Hey, where have I been? What happened to the 82nd Workshop, scheduled in Wooster on September 9? Well, we are so enmeshed in “all diagnostics – all the  time” that we have already migrated to #83. Just last Friday there were 70+ Woodland Stewards in Mansfield, Joe Boggs continues his BYGLive! Diagnostic Workshops in southwest Ohio each month (coming as well to central Ohio next year), bygl-alerts are constantly talking diagnostics, and on and on. But you can never get enough diagnostic training and perspectives, as we realize every time we go outside or check out another new website....

{This bygl-alert is from Joe Cochran, Director of OSU’s Secrest Arboretum. We will soon get his name in the alert author listings.}

  Introduced by Pieter Zwinenburg, Boskoop, Netherlands in 1990, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Phantom’, in my opinion, is one of the best panicle hydrangeas on the market.  The name ‘Phantom’ comes from the pristine, white blossoms that adorn this plant. In June, the inflorescences begin as lime-green, transitioning to a creamy-white and by July have developed into massive, pure white flower clusters. These panicles, up to 15 inches long, are quite...

Some of my best photographs were totally unplanned; a nod to the adage, "it's better to be lucky than good."  During today's S.W. Ohio Diagnostic Walk-About, I was photographing paper wasps and mud dauber nests under the walkway leading to the Tree House when I saw a dark blue wasp saunter into a spider web.  It seemed odd; was the wasp committing insecticide?  The drama was unfolding 6 - 7 ft. from my camera lens, so I couldn't see details.

 

The true story emerged when I processed the image on my computer.  The wasp wasn't becoming the spider's prey; it was the other way...

While the feeding damage of gypsy moth caterpillars has been done for some time, the egg masses that are present now can predict what the future holds and what populations are expected to do in 2017.  Egg masses laid this year are tan and felt-like in appearance (upper egg mass in the photo).  Older egg masses are faded and much lighter in color and appear weathered (lower egg mass in the photo). 

 

If you are interested in learning more about the Ohio Department of Agriculture's (ODA) Gypsy Moth Suppression Program check out their website at...

Portulaca has become my re-discovered, new favorite annual flowering plant.  My wife sowed seed six years ago in our Portulaca-planter shown in this photo; it hasn't been re-seeded or re-planted since.  The planter is setting on our driveway with a southern exposure and gets watered when I think of it which isn't very often.  Over the past four weeks, we've had inconsistent rainfall at our home and day after day of 85 F. or better; many days in the 90s.  The plants are thriving and have never looked better!

 

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Information for this post was provided by OSU Extension Educators Patrice Powers-Barker and Heather Neikirk, Co-Leaders of the OSU Extension Local Foods Signature Program. 

 

Join Ohioans from across the state in a celebration of local foods August 7-13, 2016. OSU Extension educators are working with communities to showcase their local food producers through special events and educational programs.

 

Why Ohio Local Foods Week?

• Agriculture is Ohio’s number one industry contributing jobs for one in seven Ohioans, and more...

If you have ever grown zucchini, you know that it can be pretty prolific.  There are usually summer days that you could eat it at every meal - and there would still be extras.  So what to do with all the excess?  Why not share it with neighbors, friends, family, or others in your community in need. 

 

Here is a fun way to start the sharing.  August 8 is National Sneak A Zucchini On Your Neighbor's Porch.  Have you ever celebrated?  Don't let another year go by without participating.  Although the day says "porch," but why not try desk or office?  Extra produce can also be...

Southern and central Ohio do not appear to be experiencing an "outbreak" of our native fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) this season.  However, I'm seeing some relatively high localized populations and this lead to a surprising discovery of red-headed webworms in southwest Ohio.

  In choosing river birch (Betula nigra), it is perhaps wishful thinking or imagining a more moderate summer, since as this tree’s name suggests droughty conditions are not preferred. River birch will survive our dry summer throughout much of Ohio this year, but leaf drop and poor color now in some cases reminds us to plant it in sites that provide moist, well-drained, acid soils with plenty of organic matter.   

 

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I posted a BYGL Alert! about spittlebugs on hackberry ("Odd Spittlebug on Hackberry") yesterday.  I could have added another odd spittlebug to the post - and solved an old misconception - had I waited until later in the day to write the report.  Yesterday afternoon I came across the tell-tale frothy masses of a spittlebug on black walnut (Juglans nigra) while hiking around Miami Whitewater Forest - Great Parks of Hamilton County.  The spittle-masses were located on the twigs and in the leaf axils.  Oddly, the consistency of the froth was much like the spittle-masses...