2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone

The USDA updated their Hardiness Zone map publicized in November 2023, reflecting changes in average extreme minimum temperatures, moving several Nebraska and Iowa counties to zone 6a. The author reminds gardeners to consider factors not covered by the map, such as anomalies and soil conditions, before purchasing new plants.

Overwintering Eggs

Arthropods like praying mantises, wheel bugs, and garden spiders survive the winter in the egg stage. Learn how to identify insects and spiders in your garden landscape.

Fall Bulbs in Minor

Fall has finally arrived in Nebraska and now is the time we can start thinking about fall planted bulbs for next spring. There is an endless parade of options to choose from – so which one do you pick? Let’s talk about some of the lesser-known options that you can choose to plant in your…

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Carpenter Ants: When to Worry

Carpenter ants make their nests in dead and decaying wood, and sometimes that results to damage to structural wood. People often worry when they see a large black ant crawling in their landscape. Does this mean their house is at risk? Learn about nature’s carpenters and how to prevent carpenter ants from entering and infesting your home.

Rethinking Sweet Autumn Clematis

When we first think about invasive plants, we often conjure images of plants that are not pretty. I often think of the brambles that Maleficent casts around the castle in Sleeping Beauty. Sharp thorns, jagged edges, overall, a barren landscape. Invasive plants are not new. We know that some thistles, leafy spurge, and palmer amaranth…

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Black Swallowtails – Caterpillars in the Herb Garden

If you have a flourishing herb garden, you’re bound to get pollinators and pests alike! Learn about the black swallowtail butterfly and why it needs a little bit (or a lot) of tolerance when it comes to sharing your dill, parsley, and fennel.

Old But New

Plant breeders have given us some spectacular wonders for our gardens over the years.  We now have beebalm and phlox that are more resistant to powdery mildew. Coneflowers now come in bright bolder colors with sturdier stems.  We even have different Joe-Pye-Weeds that are shorter, more compact and even some like Eupatorium altissimum ‘Prairie Jewel’…

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Indian Meal Moths and the Infestation that Never Ends

The Indian meal moth is a common household pest, infesting stored food products such as flour, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cereals, chocolate, bird seed, powered milk, pet food, and spices. They are found indoors all year round.

Don’t Wig Out Over Earwigs

The earwig is a curious pest. It is considered a wonderful mother, a creepy crawler, a natural enemy, and a pest of fruits.

Crawling up the walls: Brown marmorated stink bugs at it again

Yes, they’re back and they’re right on time. The brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) have certainly made a name for themselves in eastern Nebraska for invading houses. Over the last few years, they’ve become known as a structural pest and indoor nuisance. Entomologists call them fall invaders or incidental invaders, due to the timing of…

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Prune Your Shrubs Now?  It Depends

Here’s a quick quiz – when do you prune your shrubs? When they get too big for the space they are growing in, when you think about it or when they look shabby? For many of us, the answer is all 3. Pruning your shrubs in a horticultural sense depends on 2 things: when they bloom and their age.

Asparagus

Spring is here, officially, but that doesn’t mean we should get overly excited and go clean up our landscape beds just yet. However, Asparagus will soon be emerging from previous plantings and new plantings can be started soon. Planting & Care Asparagus is a perennial vegetable that will come back every year providing you with…

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Spring Pruning Q & A

Many gardeners have questions at this time of year about spring pruning. So, here are some common questions you may have been wondering about and your answers.   Let’s discuss each question, but first it’s important to understand woody plant leaf and flower buds were formed last fall. They are already present on branch twigs,…

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Pansies & Violas – Great for Early Spring!

If you’re anxious to see some early color in the landscape, and your tulips and hyacinths aren’t up and blooming yet, think about a pot of pansies. Pansies and violas work great for scratching the itch, both in ground beds and container gardens.

Plan for Spring Color

This time of year can become long and full of anticipation for spring flowers. You can plan now for different plants to add to your landscape to help with winter interest next year, even flowers. Helleborus Lenten Rose or Helleborus is a perennial plant with evergreen leaves. It grows up to 15-18 inches in tall…

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Blooming Stems Brighten the Winter Days

Winter days may be gloomy and dull, but you can give your home a touch of spring by forcing landscape branches to bloom indoors. Spring-flowering trees and shrubs set their flower buds the previous fall. Once the buds have been exposed to cold for several months (usually by mid-January), branches can be cut and forced…

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Snow Impacts on the Landscape

We really saw a lot of snow this past week. I know not all people appreciate snow as much as others. It makes travel difficult and is accompanied by very cold temperatures, and also, in some cases, our plants don’t appreciate it either. On the other hand, there are some plant benefits to all this…

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Dormant Seeding for Lawns

With dormant seeding, the main objective is to get the seeds into the soil when it physically can be done and then remain in a holding pattern until the first rays of the April sun warm the soil and encourage growth. Sure, mid to late April might turn out to be a conducive time as well, but what if it isn’t?