Have you seen poinsettias for sale yet? I have. Were they red? Probably. That’s because we all know that poinsettias are red, right? Well, not so fast. There are pink, purple, white, spotted, striped, and even yellow and orange poinsettias. Every year, the commercial plant breeders of poinsettias come out with 5 to 20 new…
A Big-Picture Look at Pest Control
The methods used in integrated pest management (IPM) have been around for as long as gardening has been around. The word “integrate” means to incorporate separate compatible parts to form a unified whole. The pest can be anything that is alive that can cause harm to people or their animals, crops, and property. We try…
Wilted Trees and Finicky Birds
Q: Back in the spring, we planted several 10- to 15-foot-tall trees around our new house. We tried to keep up with the watering, but the trees looked a bit wilted all summer long. Now that they are going dormant for the winter, is there anything special we can do to help them? A: You…
Diagnosing Plant Problems
Q: Your answer on a lawn that suddenly appeared dead sounds like what many lawns in our area suffered through. We had army worms. One day the grass was green and the next day it was dead-looking. A: I tell people all the time that there are only three things that affect plants: insects, diseases,…
It’s Apple (Planting) Season
Autumn is the time for winding down and relaxing, so they say. It’s when you are supposed to harvest the bounty of summer that you planted in spring, and sip your pumpkin spice lattes. This approach isn’t quite wrong, but it’s not the whole story. Fall is also a stealth time to get a head…
Minestrone in October: An Ode to the Autumn Garden
“Do I taste pears in this?” My neighbor was, shall we say, intrigued. Yes, I did put chunked-up pears in the minestrone we were having on a chilly, fusty early-October night at my place, Owl Feather Farm. I have two century-old homestead pear trees at the farm; they produce palm-sized hard pears, sweet but tempered…
How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats and Other Flowerpot Pests
Q: Last week you answered a question about removing fungus from houseplant pots before bringing them in for the winter. My plants always seem to have whole armies of crickets, pill bugs, ants, earwigs, or worms. How do I get rid of them? A: I am glad you asked, because I have an update to…
Move Houseplants in, Chipmunks Out
Question: Fall is coming, and I need to move my houseplants back indoors. I noticed that some have a fungal type of growth on the soil surface. Is this condition harmful? Answer: There are several types of fungi and algae that can grow on the soil surface in potted plants. I even found some rare…
Oak Wilt and Peach Tree Suckers
Q: I have an old oak tree. During the recent cicada invasion, this tree took a mighty hit from those insects. Numerous small branches began to fall. I assumed they were falling because of the cicadas having made slits in the branches to lay eggs. Then, later, the tree began to literally dry up. The…
How to Save a Melted-Out Lawn
Q: All of a sudden, half my lawn grass died. It’s mostly on the sunny side, with some in the shade. This doesn’t look like the grass has simply gone dormant with the usual hot, dry summer weather. When I pull up on the grass, it just comes off by the handful without the roots….
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