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Pests In Your Yard and Garden?
 

If you suspect an insect or disease problem, bring a sample of the sick plant in a clear plastic bag. We can diagnose best from a branch or stem with several leaves attached, including some leaves that look okay and some that are sick or infested. Also, if you can take a couple of pictures of the plant and where it is planted, that helps too. We might notice something like proximity to a downspout, a groundhog hole, or a deer at your birdfeeder that may not come up in conversation.

Big pictures are easier to see than a photo on a phone, but any picture helps. We might even tell you that the caterpillar eating your parsley is going to become a black swallowtail butterfly and suggest you just leave it alone. They aren't serious pests. If they are devouring your parsley/fennel/dill/cilantro, and you don't want to harm them, move them onto queen anne's lace or plant more for them.

From The Behnkes Garden Blog, Here are some tips and a "to-do" list for the month of May.

Lawn

• It’s a big month for mowing – and the good news is if you leave grass clippings on the lawn, they’ll feed your turf (literally, about a third of its yearly requirement of Nitrogen!)

From The Behnkes Garden Blog, Here are some tips and a "to-do" list for the month of April.

Lawn

• April is a great time to seed, overseed or sod the lawn. (Just be sure you’ve waited the recommended number of weeks since you’ve applied pre-emergent crabgrass killer – or it’ll kill your grass seeds, too.) Experts are often heard recommending overseeding because it’s probably the MOST needed lawn maintenance job that’s ignored by the MOST homeowners. Having a thick lawn is the BEST way to prevent weeds!

• If your lawn is filled with moss, it needs lime and now’s a good time to apply it.

• If you’ve been feeding your lawn regularly and overseeding, too, it probably doesn’t need to be fed again until the fall. If your lawn is thin and weedy, it may not be getting enough fertilizer and spring is the second-best time to feed the lawn – with an organic or slow-release fertilizer, or simply a top dressing of compost. Overfertilization of lawns, especially in the spring, is a HUGE problem for the Chesapeake Bay, so read up and take care!

• And now’s a good time to get your lawn mower ready for the season.

For the Critters

• Migrating hummingbirds will reach our area soon, so be sure to clean your feeders and stock up on nectar solution. Remember to only use soap and water to clean the feeder and be sure to clean it regularly during the season to keep your visitors healthy.

• DC Master Gardener Barbara Dinsmore suggests making your own hummingbird food – don’t poison them with the red dyed stuff. One cup sugar, 4 cups water – boil for a few minutes and store unused portion in refrigerator until needed.

• Encourage nesting birds to stay by planting flowers nearby that attract small insects, the necessary diet for baby hummingbirds.

Pests Affecting Shrub and Tree

• Remove and destroy bagworm bags from affected trees (primarily needled evergreens). The bags contain hundreds of eggs that will hatch out and feed in the spring. Don’t leave the bags on teh ground – discard or destroy them.
• The tiny reddish brown eggs of spruce spider mites can be seen with a hand lens on the twigs and needles of spruce at this time. If you notice signs of this pest, apply an ultra-fine horticultural oil spray which will smother and kill the eggs.
• Inspect trees for the egg masses of the Eastern tent caterpillar. The look like black Styrofoam and are usually found on the ends of cherry and crabapple tree branches. Both types of egg masses should be removed and destroyed.
• If you had a problem last year with scale insects on woody landscape plants spray them with a dormant oil prior this month to bud swell. Spray on a dry day when temperatures are above 40 degrees F. and are expected to remain above freezing for at least 24 hours. March is the last time you can apply oil at the dormant rate because the dormant rate can burn green tissue, so if you notice bud or leaf growth, spray horticultural oils at the summer, 2%, rate. Dormant oil is an environmentally safe product to use and is very effective in controlling scale insects.

Ponds

• You may be asking:  Hey, where are all the fish in my pond? If so, watch out for Great Blue Herons, which can see the sun’s reflection off the water from a long way off.  Bird netting will keep them and any leaves out of the pond.  Our Larry Hurley reports that once he removes the leaves from his semi-shaded pond, it’s no longer bothered by the herons.
• So, use a net to remove leaves and debris with a net. This will help reduce problems with algae. Small ponds can be completely pumped out, cleaned and refilled. The sooner you can do this the better, because by April many species of amphibians will lay their eggs in the pond and you don’t want to disturb them. If eggs have already been laid be very careful and gentle when cleaning the pond to avoid harming them.

