Dirt Domicile Making the soil in your beds and yard into a good home for plants is a good way to increase their chances for success. So preparing your soil prior to planting is a good idea. If you have plants currently experiencing difficulties or you would like to know specifically what to add or modify,…
Necessary Nutrients All plants require a wide variety of nutrients in varying amounts, essential nutrients required in larger quantities and make up a larger portion of the plant are called “macronutrients”, essential nutrients required in smaller amounts and makes up a smaller portion of the plant are called “micronutrients”. A lack of either of these…
Nuisance Nonsense Frustrated with weeds popping up in your flower and shrub beds? While there may be herbicide applications that could help, there are some things you can do to try to prevent the invasion or control them culturally and mechanically. Mulch Mulch can provide a barrier to sunlight which will inhibit germination of weeds.…
Deficiency Diagnosis Although scarcity of water does not appear to be an issue at this moment, sufficient precipitation and relatively mild temperatures allow for consistent, adequate soil moisture levels, however, as the growing season continues and temperatures increase drought conditions may present themselves. These conditions should be closely monitored and treated accordingly. Stress can be…
Celebrated this year on June 5, World Environment Day (WED) was established in 1972 to mark the opening of the Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden. This was a landmark event in the growth of international environmentalism. WED is meant to bring awareness to the environment as a global issue in which we…
Today we were at the offices of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to participate in the Local Planning Committee for the 14th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference in Baltimore on January 29-31, 2015. We appreciate the opportunity to participate with federal, state, and local agencies, NGOs, foundations, and academic institutions to help plan…
Stock Selection A major key to the success of your landscape plants is choosing healthy, vigorous nursery stock. Nurseries grow their stock in a variety of ways based on available space, type of plants, time of year etc.. The most common methods for propagation are bare root, container grown or field planted. All of these methods…
Today as part of our work with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station, we met with experts from the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program (USFS FIA). The USFS FIA program is the nation’s continuous forest census. It has historically taken the national census of trees on lands classified as forest land.…
Affliction Appearance The emerald ash borer beetle (Agrilus planipennis or EAB) is an exotic pest first discovered first in Detroit in 2002. It is thought that the borers arrived in the United States in solid wood packing on shipping containers from Asia. Since its initial discovery populations have been found in 20 additional states and in…
Drought Resistant Decoration The use of more adaptable, hardy and pest, disease and drought resistant species in our landscapes is fast becoming a popular idea due the benefits they provide environmentally, aesthetically and economically. Drought resistant plants can provide longer lasting blooms while conserving water and saving on water bills; landscape watering makes up a large…
