Thanks to the sharp eyes of Dave Bienemann (Municipal Arborist/Utility Forester, City of Hamilton), I was able to take some nice pictures of the woolly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum) and it's characteristic damage on its alternate host, American elm (Ulmus americana). This isn't the only woolly aphid that uses our native elm as an alternate host. The woolly elm aphid (E. americanum) is another historical American elm pest.

As a May 9 morning frost looms at Secrest, Jason and the Acernauts try to prevent damage to tender foliage and buds on selected maples and other plants.

On one of our jaunts through the woods and parks in NE Ohio, my wife was thrilled to see glorious blooms of intense yellows created by Caltha palustris or Marsh Marigold (MM).  The genus name “Caltha” is derived from the Latin meaning “yellow flower” and the specific epithet “palustris” means marsh-loving.  Therefore, the Latin binomial for this plant literally means “yellow flower marsh-loving”!!  This North American native plant thrives in bogs, ditches, swamps, forested swamps, wet meadows, marshes, and stream margins from as far east as...

The Rosaceae is the most influential plant family in our landscapes (and the angiosperms), from Spiraea to Physocarpus, Prunus to Alchemilla, and most notably for us at Secrest, Malus. While crabapples are showing their beauty at Secrest another member of the Rosaceae, Exochorda, is also putting on quite a display.

Over the last week I have received several inquiries from people wanting to know...

Scale management is difficult but an incorrect identification can make it impossible. This is sometimes the case with the exotic Japanese maple scale (JMS) (Lopholeucaspis japonica, family Diaspididae). It's relatively new to Ohio, its name is misleading, and it may be mistaken for other more familiar scales.

Look to the treetops! Ohio’s spring migrants are winging their way through your backyard all throughout the month of May! Keep your eyes peeled because they may be stopping in your yard in order to stock up on insects and fruit.

Turfgrass 101 is Scott Zanon's key ingredients for a better lawn.

This is drone footage of Crablandia at OSU's Secrest Arboretum from May 2, 2020 will be updated before Friday night's frost.

Phone calls and e-mail messages to Extension offices from landowners concerned about the health of maples should soon be on the rise. That's because maples, especially silver (Acer saccharinum) and red maples (A. rubrum), in many regions of Ohio as well as Indiana and Kentucky are producing loads of winged seeds (samaras).