Lawn

• Now is the second best time to seed your lawn to cover thin or bare spots.  (The best is late August through October.)
• Also, spring is not the best time to apply fertilizer to lawn unless it’s weak and thin and you didn’t feed it last fall.  Fertilizing in the spring encourages rapid succulent growth that is more susceptible to attack by insects and disease.  If applied, use slow-release or organic fertilizer only.
• If you had a crabgrass problem last year consider applying a pre-emergent herbicide later this month when the forsythias are in bloom.  They tend to bloom about the same time that the soil is warm enough for crabgrass seeds to germinate.  Best control of crabgrass is achieved by splitting this herbicide treatment into two applications – first in mid-March in late March and the second half in mid-May.
• Chickweed, dead nettle, henbit and other broadleaf winter annual weeds are starting to grow again at this time – they germinated last fall and were dormant throughout the winter. They can be treated with a labeled broadleaf weed herbicide when they’re more actively growing later this month or throughout April. Small infestations can be pulled by hand. However, fall herbicide applications when these weeds are germinating often produce better control.
• Don’t do any aerating of your compacted lawn during the wet spring conditions; digging and disturbing the soil then will just make it worse.  Wait for it to dry out.
• This is the time to sharpen your lawn mower blades and service your mower. Dull blades tear turfgrass and can lead to damage and disease problems. Remember to sharpen your mower blade a few times throughout the mowing season.

Wildlife

• Empty bird boxes of old nests.
• Many birds are now actively scouting our landscapes for places to nest this spring, so this is a good time to put up a birdhouse (nest box) to encourage nesting. Some bird species that use birdhouses (nest boxes) are bluebirds, purple martins, tree swallows, and wrens.
• Apply deer repellents as your perennials begin to grow. Deer will begin to switch to their warm weather feeding patterns (from shrubs to more tender plants), and repellents applied early on are the most effective.

Final Words from Larry Hurley

• If you have pathways that are mulch covered, March is a good time to add more mulch.
• And his favorite tip?  “Call in sick on nice days, and spend time in the outdoors. Shop first.”

From The Behnkes Garden Blog, Here are some tips and a "to-do" list for the month of February.

Lawn

• Late February through the end of March is the second best time (the optimum time is late August through mid October) to over-seed your lawn to make it thicker or to cover bare areas. The freezing and thawing of the soil this time of the year helps the seed to get good soil contact.
• Avoid excessive walking on your grass when it is frozen to avoid damaging the crowns of your grass plants.

Bulbs

• Don’t worry about your bulbs popping up early; it won’t harm them – unless we get a hard freeze just as they’re about to open.  If that happens it’ll weaken the stems and make them floppy.  A plastic garbage can or waste basket over the clump for the night would help to keep off the frost, and hold a bit of ground heat in.
• If you put protective evergreen boughs over your early spring bulbs, remove them now to enjoy their early bloom.
• As your bulbs pop up and you can tell what they are, that’s a good time to mark them (with labels or drawings).  That way, you’ll know where they are after they’ve gone dormant this summer – if you want to dig them up, plant around them, etc.  (When to move your bulbs?  When the foliage has yellowed and the plant is going dormant.  Though if they’re tulips, it may not or may not be worth the effort.  Most bloom for just a year or two, so it’s best to plant new ones each year.)

Wildlife

• Keep bird feeders clean and replenished throughout the winter months.  If you started feeding them in early winter, they’re depending on you.
• Likewise, remember that wildlife needs a water source through the winter. Refill your weather-resistant birdbaths regularly.
• If you have a pond, keep a portion of the surface clear of ice at all times. If the water freezes over completely your fish may die. When ice forms, there is a strong chance that gasses from organic debris at the bottom of the pond will build up in the trapped water and harm the fish. There are a number of electric pond de-icers available that will provide a constant unfrozen area in the water. There are also some small bird bath warmers that do the same thing.
• Ceramic and plastic birdbaths are especially vulnerable to cracking in cold weather and should be stored indoors.  Metal ones should be unaffected by freezing so keep them outside.
• If you garden near deer, keep up the deer repellants through this, the most vulnerable time for evergreens.  Use monthly, rotating two or more different products.
• This is the mating season for foxes. Late at night they make a noise that sounds like a person screaming.

Winter Supplies

• If you don’t have a snow shovel in good working order get one now before you need it desperately.   Same goes for a supply of snow- and ice-melting products; we’ve already had some icy steps and there will be lots more.  The University of Maryland reminds us to keep all ice melting materials away from landscape plants, and to NOT use granular garden fertilizers to melt ice – they’re very corrosive to concrete and metal, and contribute to waterway pollution.
• In case of loss of power or just because fires in the fireplace are such a pleasure, pick up some kiln-dried firewood, too.

