Dothistroma needle blight is one of the most common fungal diseases of pines in Nebraska, resulting in sparse trees with thin canopies. Older, inner needles are affected first causing premature needle drop. Many species of pine are affected by this disease, but in Nebraska it's found most commonly and causes the greatest amount of damage on Austrian and Ponderosa pine, both in windbreak and ornamental trees. Mugo pine, a common landscape shrub, can be infected, but Dothistroma is seldom seen in Scotch pine.
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Do hedge apples really repel insects? They're available in grocery stores now, but do they work? And where does such a strange fruit come from? There are many uniquely curious plants and hedge apple is one.
This tree has many names, so depending on where you're from you may know it as hedge-apple, Osage-orange, bodark, bowwood and bois d'arc. Botanically, it’s known as Maclura pomifera. Its not a member of the citrus family; the fruits are nothing like oranges and are not edible.