The Weedy Orchid Helleborine
Helleborine 🔈 (Epipactis helleborine) is a weedy orchid that has been making it’s appearance more and more in home lawns and gardens. It’s ability to sprout from any small fragment of it’s rhizomes, left in the ground, makes it a very difficult plant to weed out or eradicate; especially considering these rhizomes can be deeply … Continue reading The Weedy Orchid Helleborine
Winter Protection For Your Garden
For those of us who live in temperate zones the wild fluctuations in temperature can be particularly hard on plants. Making informed plant selections is the first place to start. Even with wisely selected plant material some of your garden plants may still need a little help. Fortunately their are several things you can do … Continue reading Winter Protection For Your Garden
Fall Web Worms
Identification Fall webworm nests: are composed of silky threads wrapped around the leaves and branches encapsulating the caterpillars. The nests are loosely constructed and messy looking, occurring at the branch tips, and enlarging as food runs out. Large colonies can encapsulate an entire tree in their webbing. The caterpillars feed inside the nest (unlike tent … Continue reading Fall Web Worms
Poisonous Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Poisonous Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is an extremely poisonous plant. There is great concern over this plant due to the personal safety of humans, foraging domestic animals and wild life. Most of the cases of poisoning to humans has been the result of foragers misidentifying the plant, believing the root to be that of the edible … Continue reading Poisonous Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Crane Flies And Leather Jackets Turf Damage and Control
These long, gangly looking insects look like giant mosquitos but they are completely harmless (they neither bite nor sting). Their off spring (leather jackets) can cause some serious damage though, (if in sufficient numbers), to the roots of lawns and other garden plants. European Crane Flies (Tipula paludosa Meigen) Crane Flies (sometimes called daddy-long-legs or mosquito hawks) are long … Continue reading Crane Flies And Leather Jackets Turf Damage and Control
Lilac Witches’ Broom
What is Lilac Witches’ Broom? Lilac witches’ broom is a serious systemic disease of lilacs for which there is no cure. Infected lilacs typically gradually decline until they die. The characteristic symptom is the development of witches’ broom (tight clusters of short, thin branches that all stem from the same point). These witches’ brooms tend … Continue reading Lilac Witches’ Broom
European Fruit Lecanium Scale on Purple Leaved Sand Cherry
Purple leaf sand cherry (Prunus cistena) are susceptible to a large number of potential insect and disease pests. One of those insect pests is the European fruit lecanium scale (Parthenolecanium corni) or EFS for short. This native, soft bodied scale insect primarily feeds on fruit trees, although other trees and shrubs, such as maples, can be … Continue reading European Fruit Lecanium Scale on Purple Leaved Sand Cherry
Lawns and Gardens- Tips For Surviving The Summer Heat And Drought
In my region of Southern Ontario we are experiencing above average rainfall this year and the lawns and vegetation are lush and green. For many other provinces and states however they are experiencing above average temperatures with little rainfall. Keeping lawns and gardens thriving during these times can be challenging. Following are a few tips … Continue reading Lawns and Gardens- Tips For Surviving The Summer Heat And Drought
Clematis Wilt
Clematis vines are a popular choice for ornamental home gardens. Large flowered, early blooming varieties are particularly popular. These show stopping, head turning vines both amaze and delight all who cross paths with them. A fairly common disease of clematis to be on the look out for is clematis wilt (Phoma clematidina). You will sometimes … Continue reading Clematis Wilt
Insect Pests To Be On The Lookout For In The Garden
Tent Caterpillars Tent caterpillars construct their silky tent like nests in early spring in the crotches of trees such as cherry (Prunus) and apple (Malus). They feed during the day, then at night they return to the tent for protection. Your first line of defense should be to begin looking for these nests in early … Continue reading Insect Pests To Be On The Lookout For In The Garden
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Horticulture For Home Gardeners 