University of Illinois Extension

Events (4)

2023 DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt Master Gardener Training

Mon, 05/15/2023 - 12:00

Online

plants and garden supplies against a wooden fence

2023 DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt Master Gardener Training

Fri, 09/01/2023 - 12:00

Piatt County Extension Office

plants and garden supplies against a wooden fence

2023 DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt Master Gardener Training

Fri, 09/01/2023 - 12:00

Online

plants and garden supplies against a wooden fence

2023 DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt Master Gardener Training

Fri, 09/01/2023 - 12:00

Macon County Extension Office

plants and garden supplies against a wooden fence

Blog Posts (160)

One tough tree – Bald cypress

Bald cypress tree

Extreme winter cold and plants

What Happened to my Dwarf Spruce Tree?

Christmas tree selection, sustainability and identification

assorted cut evergreen trees and wreaths for sale at a market

What is the Most Sustainable Christmas Tree Option?

Massive fruit, myths, and mastodons: the Osage orange

Massive fruit, myths, and mastodons: the Osage orange fruit of Osage orange in metal bucket

Fall Color from Conifers

White pine has beautiful color that is expressed in the yellow innermost needles this time of year.

Use terminal bud scars to gage growth rate of trees

Emerald Ash Borer: Is it okay to move firewood yet?

truck hauling firewood

How to protect landscape plantings during drought

a wilted tree branch

Picking the right tree for your windbreak

a stand of trees forming a windbreak

Tips for a creating a successful windbreak

A windbreak of evergreens

Using Phenology for Ornamental Pest Control

Sick tree

Of blue jays and pin oaks: How jays have shaped our oak forests around the world

blue jay bird holding an acorn in its beak

Trees in our communities enhance learning

How accurate are photo-based plant identification apps?

Leaf

Invasive species hitchhike on firewood

stacked firewood

Eco-friendly uses for the Christmas tree

Add some color to your winter landscape by growing holly

Add some color to your winter landscape by growing holly. Red holly berries and green holly leaves.

Sugar and spice make everything nice

plate of Christmas cookies

The origin of frankincense and myrrh add to their special meaning

bowl of myrrh resin

How to identify common holiday evergreens

Christmas tree traditions and care practices

Recycling Your Real Christmas Tree

Recycle Your Real Christmas Tree

More late fall chores to keep you busy

Buy a live tree, support a family farm, wake up to the smell of Christmas!

evergreen tree in field

Hazelnuts: A native plant is a new crop for Illinois

developing hazelnuts

Breeding elms to combat Dutch elm disease

A mature American elm at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL

Selecting the Best Plant Material for Tree or Shrub Planting

Containerized trees and shrubs are great plant material for your fall tree planting projects.

Nature's Technicolor Dreamcoat: The science of fall color

brilliant red fall color of Eastern Wahoo shrub

Trees can help reverse effects of climate change

green wavy leaves with acorns

Native Shrubs for Fall

Smooth sumac is a commonly occurring native plant that boasts a spectacular fall display of fiery red leaves.

Fall watering is important

Pawpaws are a native fall fruit that taste delightful

Gardening chores don't know summer is over

Garden tips to transition to fall

jumping worm

Ash trees are dying across Western Illinois, but there is still a final use for them

a line of dying ash trees

Tree Root Collar Disorders

A personal run-in with the invasive gypsy moth

adult gypsy moth on hand

Climate Change Adaptations for the Urban Forest

Urban trees provide a variety of benefits which are going to be increasingly important as climate change impacts Illinois in coming years.

Northern Illinois dry conditions and why watering matters

Preventing storm damage to trees

Watering Trees and Shrubs

As the summer heat intensifies and rainfall dwindles, watering newly planted trees and shrubs becomes incredibly important.

Factors to consider when choosing tree species

Adding purple shade trees to your landscape

‘Forest Pansy’ is a cultivar of our native redbud that offers unique purple foliage.

Get to know plant galls

Help stressed trees by watering during heat of summer

Leaves and frost damage

17-Year Cicadas of Brood X

This year, periodical cicadas in Brood X will emerge across Indiana and a small, 4-county area of central Illinois.

Surveying winter damage as spring emerges

Two invasive landscape trees you didn’t know about: Tree of Heaven and Amur Corktree

tree of heaven

The impact of emerald ash borer

The impact of emerald ash borer. Dying ash trees with thinning canopies.

The top four spring-flowering trees to plant

Redbud is a fantastic spring-flowering tree offering the best floral display of any Illinois native tree.

Three planting tips to increase your tree’s life

bareroot tree planting

The harsh reality of the Bradford Pear

callery pear

A certain air around Callery Pear

Callery Pear on forest edge - Photo by Chris Evans, University of Illinois Extension

Dealing with storm damaged trees and preparing for the next disaster

Storm Damaged Tree

Time to do all kinds of pruning

How to create butterfly habitat in your garden

Gray hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus) feeding on a Coreopsis flower. Flower has bright yellow petals with a dark red center

River Birch

River birch is a native tree with excellent winter appeal from its beautiful, exfoliating bark.

Shade Tree Pruning

This young red maple could benefit from corrective pruning to establish a central leader that is free of competition from adjacent limbs.

Tree pruning tips for 2021

diagram of branch bark ridge and branch bark collar

Proper Pruning of Trees

loppers cutting a tree branch

Angiosperms vs Gymnosperms

Gymnosperms, like this Colorado blue spruce, are a group of nonflowering plants that emerged several hundred million years before flowering plants (angiosperms) entered the evolutionary history of the plant kingdom.

Fruit trees have a place, even in a small yard

Ice Accumulation on Trees and Shrubs

Ice accumulation yesterday resulted in damage to many trees and shrubs in our area.

How winter salt can damage landscape plants

The frosty accumulation of ice crystals on these spruce needles resulted from the wafting spray of an adjacent (untreated) roadway and serves to illustrate how salt spray can accumulate on plant parts.

How to measure and handle firewood

Many ways to recycle the Christmas tree

How Woody Plants Grow

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.

Kissing under the mistletoe – A holiday favorite with a dark side

European mistletoe with green leaves and white berries on a wooden table

History and helpful hints for Christmas trees

evergreen tree with red ornaments

Harvesting evergreens for holiday decorations

holiday decor harvested from backyard

Christmas Tree Selection

Christmas trees

Selecting a Christmas Tree for the Holidays

Fall evokes the five basic senses

Winter Protection for Newly Planted Trees and Shrubs

Metal hardware cloth is a great material to protect young trees and shrubs from winter browsing wildlife.

Overwintering potted plants

pots with dormant plants covered in snow clustered together on a porch

How to winterize your young and fruit trees

Top Four Spookiest Native Trees

Honey locust can have large and terrifying thorns making it one of our spookiest native trees.

Species Profile: White Oak

Upper branches of white oak tree

Dealing with Fall Drought: Get your plants ready for winter

dry soil in the fall

Evergreens losing needles: Fall needle drop

pine with fall displaying fall needle drop, older needles are turning yellow while newer needles remain green

Contemplation of trees

looking up from the ground into the sky between tall trees with green leaves

Fall Color in Oaks

Benefits of Urban Trees

Fall Tree Planting

Poisonous Plants

Forest Management, HIPP and RCPP

illinois forest

Hackberry Gall

Ice Storms and Tree Damage

Maple Seed Production

Garden Storm Damage

Osage Orange

2019 Gardening Goals

Emerald Ash Borer and Other Species Eliminating Pests or Pathogens

Tree Bark

Christmas Tree Selection

Fall Color

Larch

Black Walnut

Sycamores

Flowering Crabapples

Winter Damage to Evergreens

Pawpaw

Making Maple Syrup

Local Tropical Getaway

2018 Gardening Goals

The Norfolk Island Pine

Fall Color in Conifers

Reaping the Apple Harvest

Dawn Redwood: A Living Fossil

Early Fall Color

Weather influences foliar disease

How Native is Native?

Bald cypress is an Illinois native plant only know to occur in extreme southern Illinois. While it does wonderfully when planted here is central Illinois, should it be considered native?

