Search results for:

This is the time of year when borer damage in trees and shrubs is most obvious. Limbs are dying. Their damage can be seen from a distance now, but they’ve been working hard feeding on the inside of trees and shrubs for months.

Q: In my morning walk around the garden, I found an unusual pattern on the leaves of my Arabian jasmine. Do you have any thoughts on what might have caused this?

Q: The leaves on my fig tree appear burned after this rain. I foliar sprayed it with neem oil and soap and fish protein isolate. These trees were planted last fall and mulched with 1 foot of woodchips and looked amazing until now. They are watered three times each week in the summer.

Q: We’ve noticed leaf damage this year on our rose bushes and apple and pear trees. More than previous years. But, peach, apricot and pomegranate seem unaffected. Some of our roses were decimated. Any idea what pest causes this and how to control it?

Early Saturday morning, I spotted two green beetles on a young apple tree. These are close relatives of what we called in the Midwest “June beetles.”

Q: I have some large dead areas in my lawn. I don’t think it’s an insect problem. Watering is at 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. This was my first lawn problem in 16 years.

Q: We installed a lawn 18 months ago, but it has a difficult time during summer months. I aerate it and fertilize it, and I know the drainage is good because the landscaper installed the system to our HOA requirements. I water twice daily, six days a week around 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. There is a decent amount of shade, and the yard faces south. Even the heavily shaded areas have problems. What can I do differently?

Q: My Mexican bird of paradise grows well but it looks too thin. Or is that its natural way? I would like it to fill in and be healthy looking.

Thank you for your support of my landscape design class beginning in July. The class size is limited, and the eight-week class I offered filled quickly.