Insects

Almost every gardener has seen grub larvae in the soil while installing new plants or tilling the vegetable garden.  The term "white grub" actually encompasses the larval stage of several scarab beetles, the most common and most damaging, being the June beetle/masked chafer and the Japanese beetle.  Less well-known, are the May/June beetle and green June beetle.  All have a grub larval stage that can cause damage to turfgrass.  The grubs are off white, with six legs located just behind their reddish-brown head and are usually found curled into a "C" shape in the soil.  

Common pests of houseplants include aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies and spider mites, and it only takes a few insects hitchhiking into your home to multiply into an outbreak. Many gardeners prefer not to use standard insecticides, especially in the house. That may be one of the reasons why insecticidal soaps, both pre-mixed and homemade, have been gaining in popularity.

Popular plants can be overplanted in the landscape. Two examples of overplanted tree species in most communities includes ornamental pear varieties, such as Bradford pear, and red maple. Planting lots of one specific plant not only gets monotonous, but can lead to problems.

Low diversity plantings, consisting of only a few species, should be avoided for several reasons.

Many houseplants thrive outside during summer, growing well with the brighter light intensity, but it will soon be time to bring them back indoors. Most plants grown as houseplants originated in the tropics, so nighttime temperatures dipping into the 40's and 50's F mean it's time to bring them inside.

These plants won't survive frost and some may be damaged by temperatures in the 40's or even the low 50's. As summer winds down into fall, days may be warm enough but nighttime temperatures will soon be too cold for them to stay outdoors any longer.

As if 2023 hasn’t thrown gardeners enough curves already - like drought damage in lawns, shrubs, trees and ornamentals – soon it will be Japanese beetle season. Wonderful, that’s all we need!

But we must be realistic and acknowledge the fact – Japanese beetles are here to stay. Once an invasive species like this one comes into an area, there is no good way to eliminate them completely. So, what can gardeners do - especially with an eye toward long-term damage reduction?

As we shiver through winter’s freezing temperatures and heavy snow, many gardeners hope the severe weather translates to fewer garden insects in the coming growing season. But, unfortunately, insects have evolved many coping mechanisms enabling them to tolerate winter conditions just fine. Of course, the insects don't just 'disappear' and magically reappear the next year. Each species has developed some way of dealing with the cold weather.

Each year in late spring and early summer, homeowners begin noticing strange growths on the leaves or stems and are concerned for the health of their trees.

An excellent way to attract butterflies to your garden is to plant annuals and perennials that are good nectar sources. Another irresistible attraction for butterflies is the butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii.

One of the most easily recognized insects in the home landscape is the white grub. Almost every gardener has seen white grub larvae in the soil, while installing new plants or tilling the vegetable garden. The term "white grub" actually encompasses the larval stage of several scarab beetles, the most common, and most damaging, being the June beetle or masked chafer, and the Japanese beetle. Less well-known are the May/June beetle and green June beetle. All have a white grub larval stage that can cause damage to turfgrass.

During landscape clean up at season’s end, it’s a good time to assess your plantings’ performance and make plans for next season. If problems occurred, how did they present? Were scattered, unrelated plants affected? Or were all plants in one section of the landscape showing symptoms? How problems present can give a clue as to the potential problems and help you develop a plan to improve next year.