Should we paint tree wounds?

wound sealer painted on a tree wound

Bacterial Leaf Scorch Infecting Illinois Oaks

This pin oak tree tested positive for bacterial leaf scorch and displays the most distinctive symptoms characterized by brown leaf margins, a colorful band and green tissue along leaf veins.

How plants and pests begin preparing for fall

Late summer questions to the Master Gardeners

Understanding storm damage to trees

photo of downed tree

The gall of insects (tree bumps and lumps)

Plant Pathogen Spread

The alien-looking fingers protruding from these crabapples release spores that can infect trees in the juniper family to perpetuate cedar-apple rust disease.

Watering tips for hot weather

Tree troubles usually start at the base of the trunk

Tree troubles usually start at the base of the trunk

Early History of Pollinators and Plants

This two-spotted bumble bee forages pollen on the flower of a spirea shrub

Top 5 early summer topics for gardeners

How much water does your garden need?

Too Much Moisture, More Tree Problems

Maple anthracnose, via U of I plant clinic

Sycamores and Anthracnose

Sycamores across central Illinois are late to leaf out this year due to a commonly occurring fungal infection.

Get Out on the Trails

Hedge Apple Woods, Bloomington, by Rick Tindall

Trees deserve to be mulched the right way

Recommended Replacements for Problem Trees

Native hawthorn trees are in full bloom this week with a canopy filled with tiny white flowers.

Two trees you should never plant in Illinois - Colorado blue spruce and Callary Pear

Colorado blue spruce is a non-native, commonly planted landscape tree that suffers from many issues here in Illinois.

Fruit Trees and Winter Injury

Apple trees in our area are in full bloom this week. Unlike peach trees which suffered cold damage, many apple trees in central Illinois seem to have endured.

Magnolia Pollination

Saucer magnolia is currently in full bloom in our area with an abundance of white to pinkish, showy flowers

How to Plant a Fruit Tree

Planting a fruit tree requires digging a hole the size of the roots.

Spring Pruning Can Hurt Your Tree’s Bank Account

Spring Pruning Can Hurt Your Tree’s Bank Account

The basics of tree identification: branches, buds, and fruit

Ash trees have a distinctive, opposite branch arrangement observable by twigs that occur directly across from each other on each stem.

Urban Tree Planting

Newly planted urban trees are at risk of mortality if proper after-planting care, such as mulching and watering, is not carefully tended.

Rapid Response to Ramorum Blight

This rhododendron shoot is infected with the pathogen Phytopthora ramorum, displaying the typical symptoms of ramorum blight. PC UI Plant Clinic

Weeding out Invasives

The green foliage in this picture is bush honeysuckle, which is an invasive species that dominates forest understories in Illinois. If not weeded out...

Old Trees

Old Trees

Bringing Spring Indoors - Forcing Branches

branches from cherry tree blooming indoors

Recycle or Repurpose your Christmas Tree

New Year, New Yard: Making plans for your landscape in 2020

New Year New Yard

Holly for the Holidays

Hollies are symbolic of the holiday season, providing beauty in the landscape as well as abundant berries for native birds. Photo Credit: Diane Plewa, Illinois Extension Plant Clinic

Christmas Trees After the Holidays

Christmas trees leaning against wooden pallets in a snow covered field

Pick the Christmas Tree Right for You - Artificial vs. Real

Selecting Your Christmas Tree

evergreen trees

Why do some trees retain leaves over winter?

This young swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) has retained its leaves while the maples on either side have already dropped theirs. Many of our native oaks keep their leaves all winter as young trees.

Winter Dormancy in the Landscape

Winter Dormancy

Fall's Frequent Topic Review

Not All Trees Are Good Trees

Bronze leaves of Tree of Heaven

How to reuse fallen leaves at home

pile of fallen leaves

Why do tree leaves change color in autumn?

leaves

Enjoying the final hurrahs of a staple landscape tree

sunshine through ash tree leaves

Fall is for More than Tree Planting

Preparing Black Walnuts for Eating

Galls Abound All Around

An Osage orange by any other name would be a hedge apple

Osage orange fruit

What to do When Trees are Damaged in a Wind Storm

News Releases (72)

Protect your private woodlands: Grow skills, knowledge to become a better forest steward

Get the dirt on growing healthy plants

Take small steps to improve, support the environment this winter

Burning local firewood this winter can save forests

Tree bark adds visual bite to winter landscapes

Protect trees from winter’s wrath with a few preventive steps

Do you know the secret to growing trees from a nut/seed?

