Looked at your petunias lately? If you find mottled or distorted leaves on your petunias, don’t be surprised when the diagnosis comes in: it just might be tobacco mosaic virus (TMV for short). Researchers aren’t sure which TMV strain this is but TMV can infect bedding plants from calibrachoas and verbena to marigolds and mums….Continue Reading Greenhouse Growers: Be on Your Toes About TMV
Count your growing degree days to help control white pine weevil
White pine weevils fly early to lay their eggs in the leaders of your pines, spruces and firs – often in March or April. Using growing degree days, a measure of how much heat we have had and therefore how developed the insects are, is a good way to tell when you should be looking…Continue Reading Count your growing degree days to help control white pine weevil
Got gypsy moths eggs? Check NOW
If you grow trees for a living — or just want your landscape looking buff come summer — now is the time to check for gypsy moth egg masses. True, we don’t hear about them often anymore, but it’s devastating when you get an infestation. Egg masses are buff colored, fuzzy looking, about the size of…Continue Reading Got gypsy moths eggs? Check NOW
Christmas Tree Grower? Your To-do List …
… Just Got Longer. Not that Christmas tree growers aren’t a little busy just now, but this is a great time to take foliar samples (soil samples too, while you’re at it) so you’ll be ready to adapt your nutritional program in the spring. But why now? In a nutshell: yes, soil tests tell what…Continue Reading Christmas Tree Grower? Your To-do List …
The Heat’s On for Mums
If you’ve been warmer than you’d like of late, so have your mums. Pythium root rot likes it hot — and it likes mums, especially when their roots are stressed. Though this killer disease is widespread, it keeps a low profile when conditions don’t suit it — kicking into high gear when they do. Say…Continue Reading The Heat’s On for Mums