I know you are all out there finishing planting, starting spraying, and in some areas, doing rain dances.  I don’t think we have enough but we did get some rain in Ithaca.  I’m willing to dance, though, now that the frost has melted off my lawn!

Now the landscape people are asking –  How to tell the difference between winter injury and something else?

And a flood of questions on sad looking spruce.  We don’t know exactly what it is, but spruce decline describes it pretty well.

2014 – Cornell Plant Diagnostic Clinic samples – you can see we more often know what it isn’t than is. And from Ontario.

And for the pumpkin planters – It’s out there and it’s heading this way!  You can check out where cucurbit downy mildew has been identified and watch it crawl up the eastern coast.  Bwa-ha-ha-ha.  Or it can help you plan your fungicide applications so they are effective!

Brian’s little Doug fir has broken bud – so it must be time to think about Swiss needle cast and Rhabdocline. And other diseases that need tender young needles to infect. Rain helps to make the perfect environment.

Also getting to be time to check for balsam twig aphid – tap branches over paper plates to catch the nymphs.

Those weeds will come on fast with a little water and warm temperatures (sorry to burst your bubble).  MSU has a new resource

Enough for one day, I expect!  Brian and I are working on the Conifer IPM app so it seems like I am immersed in Christmas tree topics!