Maintenance Jobs for Winter

• Larry Hurley writes that in the winter he likes to “do all the things that seem like a pain when it’s hot and buggy out. Cut back that bamboo that you always meant to clean up, dig out invasive ground covers like English ivy. Make sure your gutters are clean. It will reduce the risk of ice dams if we have heavy snow this winter, and during rainstorms the water will flow down the down spout instead of along your foundation, reducing the risk of basement flooding.  Clean mowers and other outdoor power tools if you know what you’re doing. Sharpen shovels and other bladed hand tools, and apply a light coat of oil to reduce rust.”

Bulbs

• Plant left-over bulbs in the garden as long as the soil can be worked.

Lawn

• Avoid excessive walking on your grass when it is frozen to avoid damaging the crowns of your grass plants.

Wildlife

• Keep bird feeders clean and replenished throughout the winter months.  If you started feeding them in early winter, they’re depending on you.
• Likewise, remember that wildlife needs a water source through the winter. Refill your weather-resistant birdbaths regularly.
• If you have a pond, keep a portion of the surface clear of ice at all times. If the water freezes over completely your fish may die. When ice forms, there is a strong chance that gasses from organic debris at the bottom of the pond will build up in the trapped water and harm the fish. There are a number of electric pond de-icers available that will provide a constant unfrozen area in the water. There are also some small bird bath warmers that do the same thing.
• Ceramic and plastic birdbaths are especially vulnerable to cracking in cold weather and should be stored indoors.  Metal ones should be unaffected by freezing so keep them outside.
• If you garden near deer, keep up the deer repellants through this, the most vulnerable time for evergreens.  Use monthly, rotating two or more different products.

Lawn

• Keep fallen leaves off your lawn.  Mowing them with a mulching mower (one with a bag) is a great idea because you can then compost the chopped-up leaves or apply them as mulch.  If your mower doesn’t have a bag, just leave the chopped up leaves on the lawn to feed your turfgrass; mow over them twice to ensure nice small bits that will decompose quickly.
• It’s too late to fertilize – wait until spring.

Bulbs

• If you still haven’t found time to plant your tulips, it’s not too late. They’ve been known to still bloom in the spring in our area despite being planted as late as January.

Wildlife

• Give local birds a break by providing (unfrozen) water for them all winter, and food, too.  And leave the seedheads of your black-eyed susans and coneflowers up for them to munch on.
• Join Project Feederwatch and start counting birds – for fun and science!
• Winter is when deer get desperate and target some of our most expensive plants – the shrubs and trees.  So don’t stop spraying them with deer repellant.  Put it on your calendar so you don’t forget.
• If you feed the birds, clean up the bird seed hulls under the feeder. Sunflower seed hulls suppress plant growth and can stunt your perennials if they collect under the feeder.
• Put your hummingbird feeder away for the winter. They went South.

Miscellaneous

• Have you turned off your outdoor hoses, brought your non-weatherproof pots indoors yet?  Get on it!
• Good time to take the mower in for service after the final mowing – before the spring rush.  Then store without gas in the tank, by running it dry.
• Do NOT use fertilizer to melt ice – it pollutes our watershed and can damage concrete, metal and plants.

Outdoor Bulbs, including Tender “Bulbs”

• It’s not too late to plant spring-blooming bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths. If you can’t get to them all right away, do the daffodils and small bulbs as soon as possible; the tulips can wait until December if need be – as long as the ground isn’t frozen.
• Dig cannas, dahlias and other tender bulb-like plants before the killing frost if you want to save them for next year and store them in a cool dry place.  After the frost has turned the foliage black, cut the tops back to 2-3″ (or for cannas and dahlias, 4-6″), dig up the “bulb”, brush off the soil and let it dry for 1-3 weeks to sure.  Store in a dry spot that’s ideally 40-50 degrees – perhaps an unheated basement or a crawl space – in boxes, pots, or mesh bags filled with bark chips, peat moss, vermiculite or perlite.  Check periodically for shriveling or decay.  Store caladiums, dahlias and tuberous begonias in slightly moistened peat moss. Gladiolus requires an 8-week chilling period at 35-41° F.

