Perennial Plant of the Week - Leopard Plant

Do you have a shade garden? Are you looking for a fall blooming yellow flower with large leaves? Leopard plant (Ligularia dentata 'Othello') might be just the plant to consider. This herbaceous perennial is best grown in a humusy soil that is rich in organic matter. It preference is a medium to wet site that is in part shade to full shade. It is imperative that the site never fully dries out. Because of the need for moisture, this plant will benefit from a regular, deep watering during the summer, especially when temperature are high and Mother-Nature hasn't...

Published on
Authors
Amy Stone

Along Came a Spider

Ohioans may be surprised by the large number of spiders living near at hand when heavy morning dews accentuate their gossamer creations. Their conspicuous web-work can be striking when highlighted by early morning sunlight along roadways.
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs

Woody Plant of the Week - Seven-Sons Flower

A recent walk through the Toledo Botanical Garden in Toledo, Ohio was simply enjoyable. Hints of fall colors and noticeable fruits were scattered throughout and were enjoyed by all. It was on the final leg of the walk, when the group turned the corner and white flowers immediately caught our attention. The blooms of the seven-sons flower (Heptacodium miconioides) were in their glory. It was the flowers that drew us in, but it was the pollinator activity that kept us watching. The insect activity was amazing.

...
Published on
Authors
Amy Stone

Emerald Ash Borer University - Fall 2017

Interested in an emerald ash borer (EAB) update this fall? The fall-semester schedule of online EAB University classes have been scheduled. Classes can be viewed during an interactive live-session (see schedule times below), or viewed afterwards as a recorded session on the EABU YouTube Channel. In addition to EAB, there will be a session on Thousand Cankers Disease too! 

 

...
Published on
Authors
Amy Stone

Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative - Annual Milkweed Pod Collection

Due to the drastic decline in monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations, the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative (OPHI) and local Soil & Water Conservation Districts are again seeking public involvement to collect common (Asclepias syriaca) and swamp (Asclepias incarnata) milkweed seed pods from established plants September 1 through October 30, 2017. This is the second year they will be collecting seed pods.

 

The seeds will be used to establish new plantings and additional habitat for the monarch butterfly throughout the buckeye state...

Published on
Authors
Amy Stone

Pawpaws and Amphbians: Out My Back Door

  I stepped out my back door on a balmy late summer Sunday, my, oh, my, what oh what did I see? No “giant doing cartwheels”, no “statue wearin' high heels”, no “tambourines and elephants playin’ in the band”, but yes a few “happy creatures dancing on the lawn”. “Doo, doo, doo”, what to see, “lookin’ out my back door?”

 

  1). Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) – see above image. Only last week I purchased and planted a new pawpaw seedling from Secrest Arboretum. I needed to since, even though our pawpaw tree bloomed for the past several years, and especially well this year,...

Published on
Authors
Jim Chatfield

White Masses on Stems of Wafer-Ash, Redbud, and Other Trees

Participants in the S.W. Ohio BYGLive! Diagnostic Walk-About held this past Monday in the Boone County Arboretum (Union, KY) observed wafer-ash stems festooned with small, sticky, snowy-white masses. The masses could easily be mistaken for a soft scale, mealybug, or perhaps an insect egg mass. In fact, they are the "egg plugs" of the Two-Marked Treehopper (order Hemiptera; family Membracidae).
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs

Bullet Galls and Bullet-Like Stingers

Participants in last Friday's 84th Ohio Plant Diagnostic Workshop held in the OSU OARDC Secrest Arboretum braved experiencing bullet-like stings to view numerous bald-faced hornets buzzing Oak Bullet Galls. The galls were also drawing the attention of a few yellowjackets and other stinging insects as well as some flies and ants. Of course, the question on everyone's mind was why were these insects being drawn to the galls?
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs