Are your purple coneflowers suddenly looking weird — as in truly weird, almost like some alien plant highjacked them and replaced their gorgeous flowering heads with its own? Ah … but it’s really a disease called aster yellows. And those green flower heads? They’re tufts of deformed coneflower leaves erupting amidst the blossoms. Aster yellows,…Continue Reading Alien Plant Take Over Your Flowers? No — It’s “Aster Yellows”
Tipping the scales of tree health
Seeing spots on your landscape conifers? It might be elongate hemlock scale. It’s not just on hemlocks anymore – it’s been reported on firs in the Hudson Valley, western NY, and the Southern Tier. Scales – and this is a hard scale, so it has a handy protective cover for itself – suck the contents…Continue Reading Tipping the scales of tree health
Dog-day Cicadas — and the Wasps That Do Them In
Midsummer in New York is when things really start to heat up. And as if hot days aren’t enough, the sound of the dog day cicada makes it seem even hotter. Cicadas are robust insects — up to 1 ¼ inch — with piercing mouthparts that suck up plant juices. Cicada nymphs live underground, feeding…Continue Reading Dog-day Cicadas — and the Wasps That Do Them In
Best Bets for Bees
Make your yard ‘bee-friendly’! It’s everywhere in the news these days. So how can you keep your garden a haven for pollinators of all types? 1. Keep it blooming – all season long Have lots of different blooming plants – annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, even weeds (ahem — wildflowers) for ample pollen and nectar for…Continue Reading Best Bets for Bees
Watch for Pine Sawflies
Notice needle damage on pine trees? Look close. It may be caused by conifer-feeding sawflies. Sawflies feeding on Scotch pine Sawflies? As larvae they look caterpillars which might develop into moths, their name implies they’ll be flies, but they actually become non-stinging wasps as adults. And the saw? As adult wasps the females cut slits in…Continue Reading Watch for Pine Sawflies
Green Lacewing a Good one!!
That green fluttery insect near your porch light at night — with wings like green lace? That’s a green lacewing. Lacewings are beneficials — good insects, ones that prey on insects you don’t want. Actually, what you’ve seen is an adult lacewing; it feeds on flower nectar, pollen, and aphid honeydew. It’s the lacewing larvae…Continue Reading Green Lacewing a Good one!!
It Might Be Eden – But Not for Insect Pests
Many greenhouse growers in New York State are using biological control — sending in bug warriors to rid their greenhouses of pest insects — but not all of them get to be on TV. Mark and Kevin Zittel of Amos Zittel and Sons Farm in Eden NY have been working hard to learn how to…Continue Reading It Might Be Eden – But Not for Insect Pests
Feelin’ the burn
It’s warming up, so maybe we really have weathered the storms. But hey, why is my evergreen turning brown now? Perhaps because of winter burn or winter injury. There are 2 ways this can happen. During cold and windy winters, trees lose more moisture from their needles than normal. And, there’s no way for the…Continue Reading Feelin’ the burn
Order Greenhouse Test Kits Now and …
… don’t be caught with your plants down. Greenhouse virus diseases often have symptoms so subtle at first that early detection can be difficult. But using test kits can help. The kits could be especially important this year because Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) is increasingly prevalent. This disease has the potential to spread to most…Continue Reading Order Greenhouse Test Kits Now and …
Woolly or not, hemlock woolly adelgid could fall victim to this winter’s cold snaps
The hemlock woolly adelgid is an aphid-like insect that attacks eastern and Carolina hemlocks — and can even kill trees in 3-5 years. Adelgids are tiny, but because they live crowded together, their fuzzy white wax coverings make trees look like they’ve been flocked for Christmas. Adelgids have moved into New York these last few…Continue Reading Woolly or not, hemlock woolly adelgid could fall victim to this winter’s cold snaps