Lawn

• And you can still apply a lawn fertilizer, up until November 15.  After that, it’s illegal to apply fertilizers to lawns and gardens until spring (March 1). This is to reduce fertilizer runoff to the Bay.  Here’s more information about the new fertilizer law.
• Lime can be applied to your lawn any time of the year, including November.
• Don’t let whole leaves accumulate on your turf – they can smother and kill it.  Those leaves are a great source of nutrients and organic matter for your lawn, however – if you just chop them with a mulching mower and allow them to decompose over the fall and winter.
• It’s definitely too late to start grass seed.
• After your final mowing is a great time to take your mower in for service.

• It’s not too early to start feeding the birds. You might pick up some unusual birds at the feeder as they move South for the winter.  Click here to read the how-to’s of feeding birds in winter, as reported by our wildlife expert, Natalie Brewer.
• Now’s also a good time to clean all nest boxes and feeders. Scrape and remove debris and scrub with hot, soapy water. Rinse and let dry. Some birds that are cavity nesters such as (chickadees and titmice) may use the nest boxes for roosting during the winter.
• Don’t put your bird bath away. Birds need fresh water for drinking and bathing throughout the fall season. Clean frequently and keep filled with fresh water.
• To provide shelter for wildlife, you can build a brush pile in the corner of your yard or near the edge of a wooded area using your fall trimmings. Brush piles offer winter protection for ground dwelling birds, small mammals, snakes and box turtles.

Pests

• Keep applying deer repellants to your plants – the deer are still hungry. Actually they are more desperate for food than in summer, and they’ll soon be eating azaleas and evergreens unless deterred.
• Hemlocks that look like they are coated with spray-on snow are likely infested with the super-destructive wooly adelgid.  If seen, they should be sprayed with horticultural oil anytime between now and March, provided the temperatures will be above freezing for 24 hours after application. Heavy infestations cause considerable damage or kill trees and should be treated with a registered systemic insecticide. Adelgids are particularly attracted to trees that are fertilized with too much nitrogen.
• Shade trees and shrubs that have had scale problems can be sprayed with horticultural oil after leaves drop. Again, do it when the temperatures will remain above freezing for 24 hours after spraying oil.
• Remove any bagworm bags you see in your trees and shrubs, and dispose of them in the trash.
• Remove any egg masses of the Eastern tent caterpillar by pruning away the branches they’re on.  They look like shiny, black styrofoam and are usually on the ends of wild cherry and crabapple trees.
• Spruce spider mites are active this time of year on evergreen trees.   You can check for them for tapping branches while holding a piece of white paper underneath, then looking for moving specks. They can be controlled with ultra-fine horticultural oil.
• Watch for egg cases of gypsy moths. You may find them in protected areas attached to the house, or on tree trunks or branches. They are oval-shaped, flat, tan, felty,and about the size of a dollar coin. Scrape them into a jar of rubbing alcohol or soapy water.

Miscellaneous

• Drain hoses and bring them indoors for the winter. Winterize outside faucets by cutting the water off to the faucet inside the house (there should be a cutoff on the pipe), then opening the faucet to let any water in the pipe drain out.  If you don’t do this step, your faucets and pipes could freeze and crack over the winter.  Easily.
• Now’s the time to buy seasoned or Kiln-dried fire wood.  Keep it stored away from any wood structure of the house and a minimum of 6 inches off the ground. Check with local codes and/or HOA’s for storage regulations.
• Even the laziest of gardeners can do a “cold compost” pile. Instead of dumping all your leaves at the curb, put them in a big pile in the corner of the yard. By the end of summer next year, they will have decayed for the most part, and you can spread the compost on your garden.

Lawn

Bulbs

• Buy spring-blooming bulbs as soon as they’re in the stores for the best selection.  Select healthy, disease-free bulbs.
• Plant spring-flowering bulbs this month or next – except for tulips, which should be planted from mid-October through November.  Add bone meal or bulb fertilizer into the planting hole as you prepare the soil.

From The Behnkes Garden Blog, Here are some tips and a "to-do" list for the month of August.

Lawns

• August 20 through October 15 is the best time to plant lawn seed – for a new lawn, lawn rejuvenation, to overseed a thin lawn or to fill in bare spots.  That’s because in this period the sun is still very strong, the soil is nice and warm, yet the temperatures are beginning to moderate.  And great news – Behnkes will be posting 5 new articles about Earth-Friendly Lawn  Care later this week and posting them here, on our website, our Facebook page – yes, everywhere.  The articles contain the most up-to-date earth-friendly advice from a range of experts, including those at Behnkes and the University of Maryland.

