At Johnson Woods Nature Preserve near Orrville in Wayne County, there are many wonderful plants including towering oaks and beeches and sourgums.  There are birds including barred owls that are a hoot to hear in matched pairs from across the preserve.  This past weekend the fungi were having a real coming out party following recent rains.  Squirrels, including black squirrels, were clucking away. And stinging nettles were fruiting; something I had never noticed before.  

 

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  The Umbrella Magnolia Grove (Magnolia tripetala) at OSU’s Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, for almost a century was a revered place: a protected place from non-lightning rainstorms, a place for rituals of many a kind, a wow place for children, a favorite of now-retired Secrest curator, Ken Cochran.

I came across a small webworm nest yesterday in an American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). It strongly resembled an early instar Fall Webworm (Hyphantria cunea) nest; however, fall webworms are just about finished for the season. 

In the past few weeks, I have received multiple questions from farmers growing pumpkins, asking what is going on with the pumpkins!  When pressed about what they were seeing, the response is always a “come out and see for yourself” and so I usually do!  For me, plant problem diagnostics are ALWAYS more accurate and effective when done hands-on, using my own senses and asking those pertinent or impertinent questions to get at the answers!  In these cases of the great pumpkin patch puzzle, they would pick perfectly healthy looking pumpkins, wash the dirt off of rinds and put them into bins...

The native Common Roseslug Sawfly and Curled Roseslug have largely been supplanted by the non-native Bristly Roseslug Sawfly. This sawfly has multiple generations per season with the larvae continuing to produce feeding damage.

  English ivy (Hedera helix) and wintercreeper euonymus (Euonymus fortunei) are two non-native climbers we are all accustomed to seeing in Ohio landscapes.  Horticulturists and natural area managers often have very different perspectives on these species here in Ohio and in areas, wanted and unwanted, where they grow. What is your “nature and nurture” perspective?

The recommended time for planting or transplanting perennials is late August or early September.  This gives adequate time for roots to establish before winter comes.  However, like most gardeners, I don't usually think about it in late August and besides, this year was too hot to take on this task anyways.

 

I finally got around to it this past weekend and the weather was glorious to work outside.  I needed to transplant a few perennials as well as plant some that I bought at a plant sale in the spring.  Yes, I am a little behind but I really didn't want to plant them...

A local arborist called me one day and asked if it was possible that I could identify a mushroom.  Sure, I said I could do that and reminded him that identification is always much easier if a sample was dropped off for me to examine.  Later, as I rehearsed our conversation, I remember hearing him chuckle and then saying, “Well, you’re going to love this one”.   I was thinking through a couple of types and shapes of typical mushrooms when I walked into my office the next morning.  You can imagine my surprise when I spied on my desk, the huge fruiting body of Bondarzewia berkeleyi ...

Bristly "woolly bear" caterpillars have started their annual crawl-about in search of sheltered locations where they will spend the winter.  They may be found on sidewalks and walking trails or on the walls of homes and buildings.  Some may be slowly making their way to Vermillion, Ohio, to attend an annual festival held in their honor.