Landscape fabric. It’s what goes under the mulch. Right? I’ve had several conversations with home gardeners looking for a permanent solution to keeping the weeds down and each time I warn them about the use of landscape fabric.
If you’re thinking, “Hang on! Landscape fabric doesn’t work?” Of...
After some up and down temperatures earlier this year, it seems summer has settled in for good. While a lot of the work we do in the garden happens in the spring, that doesn’t mean we can coast through the summer. Here are some things we can be doing in our landscapes to help keep them going...
Why are we talking about pumpkins in June? Because if you want home-grown pumpkins for Halloween, it is best to get them planted now!
Good Growing Fact
Did you know Illinois is ranked #1 for pumpkin production with more than 10,000 acres planted in 2019? Morton, IL, is considered...
Fertilizer does not actually “feed” your plants. Let’s be clear, plants get their food from sunlight. I know we may have heard about photosynthesis and not paid much mind to this process. I was the same way. I remember sitting in high school biology learning about animal cells and plant cells and...
When it comes to invasive insects, much of our attention is directed towards those that cause a great deal of damage, such as Japanese beetles and emerald ash borer. However, there are some other invasive insects present in Illinois that pose a threat to our plants and even us that you should be...
In 1946 Robert Allerton transferred the ownership of a large parcel of his estate near Monticello to the University of Illinois. The Allerton legacy gift is now used as a public park, a conference and retreat center, and a 4-H youth camp.
Now, 75 years later, nearly all of its...
The Asian longhorned beetle is a non-native pest that threatens a number of hardwood trees in North America. The larva damage living trees as they tunnel through.
History of Asian Longhorned Beetle
The Asian longhorned beetle was first identified in New York City...
In 2019, the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death, a plant disease that has killed large tracts of oaks and affected many native plant species in California, Oregon, and Europe, was found in Illinois.
Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) was...
Palmer amaranth is an invasive weed species we have been hearing a lot about in agriculture over the last 10 years, and it continues to be a threat after its first documented appearance in Illinois in 2012. Native to southwestern US states, palmer amaranth has made its way to 39 of the states....
With the recent detections of boxwood blight, which is a regulated plant disease, in Illinois, the importance of scouting landscapes and new plants for the disease is greater than ever. Boxwood blight can be a challenging disease to identify outside a plant diagnostic laboratory. Many of the...