Pests

• Keep spraying to protect choice plants from deer if you have to share your garden with them.
• Insects thrive in dry, hot weather.  If a plant is just off-color, it may be dry and in need of watering, but it may also have spider mites.  Direct a strong spray of water under the leaves to wash them off, and repeat every couple of days.  Horticultural oil will help control them, but if sprayed onto a dehydrated plant or in hot, humid weather, it can burn the foliage, so follow instructions on the label.  Our garden shop folks probably have some other remedies they can suggest.
• Keep your eyes open for shinny sticky leaves – on tropicals and assorted ornamentals (e.g., Euonymus and hollies).  This may be a sign of aphids and other sucking insects.  The shinny sticky stuff will turn to a black mold.  Both are harmless, only a sign that insects are feeding and they may need your attention.
• Be watchful of softball-sized brown patches on their Dwarf Alberta Spruce – a sure sign of spider mites.
• U.Maryland tells us that “Fall webworm is a 1-2 inch long hairy caterpillar that creates large tent like nests on the ends of branches of various shade trees and shrubs.  It’s unsightly but causes little damage. They can be left alone or knocked out of the tree with a broom, by a hard water spray, or pruning them out and disposing of them in the trash.”
• If your periwinkle is wilting and turning brown from the fungal disease Phomopsis blight, simply prune away the infected plants.

From The Behnkes Garden Blog, Here are some tips and a "to-do" list for the month of July.

Lawns

• When it’s hot and dry – in July -  cool season lawns usually become dormant.   That’s normal and don’t worry – established lawns will quickly green up when it gets cooler and wetter.  Newly seeded or newly sodded areas will still need watering.
• Remember to mow cool season grasses at the 3 to 3 ½ inch height or as high as your mower will cut. This helps to retain moisture and cool the roots of these grasses. (Warm season grass like Zoysia is cut at the 2 inch height and will be green throughout the summer.)
• Leave grass clippings on your lawn to provide Nitrogen to the soil.
• According to the University of Maryland, now is the time to fertilize Bermuda grass and zoysia grass – apply according to the instructions on the bag. Do not fertilize cool-season grasses (i.e. fescues and bluegrass) until fall.

Water Features

• Now is a good time to add water lilies to your pond. With warm water and long days, the lilies are starting to bloom.
• Also, be careful with water hyacinths and water lettuce.  These floating plants are added to filter the water and keep it clear, but they reproduce rapidly and will totally cover the surface of the pond by the end of summer.  Even very large ponds. Make sure to pull out the extras as summer goes by; they are good added to the compost pile.  These plants are serious invasive weed problems in the South.  They won’t overwinter here, but you must remove them in the fall so that they don’t decay in the pond after they die.

Pests in Ornamental Plants

• Be alert for slug and snail damage. They’ll hide during the heat of the day, then come out of hiding in the cool mornings and evening hours or after a rain. Seek and destroy all slugs and their eggs! Use Sluggo for best control.
• Many different kinds of caterpillars are feeding on shade trees. No controls are necessary unless severe defoliation is observed.

Pests in Edibles

• Squash vine borers are hatching out and boring into squash and pumpkin vines. Monitor plants for signs of wilting and entrance holes on lower stems. The easiest and surest method of control is to cut a slit in the stem above the hole with a razor, remove the 1 inch long brown headed white larva. Mound up soil around the wound.
• Blossom-end rot of tomato, pepper, squash and watermelon may be observed now. Remove fruits that have blossom-end rot or are badly malformed. This nutritional disorder is caused by a lack of calcium in developing fruits and is brought on by dry conditions. Water your plants deeply and regularly and keep them mulched. Tomato plants may need 1-2 gallons of water each at least twice a week during droughty periods.

From The Behnkes Garden Blog, Here are some tips and a "to-do" list for the month of June.

Lawns

• Mow to 3″ high and let the clippings stay on the lawn to provide Nitrogen to the soil (and the turf).
• Don’t fertilize in June.
• Traditionally, it’s been recommended that lawns be given an inch of water every week – whether by rain or by the gardener.  Recently, water conservation advocates are urging us to let our lawns go dormant in the summer – yes, brown!  Asked how long common turfgrasses can go without water and not actually die, a common answer is approximately a month, depending on how hot and windy it is.  This is important because letting it go dormant and seeing it green up again in September is fine, but letting the lawn DIE is obviously to be avoided.