Plant Gardens 101

In 1912 a small box of Iris bulbs was shipped to the United States from Japan. It found its way quietly across the ocean and was delivered to an unsuspecting home gardener somewhere in New Jersey. Unknown to the shipping company, the postal worker, and the gardner, this small box of iris bulbs also contained a tiny beetle which would eventually cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to plants throughout the United States.

By the 1970s, infestations of this beetle were reported in 22 States, mostly east of the Mississippi. These beetle infestations continue to spread southward and westward, leaving massive damage in their wake.

This notorious pest is called the Japanese Beetle. Today, these beetles destroy more lawns than any other pest, costing more than $460 per year. They also destroy trees, shrubs, and many kinds of plants. (more…)

Preparing for the Winter Months: Gardening in October

When you feel that first solid bite in the breeze and you see the songbirds winging their way south, and the trees are bursting with fire-laden hues, you know you can’t be spending the weekend curled up by the fireplace with a good book. Not for long.

While the weather is still gardener-friendly, you must shorten your “to-do” lists for the coming of late fall and early winter. Now is the time to attack your lawn and garden by planting your spring bulbs, buying and maintaining your trees and shrubs, doing your late autumn lawn care, using common-sense watering strategies, building a compost bin and making your own compost, controlling the many common garden pests, and winning at the weed-whacking war before the sudden onset of the fickle, cold and all-enveloping winter season.  (more…)

A destructive beetle, Popillia japonica, whose larvae—fat white grubs—eat the roots of grass and other plants. The adults eat the flowers and skeletonize the leaves of roses and many other plants.