Underutilized and underappreciated. That’s American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), aka ironwood or muscle wood. It grows primarily in moist, slightly acid soils along woodland rivers and streams. Our native hornbeam possesses the ability to adapt to a range of landscape situations. It grows equally well in full sun or partial shade. Its dark green summer foliage is rarely troubled […]
Archive for the ‘Pests’ Category
Add A Little Muscle To Your Landscape
Posted by Hugh on December 28th, 2012
Posted in acidic soil, American hornbeam, Autumn foliage color, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Green Privacy Screen, Heat Tolerance, Native Plant, Ornamental fruit, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Winter bark, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Add A Little Muscle To Your LandscapeDeer Don’t Feed On Plum Yews
Posted by Hugh on December 10th, 2012
Plum yews (Cephalotaxus harringtonia) are evergreen needle conifers which flourish in the heat and humidity of the Southeastern U.S. (USDA hardiness zones 6-9). Likely, the groundcover forms are hardier to zone 5-b if protected by snow cover or surrounding vegetation from dry winter winds. Plum yews are native to China, Korea and Japan. Many people […]
Posted in acidic soil, container shrub, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, DWARF CONIFERS, Evergreen, Evergreens, Ground cover, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Deer Don’t Feed On Plum YewsEmerald Ash Borer And Others Are Spreading – Don’t Transport Firewood
Posted by Hugh on October 15th, 2012
Moving firewood across county or state lines may also distribute serious insect pests hundreds of miles. For whatever reasons that the tree(s) were cut down in your yard, insects (including termites) may be hiding inside the logs. They may remain alive for a long time. Over the past decade three serious exotic insect pests have been identified […]
Posted in Elms (Ulmus), Firewood, Green ash (Fraxinus), Insect (Pest) Problems, Invasive plant, Landscape ideas, Native Plant, Pests, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs, Uncategorized, Walnut Comments Off on Emerald Ash Borer And Others Are Spreading – Don’t Transport FirewoodMuhly Grass Pink Color Emblazens The Autumn Season
Posted by Hugh on September 12th, 2012
For most of the season Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) grows pretty much unnoticed. Muhly exhibits a semi- erect growth habit, 3-4 feet in height and 3-4 feet in spread. Walking past a pink billowy inflorescences of Muhly on a brisk sunny October morning is nothing short of “wow”. For 10- 12 weeks, from early September thru late November, a pink haze arises […]
Posted in Autumn flowering, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Heat Tolerance, Muhly grass, Native Plant, Ornamental Grasses, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, winter hardiness Comments Off on Muhly Grass Pink Color Emblazens The Autumn Season‘Hot Lips’ Turtlehead – A Late Summer Flowering Native
Posted by Hugh on August 8th, 2012
Turtlehead (Chelone spp.) is a U.S. native. Turtle-head shaped flowers appear in August and September. The 1 inch flowers open from bottom to top along the stem (s). Colors vary from bright white, creamy white, and white tinged with pink (depending on species and cultivar grown). Pink turtlehead (C. lyonii ) is native to the Southern […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Heat Tolerance, Hummingbird, Native Plant, Perennials, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Turtlehead (Chelone), watering tips Comments Off on ‘Hot Lips’ Turtlehead – A Late Summer Flowering NativeYellow Nutsedge Control Is In Your Hands
Posted by Hugh on July 21st, 2012
Yellow nutsedge, aka “nutgrass” (Cyperus esculentus) is a nasty weed found in lawn and garden areas. It is a sedge, and not a grass, and methods of eliminating it vary. Yellow nutsedge is easily identified by its yellow to light green glossy leaves and the triangular shape of the stem. It grows most actively during […]
Posted in Garden Maintenance, Nutsedge Control, Root suckering, Southern Appalachian Region, Weed control, Weeds, Weeds Comments Off on Yellow Nutsedge Control Is In Your HandsPromising Hemlock Adelgid Research
Posted by Hugh on July 2nd, 2012
Proper care of hemlock trees is important for their survival. Hot dry summer weather appears to slow population growth. During periods of severe drought, shallow rooted hemlock trees should be irrigated. Prune dead and dying branches from trees to promote new growth. Also, limit the amount of nitrogen fertilizers to hemlock(s), as it promotes heavier […]
Posted in Evergreens, Hemlock (Tsuga), Hemlock woolly adelgid, Native Plant, plant nutrition, Southern Appalachian Region, watering tips Comments Off on Promising Hemlock Adelgid ResearchPest Update – More Pesticide Options Available Against Hemlock Adelgid
Posted by Hugh on June 29th, 2012
You may be able to prevent or save tree and shrub hemlock(s) from woolly adelgid. This serious pest has two generations per year. The first generation hatches in March and April from overwintering adults (as many as 300 eggs per adult) in white cottony masses on the small twigs. The crawlers (nymphs) hatch and feed in […]
Posted in Hemlock (Tsuga), Hemlock woolly adelgid, Insect (Pest) Problems, Native Plant, Southern Appalachian Region Comments Off on Pest Update – More Pesticide Options Available Against Hemlock AdelgidSapsucker Feeding May Blacken Maple Trunks
Posted by Hugh on April 29th, 2012
You see or hear a sapsucker tapping in a yard tree and pay little attention to it. The bird perforates the tree or shrub trunk and main branches with numerous shallow holes, similar to a riveter working with sheet metal. A sapsucker feeds on the cambium sap and on insects under the bark. The holes are deep […]
Posted in Dogwood (Cornus), Elms (Ulmus), Maples (Acer), river birch, Sapsucker, Southern Appalachian Region, Yellowwood Comments Off on Sapsucker Feeding May Blacken Maple Trunks‘Fireworks’ Pennisetum
Posted by Hugh on April 23rd, 2012
Fountain grasses are popular annual grasses that thrive in Southern Appalachian gardens (USDA zones 6 and 7). The new cultivar ‘Fireworks’ is totally spectacular. The mid-vein of the grass blade is burgundy red and edged in hot pink. Fireworks displays three seasons of awesome foliage color before dying off in the fall. Red plume foxtail flowers bloom […]
Posted in acidic soil, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Fountain Grass (Pennisetum), Irrigation, Ornamental Grasses, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips Comments Off on ‘Fireworks’ Pennisetum
