Browned Boxwoods

Boxwoods with light brown to golden brown leaves are common this spring in Greater Cincinnati. Some of the leaf browning is due to winter injury; some was caused by salt damage. However, a close examination may also reveal the telltale blister-like leaf symptoms caused by the boxwood leafminer.
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Joe Boggs

Watch Your ASH!

Now that the Emerald Ash Borer has infested Lake County, Ohio, many Green Ash trees in the landscape and forest woodlots have died. But the real danger is right overhead. With dead trees and wind combined, it can be a costly and deadly combination. A tree that shows severe infestation will die within the year. The danger is these trees soon become a fall hazard and need to be removed before injury or property damage occurs.
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Thomas deHaas

They're Baaack!

Last Friday, Larry Parker (Cincinnati Parks) sent to me the images below of Boxelder Bugs (Boisea trivittata, order Hemiptera) hanging out on a park's building. 'Tis the season.
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Joe Boggs

Managing Crabgrass in Turf

With these rains the lawn is beginning to grow and the weeds are not far behind.  Some of the earliest emerging broadleaf weeds have begun to emerge.  The biggest problem with weeds in turfgrass is reduced aesthetic value, although some weeds can out compete turfgrass when management is reduced.  Smooth and large crabgrass, yellow foxtail, and annual bluegrass are the most frequent annual grass weeds in turfgrass.
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Jeff Stachler

Cold Weather Offers an Extension on Poison Hemlock Management

Our slowly developing spring is a real boon to us procrastinators. If you exercise caution by performing a close inspection of what lies beneath, there may still be time to make a non-selective herbicide application to control Poison Hemlock without wiping out preferred plants that have not yet sprung for spring.
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Joe Boggs

Eastern Tent Cats Hatch

Astronomical spring is marked by the vernal equinox. I mark "entomological spring" when overwintered Eastern Tent Caterpillar (ETC) moth eggs hatch. That's why I always collect a few egg masses in late winter and hold them outside (in the shade) so I can monitor for this supernal event. It began happening today at around 12:00 p.m.
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Joe Boggs

Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program in Ohio Scores a "Win"

Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) is potentially the most devastating non-native pest to have ever arrived in North America. The beetle kills trees belonging to 12 genera in 9 plant families. This includes all native maples, a preferred host. Successful eradication is essential to avoiding a catastrophic loss of trees on a scale never before seen in the U.S.
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Authors
Joe Boggs