Being a fan of winter, this weather has been an absolute blast, but even I must admit- darn it's cold out there. One question I have been hearing a lot is "What about our plants?" Well, if you religiously adhere to the USDA cold hardiness zones then you should have nothing to fear. More than likely...

Pruning your trees and shrubs can be done almost any time of year, however, it is best to avoid making any pruning cuts while woody plants are preparing for dormancy in early fall. So the old adage to prune 'when the saw is sharp' is mostly true. When asked for the ideal time of year to prune, many...

As a long winter's chill lingers into spring, the itch to get out in our yards has never seemed more compelling. One of the ritual tasks performed by many homeowners in the spring is applying weed-and-feed products to their lawn. Contained within these products is a pre-emergent herbicide to combat...

During this cool, wet weather it is hard to think about the hot, dry summer ahead of us. Yet, if the past two summer droughts still resound in your memory, you might be looking for ways to limit your gardens water use. Let's look at one such technique that citizens in the arid west have adopted and...

It never fails. Every time I present a topic on lawns this question arises, “How do you prevent lawn damage if you have dogs?” Turns out, I really enjoy this question! Being a dog owner to two yellow labs for almost nine years, I have had my fair share of ragged lawns and muddy paw prints. Let’s...

The Illinois Senate has declared 2015 the "Year of the Volunteer". This is not a random labeling of a year, but one that takes into account the benefits of volunteerism. According to the November 2014 Harvard Health Letter, volunteering allows an individual to "let go of the inward focus [and]...

Over the past few years it feels like we've earned the ire of Mother Nature. In Illinois we've experienced a severe drought in 2012 followed by another drought in 2013 along with the coldest winter in decades this past 2014. Plus, the tragic tornadoes that ripped through Central Illinois in...

Home remedies abound in the horticultural world. Some gardeners swear by their mixtures of a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but Extension does not readily recommend the use of homemade pesticides. Perhaps your anti-Japanese beetle potion warded off the critters last year. But what if...

Following is a continuation of my exploration on the aftermath and preparation of weather-related disasters on our landscape plants. You can find the first article on winds HERE. Drought In the book Weatherproofing Your Landscape, authors...

This past summer, a homeowner called the local Extension office concerned about cicada killers. I immediately set about my normal talk describing the benefits of cicada killers and how they are not prone to sting humans. The homeowner graciously listened to my pitch and then said they understand,...

The presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) has been confirmed for Warren County Illinois, with the initial finding coming from Kirkwood. EAB is a devastating exotic pest that attacks one of the most popular landscape trees in America, the ash tree. Unlike most native borers which only target dead or...

Following is a continuation of my exploration on the aftermath and preparation of weather-related disasters on our landscape plants. You can find the articles on wind HERE and drought HERE. Frozen Stuff In...

As the pre-recession housing bubble swelled, landscape nursery production ramped up to meet an over-stimulated market. When that bubble burst, landscaping clients disappeared and nursery owners no longer had buyers for their plants. What ensued thereafter was a massive culling of nursery stock and...