Tag: Gardening

Garden Pests

Beneficial Insects In Home Gardens

By: Kimberley Pacholko Jan. 25, 2021 What Are Beneficial Insects? Beneficial insects are deemed beneficial from a human perspective, for their ability to either pollinate plants or to control pest insects. Creating an environment that is hospitable to beneficial insects usually involves refraining from the use of insecticides and other chemicals in the garden, providing a variety of plant material including brightly coloured pollinating plants, … Continue reading Beneficial Insects In Home Gardens

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Garden Pests, Tree and Shrub Problems

Box Tree Moths (Cydalima perspectalis)

Box tree moths (Cydalima perspectalis), BTM for short, are an invasive species new to Canada in 2018. The first case was found in Toronto. Since that time, they have been gradually spreading. The United States reported its first cases in 2021. Several government bodies, universities, nursery and landscape trades have banded together to try to monitor and control it’s spread. Why all the concern? Since it’s … Continue reading Box Tree Moths (Cydalima perspectalis)

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Soil and Fertilizers

Plant Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms and How to Correct Them

There are 90 or more plant nutrients, 17 of which are essential to plant health. Nickle was the newest to the list in the 1980’s. Without these nutrients plants cannot complete their life cycle. For a review on the role each of the nutrients plays in plant health visit 17 Essential Soil Nutrients For Plant Health. Silicon, cobalt and vanadium are also important nutrients to many plants … Continue reading Plant Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms and How to Correct Them

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Weeds, Weed Control and Mulch

The Wild Orchid Helleborine

Helleborine 🔈 (Epipactis helleborine) is a wild orchid and quite weedy. It has been showing up in more and more 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 established. This coupled with it’s dust like seeds … Continue reading The Wild Orchid Helleborine

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Tree and Shrub Problems, Winter Damage and Protection

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 to help protect your garden plants during the winter months. … Continue reading Winter Protection For Your Garden

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Garden Pests, Tree and Shrub Problems

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 caterpillars) and as such the nest is full of frass … Continue reading Fall Web Worms

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Weeds, Weed Control and Mulch

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 cow parsnip, or the leaves that of wild celery. Although … Continue reading Poisonous Hemlock (Conium maculatum)

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Garden Pests, Lawn Care and Problems

Crane Flies and Leather Jackets Turf Damage and Control

There are hundreds of large crane fly species in North America, belonging to the Tipulidae family. They are sometimes referred to as daddy-long-legs, mosquito hawks or water spiders. They have a variety of habitats, from moist woodlands to grassy or aquatic areas, depending on the species. Most are not considered pests of home turf, golf courses, gardens, crops or pastures. There are however two problematic species … Continue reading Crane Flies and Leather Jackets Turf Damage and Control

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Garden Diseases, Tree and Shrub Problems

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 to form near the base of the lilac but they … Continue reading Lilac Witches’ Broom

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Annuals and Perennials, Garden Diseases

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 hear it referred to as clematis leaf and stem spot. … Continue reading Clematis Wilt

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Garden Pests

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 spring, about the time saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana) and … Continue reading Insect Pests To Be On The Lookout For In The Garden

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Garden Pests

Springtails

Springtails (Collembola ) are anthropods within the class of hexapoda. Many specialists now classify them in a separate subclass called Entognatha due to the fact that their mouth parts are not external (like insects) but rather they are internal (or mostly so). They are named for most of the species ability to jump short distances by using their tails as a spring board. This special … Continue reading Springtails

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Garden Pests, Tree and Shrub Problems

White fluff on Pine Trunks and Branches…Pine Bark Adelgid

Pine bark adelgid (Pineus strobi) is an aphid like insect that feeds on the plant juices of white pines and occasionally Scotch and Australian pines. Taxonomically they are part of the Adelgidae family which are traditionally classified under the super family Aphidoidea, but they can also be found classified under their sister taxon Phylloxeroidea. You are not likely to see the insect itself but rather the … Continue reading White fluff on Pine Trunks and Branches…Pine Bark Adelgid

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Garden Pests, Tree and Shrub Problems

Spindle Galls; Unusual Growths On Linden Leaves Caused by Eriophyid Mites

What Are Galls? Galls are unusual growths or deformities of plant tissue caused by an organism; be it insect, nematodes, fungi, bacteria or viruses. The presence of these organisms initiates an increased production of normal plant growth hormones and these plant hormones cause localized plant growth. The gall-making organism feeds inside the gall. The appearance of the gall is unique to the gall maker and … Continue reading Spindle Galls; Unusual Growths On Linden Leaves Caused by Eriophyid Mites

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Garden Pests, Tree and Shrub Problems

Insect Pest of Boxwood…Boxwood Psyllid

Boxwood psyllid (Monarthropalpus flavus) are small, soft bodied insects that feed on the sap of boxwood. They are light green in colour and the nymphs are covered in whitish waxy secretions. These waxy secretions can make the boxwood appear to have dandruff. The nymphs feeding causes the leaves to curl over and cup, enclosing them in a protective shield safe from predators, weather and garden … Continue reading Insect Pest of Boxwood…Boxwood Psyllid

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Edible Gardens

Striped Cucumber Beetles Damage and Control

Does it look as though something has been chewing on the leaves of your cucumber, squash, melon or pumpkins? Are you finding girdled stems and scaring on the fruits? Perhaps you have even noticed that the plants appear smaller this season. If this sounds like your garden then chances are the Striped Cucumber Beetle has come to dine in your garden.  Striped cucumber beetles (Acalymma … Continue reading Striped Cucumber Beetles Damage and Control

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Annuals and Perennials, Garden Pests

Rose Sawflies

Rose sawflies adults are small primitive wasps who’s larvae look like tiny little caterpillars. These larvae, commonly called rose slugs, are voracious feeders and feed almost exclusively on rose leaves. If their numbers are high enough they can quickly defoliate an entire rose bush. Larvae feeding damage appears as skeletonized leaves that look like window panes. As the feeding continues large holes are chewed through … Continue reading Rose Sawflies

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Garden Pests, Tree and Shrub Problems

Honey Locust Plant Bug Damage And Control

Several Honey Locust trees here in Southern Ontario have been the target of small green bugs that have been distorting honey locust leaves and, in some cases, partially defoliating these trees. The main culprit has been the honey locust plant bug (Diaphnocoris Chlorionis). The honey locust plant bug (Diaphnocoris chlorionis) are approximately 3mm (1/8 inch) long when full grown and light green in colour. They pierce leaf … Continue reading Honey Locust Plant Bug Damage And Control

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Garden Calendars

Ornamental Garden Calendar For June

June is my favorite month in the garden. So many perennials and flowering shrubs are blooming and the annuals are beginning to fill out a bit. The landscape is alive with colour and the air is full of a bouquet wonderful fragrances. The temperatures are warming up but but usually still remain comfortable. There is still a lot of work to do in the gardens … Continue reading Ornamental Garden Calendar For June

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Annuals and Perennials, Garden Pests

Hydrangea Problems…Leaf-tiers

Hydrangea leaf-tiers (Exartema ferriferanum), are a small moth whose larvae, (a tiny green caterpillar with a black head), sew terminal leaves together with a silk thread. Once inside this enclosure they feed on the leaves and flower head. These leaf enclosures become wrinkled and puckered and are easy to spot on the plant. They are native to Canada and U.S.A with the majority of sightings … Continue reading Hydrangea Problems…Leaf-tiers

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