The Plant Diagnostic Laboratory has been producing many golf turf samples. They’ve seen anthracnose, summer patch, slime molds, take-all, Pythium root diseases, annual bluegrass weevils, black turfgrass, ataenius, and many other signs of wear and tear. Recently they had a sample of a mixed bent/Poa putting green turf with damage to both the annual bluegrass…
The rains from last week have provided some relief for many drought-stressed turf, but the eastern edge of the region along the coast remains very dry. Many areas received slow-soaking rain events, but a few experienced some intense downpours that mostly ran off and was not available to replenish soil moisture. Consequently the Northeast US…
Viburnum Leaf Beetle has now been found at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It’s also been found in other parts of the Chicago metro area including Cook and DuPage County since 2009. It seems like tree varieties such as Arrowwood, Possum-haw and Cranberrybush are becoming most susceptible to this threat. This pest overwinters as eggs…
Many boxwoods are still hurting from the harsh winter, even though it is June. These boxwoods live in West Harrison, NY with their proud owners. They are receiving TLC from SavATree and should look better soon.”
The Chesapeake Stormwater Network is a network of nearly 7,000 stormwater professionals, primarily, but not exclusively, within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. They do a lot of great things – one of them is helping to clean up urban stormwater with BUBBA. No, BUBBA is not my fun-loving uncle. It is an acronym for Best Urban BMP in…
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have “greener” lawns, in both senses of the word? The good news is there are several simple practices that will benefit your lawn as well as the environment, especially in areas where rainfall is in short supply. Here are a few ways to minimize water usage when caring for your lawn. 1.…
It is so early in the season in many regions buds have not yet broke, but insects have awoken. Being the first to become active has some advantages for the insects, but for landscape professionals and homeowners they can be quite a nuisance. Being that the season for insect control hasn’t begun in earnest up…
Warmer weather gets us back out into our gardens, but being overenthusiastic can lead to some gardening “don’ts”, often this applies when putting out fresh mulch. It is always useful to review the “Do’s and Don’ts” of mulch usage at the beginning of the season. The 2 major rules of thumb when it comes to applying mulch…
Every year Washington D.C. experiences an influx of tourists looking not only for White House tours, pictures at the Lincoln Memorial and investigating the Smithsonian Museums, but to stroll the Mall and streets absorbing the beauty and bounty of blooming cherry trees. The ornamental cherries filling the capital with beautiful blossoms and perfumes were a…
Spring cleaning for our landscapes can be a tricky undertaking. We want to dive in a trim everything up, dig it out from under mulch and leaves and start planting, but some restraint may need to be shown so that ornamentals don’t sustain damage in the process. There is a rule of thumb that goes…
