Landscaping – Energy – Environment
A new threat to Pennsylvania is the SPOTTED LANTERNFLY (Lycorma delicatula) which is a one-inch-long, red, black and white planthopper that’s native to Southeast Asia and was first identified in Berks County, PA in 2014. What’s at stake with Spotted Lanternfly (SLF)? Your Maple… Continue Reading “Fear This Insect Pennsylvania!”
One important job in the home landscape should never wait. Over the years, I’ve seen whitetail deer cause severe, life threatening damage to young trees. Damage to the main trunk of a tree occurs during deer mating season, which is commonly known as “the… Continue Reading “O Deer!”
Seeing spots? On your Maple trees?? My friend Sandy Feather at Penn State Extension – Allegheny County helped me confirm that our three ‘Jefferred’ Autumn Blaze® maples have Maple Tar Spot disease, as well as some small spots that are likely caused by Leafhopper… Continue Reading “Maple Tar Spot”
When we schedule outdoor plant maintenance activities, using certain annual holidays as reminders really helps. For the 4th of July, Independence Day holiday, two things come to mind. The first regards daffodils and narcissus Following the Spring blossoms of these hardy bulbs, gardeners are… Continue Reading “Hardening Off”
Our area was rocked by stormy weather when a cold front came through earlier this week, and more stormy weather is in the forecast for tomorrow. The weather forecast even includes hail. Downed and damaged trees are often highlighted in subsequent TV news broadcasts,… Continue Reading “Storm Damage”
In all my many years of landscaping and lawn maintenance, I had never heard the term “nonfunctional grass” until yesterday. That’s the term being used to describe certain turfgrass areas, actually 31 percent of the turf in the Las Vegas area, which can no… Continue Reading “Nonfunctional Grass”
Since a great, all day, soaking rain on Mothers Day, our Pittsburgh area weather has been hot and dry, so this is the precise time when watering your outdoor plants can make a real difference. While all the trees and shrubs in the Pittsburgh… Continue Reading “Dragging Hose”
Some plants suffer from being ‘pushed’ with too much Nitrogen fertilizer. Fire blight is caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora and affects over 100 different plants. It’s generally more serious in Apple and Pear trees in orchards due to loss of production (technical information). First… Continue Reading “Fire Blight”
Other than choosing the right tree for the right place, getting trees off to a good structural start is the most important in their development. The last thing we did before lowering a tall tree into a planting hole was give it a proper… Continue Reading “Pole Pruning”
Wondering why your tree changed color? A friend recently mentioned that part of his tree was blooming in a different color from the tree he purchased. So what’s up with that? Freak of nature, evolution, or a new discovery perhaps?? Chances are, his case… Continue Reading “Wrong Tree”
A stringline trimmer aka ‘weed whacker’ can be a tree’s greatest enemy. Just inside that ‘dead looking’ outer bark of a tree trunk is living tissue in need of your protection. Damaging that living tissue can lead to the death of the tree, by… Continue Reading “Protecting Your Trees”
What to do when your Dwarf Alberta Spruce shows off its ‘wild side’ The Dwarf Alberta Spruce is very popular in home landscapes, due to its slow, compact, evergreen growth. They don’t require any trimming, are deer resistant, and extremely hardy — except when… Continue Reading “Tree Growing Out Of Your Tree?”