. Bare root plants are not actively growing plants. They’re usually dug when they’re dormant and then refrigerated until it is time to ship to the nursery
Make Plant Choices to Prevent Pests and Disease Read More »
What do blue cheese, conks, penicillin, athlete’s foot, and soy sauce have in common? Fungus! These represent both the good and the bad that come from this amazing group of living things. Neither plant nor animal, the fungi inhabit a world mostly hidden from view, the mushroom-like things popping out of the ground often the
Are those Mushrooms? Read More »
Warm days and cool nights are happening now. These are perfect conditions for powdery mildew to thrive in the garden. This common disease is easily recognized by the talcum-powder like appearance on new and old leaves, tender new shoots, some flowers, and fruits. It affects a huge range of plants – roses, crape myrtle, sycamore,
