First generation imported willow leaf beetles (Plagiodera versicolora) are munching the leaves of wild and cultivated willows in southwest Ohio.  This native of northern Europe was first found in the U.S. in 1915.  Since that time, it has become well established throughout most of the eastern and Midwestern states.  Although it has been a number of years since a significant outbreak has been reported in Ohio, this beetle has a history of periodically achieving population outbreak densities and causing significant defoliation of its namesake host.

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Heavy leaf damage from the non-native bristly roseslug sawfly (Cladius difformis) is becoming very apparent on its namesake host in southwest Ohio.  Roses in Ohio may be infested by this sawfly as well as two other non-native species:  the European roseslug sawfly (Endelomyia aethiops); and the curled roseslug sawfly (Allantus cinctus).  Despite their common names, the larvae of these sawflies resemble tiny caterpillars and look nothing like the glistening, elongated pear-shaped "slug sawflies" which do resemble tiny slugs.

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Overwintered common bagworm (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) eggs have hatched in southwest Ohio and 1st instar caterpillars have settled to feed and construct their characteristic sac-like bags.  A percentage of the tiny 1st instar caterpillars produce a strand of silk upon hatching to catch the wind and "balloon" to new locations.  This behavior is one of the reasons bagworms often appear on hosts that were not infested last season.

Some of you might think that I am crazy (most already know that) but I am really getting to the point that I need rain.  Someone told me this morning that we are supposed to have 100% chance of rain today but I won't believe it until I can go out and play in it!

Last Sunday night, there were storms all around Ohio.  Driving back from Akron we hit some really heavy rain in Ashland County.   Friends on Facebook were saying that they got 3" or more in the Enon area.  I thougth for sure that we had to have gotten some at my house in the northern part of Clark County.  Pulling...

This pleasant smelling perennial vine is blooming in northwest Ohio. American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) is less aggressive than the Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis).  Blooms are a source of nectar and are attractive to butterflies.  The plant is also a larval host for marine blue, zarucco duskywing, and skippers.  An added bonus for gardeners is that it appears to be tolerant to deer. 

The vine's flowers give way to narrow, flattened, smooth seed pods (to 5” long) which ripen in summer. Pods typically split open in fall. Compound, odd-pinnate...

Recently, Todd Hicks and Joe Rimelspach with the OSU Department of Plant Pathology posted a "special edition" of Turf Tips. 

Topics covered in this video included:  what is happening in high-cut turfgrass - leaf spot, dollar spot and red thread; fungicides for residential turf; prevention is key; granular application best practices; and safety and first aid.   

Click here to view the video:  http://turfdisease.osu.edu/turftips_May25

Cressleaf Groundsel in the Field.  Image by Steven Smith.

The weed that is currently gracing the landscapes and farm fields in southern Ohio with a smattering of canary yellow is cressleaf groundsel (Packera glabella).   Cressleaf groundsel, which is also known as BUTTERWEED (Senecio glabellus), is a member of the aster family (Asteraceae; a.k.a. Compositae), thus the weed sports flowers that are daisy-like and seed heads that look like miniature dandelion puff-balls.  The flowers are borne at the ends of thick, erect, stems that are green with reddish-purple streaks. ...

In Northeast Ohio this year, and specifically Chardon, Ohio, had a snowfall event on May 15, 2016 and anywhere from 0.25-0.5 of an inch accumulated across the area.  While flying snowflakes were startling enough, the real concern and fear involved the impact of the projected low overnight temperatures.  The first night on May 15, the temperatures dropped to right around freezing (34-32°F) and then on Monday evening, May 16, temperatures dropped below freezing (31-29°F) and as low as 27°F in low lying areas.  While some plants had their tender foliage and new twig expansion killed outright...

Shakespeare used the term ”trippingly” to refer to a lilting or nimble effect as in “trippingly on the tongue” rather than bombastic speechifying referenced in his Hamlet directives. The Latin name of tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) should thusly be spoken trippingly. Try saying it out loud; very elvish and fairy-like trills, as befits the “trippingly” term he first used in “Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

And what a tree this is: large, lobed tulip-shaped leaves. The flowers are wondrous:  cup-shaped with yellow-green petals with orange flares at the base.  The tree grows...

How soon the glorious starch-white blossoms of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) are gone for another season, even this year when the blooms of this native dogwood lasted longer than usual. Yet this short season is only a page in the book that is the genus Cornus (30-60 species). Corneliancherry dogwood (C. mas) was first, with chartreuse-yellow flowers arriving long before leaves in late March and early April. For rich northeast Ohio woodlands and some cultivated gardens, the herbaceous groundcover wildflower, bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) est arrivee...