Bird Feeding Problems

Bird feeding is huge! It’s one of the top 5 outdoor activities and really grew in popularity recently as property owners of all sizes became more in tune with their landscapes during the pandemic.

As my colleague Dave Robson with the University of Illinois indicates, when you try to provide food for songbirds, many other outdoor creatures consider themselves invited to the feast. Following are some suggestions for reducing problems from squirrels, mice, rabbits and other critters.

Tree Leaves – Are They Treasure or Trash?

The old saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. It was never more true than with tree leaves. Soon they will be raining down (if they haven’t already) and you can cast your vote. Perhaps a case can be made for both perspectives.

Seeing Spots?  Could be the Lawn…

If you’re seeing spots before your eyes, it could be some sort of dizziness syndrome, or it could be that you’re looking at your lawn, and it’s got a particular fungus disease…which shows up as spots. Actually, there are several lawn maladies that show up as spots, but one in particular, especially at this time of year – Dollar Spot.

Arbor Day 2022

That the idea for a National Day of Recognition for trees came from a prairie state speaks to the importance of trees and spring tree planting. Not just lovely to look at, trees provide benefits:  Roots to hold the soil, fruit and nesting places for wildlife, shade for our homes (reducing cooling costs by 25-30%!),…

Winter Care of Houseplants

If you grow your own fresh air, you appreciate the liveliness houseplants bring to the indoors during the long winter months. On days when I’m feeling blue, nothing lifts my spirits like taking care of my houseplants. Removing dead leaves, looking for any insect pests that I missed when bringing them indoors last fall, pinching…

Blooming Lilacs in October!

It is not unusual for some plants to blossom out of season.  Magnolia, crabapple, lilac, and forsythia are notably spring-blooming plants, but stressful growing conditions can instigate a type of dormancy that pushes flowering to later in the season. Lilacs are a great example this year. To better understand why this happens, it is helpful…

Tomato Viruses

As difficult as blights are to manage in tomatoes, viral diseases are far worse. This is because there are no effective products to stop their spread.  To make matters even more challenging, virus infection is most often the work of sap sucking insects, such as aphids, thrips, and leafhoppers, that vector diseases. Insecticides to stop…

Graft Union Incompatibility

Lots of trees can be grafted—fruit trees, shade trees, and even small ornamental trees. Grafting is the art of putting together two different parts of trees to make one new tree. Unlike Frankenstein, the results are not monstrous, but instead the new tree will have some of the best traits of each of its parts….