Learn how to identify beautiful fall foliage with tree walks

Prepare your trees for severe weather

Fall gardening is your time to plan for beautiful spring

Visit the Master Gardener Help Desk to have all your garden questions answered

Tri-County Master Gardener Help Desks open for 2022 season

Plant a tree in McDonough County; Help the planet

McHenry County 4-H Members Plant Oak Trees

Native Trees in Illinois

Neighborhood trees may protect against high medical costs, poor health

Plant a tree in Knox County; Help the planet

Magnolia blooms, beetles are nature’s spring flower odd couple

Grow curly willows for an artistic twist in the landscape, winter flower arrangements

Give caterpillars a chance with soft landings under trees

Log on for forestry expertise woodland owners can use

Build confidence in fruit tree pruning with free educational workshop

Gardening enthusiasts invited to attend Gardeners’ BIG Day

Attract more butterflies to your garden with tips from an expert

Dig in to gardening at Piatt County Master Gardeners’ educational day

Improve your forest one tree at a time

Trim trees, shrubs in the dormant season for stronger, healthier plants

Watering trees, shrubs in the fall and winter is a balancing act

Autumn is a great time to plant trees, learn more at Oct 26 webinar

Improve your tree identification skills with free tree walk

Spruce and Callery pear can be problematic for your midwestern landscape

Master Naturalist Native Tree and Shrub Sale 2022

Extension offers best gardening tips for fall season

Some trees weather wet soils, floods better than others

Tips for planting balled-burlapped trees for long-term health, success

After the storm: Repair and care for damaged trees

Storm-damaged trees may not be savable

Hire tree care professional with confidence

Livingston County Master Gardener Help Desk Open

Missing Arbor Day doesn't mean you can't plant a tree

New directory connects Illinois woodland owners with professional foresters

Extension is here to share in your gardening triumphs and woes

Healthy forests start with single tree, hands-on landowners

Spruce, Callery pear have no home in Illinois landscapes

Learn to identify trees in winter with bark, twigs, buds

Landowners need to know timber's worth before selling

Become a U of I Extension Master Gardener

Preventing fruit tree diseases starts in the dormant season

Picking the perfect Christmas tree starts at home

Grow a living Christmas tree with Norfolk Island Pine

How to care for a living Christmas tree

Extend the life of urban forests with Urban Tree Conference

Learn from home with Good Growing Winter Webinars

When to worry about needle drop on white pine trees

Unsightly black spots on maple leaves won’t harm trees

Planting trees boosts curb appeal and benefits the urban environment

Exfoliating bark trees add great appeal

Fall is a great time for planting trees

Fall flowering witch hazel charms home gardens

Select the right tree for fall planting in Illinois

Research drone photos spot invasive species

Prevent oak wilt from damaging your trees

Nature adapts when heat waves hit

Illinois’ big trees are on the map

Too much of a good thing, mulch volcanoes slowly kill trees

Grow apple trees in your urban garden

Increase life span of urban trees

Familiar tale: Victims of emerald ash borer and other exotic pests

Christmas tree hitchhikers

Oak Pests and Diseases Workshop

Learn how to identify trees correctly

University of Illinois Extension to Host Tree Selection and Care Workshop

Staff (5)

Travis Cleveland

Travis Cleveland

Extension Specialist, Plant Pathology

Christopher Enroth

Christopher Enroth

Horticulture Educator

Doug Gucker staff photo

Douglas B. Gucker

Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator

Ryan Pankau

Ryan Pankau

Horticulture Educator

Sarah Vogel staff photo

Sarah Vogel

Horticulture and Natural Resources Educator