It happens every year, almost like clockwork. (I say "almost" because not every tree leaf disease shows up every year.) Another good point to make right way is common leaf diseases are rarely fatal to a tree.
Some of our common tree leaf diseases are: Anthracnose, often seen on sycamores; and...
You would not think of intentionally planting poisonous plants in the home landscape, but that is exactly what the University of Illinois - College of Veterinary Medicine has done on campus, and for good reason. They have created an actual garden to grow...
Many weeks have gone by since containers and hanging pots were planted. At the beginning, watering was easy; plants were small with a limited root system so the container or pot held lots of available water for good growth. Fast-forward to now, and the water management has changed as the plants...
What a difference just a few days can make in what we need to be doing in the home landscape. Since the rain shut off or slowed, the first part of the landscape with symptoms of water stress is the lawn (even the lawn weeds). If you planned for it, go ahead and let the lawn go dormant even though...
A Note to Readers: This summer, we are excited to announce we will be joining our two horticulture blogs – "Over the Fence" and "Down the Garden Path" into one convenient place – and it's right here! The upcoming "Over the Garden Fence" blog will still feature timely topics and...
So many things, only so much space to get them down. I think the weather has been both good and bad, depending on your perspective right now. Lawns usually begin to slow down a bit, as the natural spring flush begins to pass, but as long as the rains continue, grass will continue to grow at an...
Now that the vegetable gardens have been planted for a few weeks, questions to the Master Gardener help desks have switched over from "How do I?" to "What's going on with my vegetable plants?" Here are a few commonly asked questions:
Q: My spinach and lettuces are sending up flower stalks before I...
By this time of the year, there has already been a lot of landscape mulch applied for the summer. Landscape mulch can provide more benefit than just how nice a freshly applied layer looks.
When applied around young trees, we know that it reduces the competition from grass and makes it easier for...
Mosquitos are adjusting to our ever-changing weather patterns just like our plants in the home landscape this season. May into June would be our traditional time mosquitos start show up for the summer. This season, April had the rain and not May, so mosquitos can be behind a bit.
Mosquitoes favor...
Right now, there is plenty of soil moisture with all the recent rains. Even when the top of the soil seems dry, dig down just a little bit, and the moisture is there. Established plants are doing well as is the lawn. Gardeners will still be watering in any new transplants, trees, shrubs or...
