Plant health care

Events

Blog Posts

Apple hanging from an apple tree
Growing apples in your home orchard
There is a lot of interest by home gardeners to raise and produce organic fruit. The good news is it can be done! Home growers...
Pruning cuts can tell a tale
If you are just dying to get into the garden these days, there is one essential practice that is best done during winter dormancy. Pruning is perhaps...
Tips for moving houseplants indoors and overwinter care. A group of houseplants in pots sitting on a windowsill next to a window.
Tips for moving houseplants indoors and overwinter care
As we draw nearer to fall, it's time to start thinking about bringing houseplants back indoors for the winter. Many houseplants are native to...
Pruning tomatoes and peppers for healthier plants and a stronger harvest
It’s that time of year again… time to plant your tomatoes and peppers and get your summer garden going! Most gardeners have grown these before, but...
Hydrangea Care
Hydrangeas are one of the most popular landscape shrubs in the US.  They are known for their exquisite flowering display, with many offering a season...
How do you bring an office plant back to life?
  When people walked out of their workplaces last March, most did not think it would take a year to come back.   While working from home, I missed...
This young red maple could benefit from corrective pruning to establish a central leader that is free of competition from adjacent limbs.
Shade Tree Pruning
Wintertime offers few activities out in the garden, other than filling bird feeders and carefully watching dormant plants for any sign of awakening...
Trees and other woody plants grow from buds at tip of each limb which release hormones to suppress growth of other buds lower down the stem.
How Woody Plants Grow
Woody plants are some of the largest and most long-lived plants in the landscape, forming the majestic and expansive canopy of our urban and natural...

News Releases

Native Plants for Use in Your Home Garden
by Master Gardener Jan Phipps Along with all the interest in native plants, there is also a desire to get to know and start growing prairie plants. You do not need an acre of land dedicated to prairie. It is possible to incorporate some of the prairie plants into your home garden....
trees damaged by storm
Prepare your trees for severe weather
URBANA, Ill. – Spring showers, summer thunderstorms, a winter dusting of snow; these are familiar weather events for Midwesterners, but as climate changes so do weather events. Extreme weather is increasing in Illinois. Over the past 120 years, significant changes have occurred that are...
watering can with flowers in top
Keep garden, plants hydrated going into fall
URBANA, Ill. – This summer has brought drought to many parts of Illinois. Most gardeners are aware that plants need water to thrive, but it can be helpful to review the ins and outs of garden hydration to ensure the best results.  “Many environmental conditions factor into plant survival...
Six ways to keep your hosta foliage looking great
A mainstay of any shade garden in the Midwest, Hostas are grown partly for their flowers but mainly fabulous foliage. To keep that foliage looking great, watch out for these problems. Fortunately, you are far less likely to run into Hosta Virus X (HVX) today than a decade ago, thanks to...

Staff