Almost all of us have wondered about those little black gnats that seem to come with our houseplants. What are they and how can we get rid of them? Fungus gnats are interesting little insects. The adults, which are what you see flying around and being a nuisance, have not been found to do much of anything but lay eggs in soil. They do not feed on the plants and do not bite, and they only live for about eight days. Fungus gnat [...]
Face it, we have all had run-ins with Fire Ant mounds and the painful blisters that form after they bite. Children, pets, and wildlife are especially vulnerable, as they are often unaware of the mounds until the ants begin biting. There are several options for controlling (but unfortunately not eradicating) Imported Fire Ants: The Two Step Method: Step One involves broadcasting a fire ant bait over the entire area once or twice a year. This has the potential for reducing the colonies by 80-90%. Apply baits in the evening when [...]
The vast majority of diagnostic questions I receive each year are related to trees with health issues. Many of these issues could be avoided by proper (and consistent) care of the tree from the day it is planted. Sometimes things do go wrong, and knowing what to do can be instrumental in reviving the health of a tree. Trees have the amazing ability to “compartmentalize” diseased and damaged tissue, and to produce healthy tissue around it. If a tree has been stressed by environmental issues such as compaction in the [...]
Why Plant “Cover Crops”? I am sure that many of you have heard that it is good to plant a winter “cover crop” in unused areas of the garden. But do you know exactly what the benefits are? *One of the most beneficial reasons is that it gives you a chance to add valuable, inexpensive organic matter to the soil. Elbon (or Cereal) Rye is one of the best “green manure” cops for capturing nitrogen and returning it to the soil in the spring. (Do NOT confuse this with Annual [...]
There are few things that we can do in the garden when it is 105°F outside, but there is ONE thing that we can do BEST when it is this hot. Soil solarization is a method that is used to kill weeds seeds, insects and disease that are in the soil prior to planting. The goal is to heat the top six inches of the soil to a temperature between 110° and 125°F for four to six weeks. These high temperatures are enough to kill most annual and perennial weed [...]
Nutrient deficiency: Iron deficiency is common in areas with calcareous soils and alkaline water. The iron may be present in the soil, but it is in a form that is unavailable to the plant when grown in alkaline conditions. Deficiency occurs on young leaves, and the veins remain green while the rest of the leaf is yellow. This condition can cause dieback of limbs and small fruit. Iron deficiency is also associated with excessively wet soils or prolonged wet conditions, as this depletes the root system and uptake of nutrients [...]
Every year about this time, customers start bringing in photos of this strange white, fluffy substance on the stems of their shrubs and perennials. I myself have it on the stems of my Rose of Sharon. What on earth can it be? Well, it is not a fungus, as some have suggested. It looks fuzzy, so could it be a mealy bug? Nope. It is an evasive little insect called a leafhopper. I say evasive because if you’ve ever seen one on a stem, as soon as you get close [...]
Leaf-footed bugs are related to stink bugs. They can be distinguished from other types of stink bugs by the leaf-like appendages on their hind legs. Click HERE for more photos and information. If leaf-footed bugs invade your garden, learn what the eggs and nymphs (babies) look like. Oblong golden-brown eggs are laid in a string-like strand on the midribs of leaves or on the stems of the plant. Nymphs are orange or reddish brown and will develop the "leaf like" appendages on their hind legs as they mature. It is [...]
The Genista Caterpillar is the caterpillar commonly seen on the new growth of Texas Mountain Laurels. Note, it is ONLY the new growth that they will be found on. This saves us time and money in our control efforts. Any time Texas Mountain Laurels have new growth emerging, as in the spring and fall, is a good time to protect the new growth by spraying it with either Bt (Bacillis thurengiensis) or Spinosad. These are both Organic solutions to control caterpillars. [...]
We now have available to us a wide range of oil products to use as alternatives to synthetic insecticides and fungicides. These include oils distilled from petroleum and oils extracted from plants and animals. Petroleum oils (including mineral oils) are highly refined, paraffinic oils that are often referred to as horticultural spray, summer oil, spray oil or white mineral oil. We recommend Bonide “All Seasons Spray Oil” for late winter insect and disease control. (The antiquated term “dormant oil” referred to the heavier, less refined oils produced in the past [...]
Have you seen the Monarchs yet? Every year, I watch in expectation for the annual migration to pass through our area. I’ve been planting nectar plants all year in anticipation! Most of us have heard about the recent decline in the population of the Monarch, and how the use of herbicide-tolerant crops in the mid-west has limited the Monarch’s larval food plant, milkweed. We now have new information on how important the nectar plants are for the adult Monarch on the long migration to its Mexico breeding grounds in the [...]
Many of you are concerned about your lawns right now, as large brown areas are starting to show up as the summer heats up. I would encourage all of you to do an irrigation audit first, to determine if it is water-related. Never “assume” that all is being watered equally. Instructions for an easy, DIY irrigation audit can be found HERE. There are certain lawn issues that show up at specific times of the year, and there are specific times to treat them. For instance, we only see chinch bugs in [...]
