The secret to having a live Christmas tree staying fresh and keeping its needles is to start fresh and take the steps necessary to keep it that way. Step 1 Buy a fresh tree. The easiest way to ensure a fresh tree is to go to one of our local tree farms and buy freshly cut...

Did periodical cicadas make their presence known around your house? Are you now seeing the ends of tree branches turning brown and dying? The dead branch tips are the result of our recently deceased cicadas laying their eggs inside these tree branches near their tips. This damages the branch...

We have been hearing for months that two broods of periodical cicadas will emerge from the ground this May in central Illinois: the 13-year Brood XIX and the 17-year Brood XIII. These cicadas have been living underground, feeding on tree roots for either 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood. Is...

Are you wondering what to do with your fresh-cut Christmas tree now that Christmas is over? How about recycling it? If you have a landscape recycling center or compost facility nearby, take it there and it will be converted into a renewable mulch or compost. Before you recycle your tree, it...

These few weeks in April bring an onslaught of spectacular spring colors from blooming tree and shrub species. As many forsythia, quince, and magnolia blooms fade and leaves appear, some redbuds, dogwoods, and crabapples are just beginning their performance. A very common spring flowering tree...