We have visited fall color themes with several recent bygl-alerts (http://bygl.osu.edu/node/612; http://bygl.osu.edu/node/603; http://bygl.osu.edu/node/602), and as the season progresses it just keeps getting richer. Following are some additional Season of 2016 features. And the lead picture above, though it looks like it comes from the Smokies or from Almost Heaven, is just from my backyard, with fall foliage rising from the strawberry fields forever of the...

  {This bygl-alert is from Paul Snyder, horticulturist at OSU’s Secrest Arboretum at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, with a small assist from Jim Chatfield.}

  Note: The image above is of Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus) acorns.  Members of the white oak group, like chestnut oak, should be planted immediately after collecting. The radicle (the first part of the plant embryo to emerge from the seed) comes out in the fall.

  Fall is here and that means trees are releasing their fruits produced over the summer. For squirrels and other...

  Native plants are all the rage in the plant world (apart from new hydrangea cultivars), and rightfully so―they are well adapted to our climate and zone, and serve as a host for a variety of insects, birds, and other wildlife. Indeed, when we plant a landscape we aren’t just making an area look nice. Rather, we are creating an ecosystem.

  A native plant that shines this time of year is Cephalanthus occidentalis, Buttonbush. This plant is commonly thought of only for its globular white flowers in summer. Yet this member of the Rubiaceae is attractive all season. Glossy...

  As noted earlier (http://bygl.osu.edu/node/525) there are two common tar spots of maple seen in Ohio.  One, that occurs commonly on silver and red maple results in dense, tarry spots caused by the fungus, Rhytisma acerinum. A second tar spot disease is typically found on Norway maple, with multiple tiny tarry spots that eventually coalesce into a larger spot, not quite as “tarry” but nonetheless black in color, caused by the fungus  Rhytisma punctatum.

 

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The calls have begun.  Insects and spiders are being found inside homes around Medina, and I suspect many other counties in Ohio.  Fall brings an annual immigration of all sorts of arthropods but this is not meant to be a halloween horror, but a normal part of the life cycle and survival of many creepy (or cute!) crawlies.

 

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs

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I received a report of "white worms" in fall-bearing raspberries associated with the activity of the non-native invasive pest, Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii).  Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) is a tiny fly, nearly indistinguishable from our native common vinegar flies (also called fruit flies) without a magnifying device. (Photo courtesy of Jim Jasinski, OSU Integrated Pest Management Coordinator)

  The love of books. As promised, here are the first five books to know about, read, teach your co-horts and fellow naturalists about, and to treat yourself and others to for the upcoming holidays. 

 

1. A Sand County Almanac – Aldo Leopold. A naturalist’s classic.
2. Seeing Trees – Nancy R. Hugo and Richard Llewellyn. Photographic and written essays of the annual life of trees.
3. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants – Michael Dirr.  Must have for reference and priceless observations and perspectives.
4. The Invention of...

The banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata) is found throughout Ohio; however, it may be easily overlooked in favor of its slightly larger and more stunningly colored cousin; the yellow garden spider (A. aurantia).

  Many of us are aware that pines and other narrow-leaved trees and shrubs that we term “evergreen”, do lose inner needles in the fall and sometimes in the spring, most noticeably on white pine. Others of us, though having seen it all our lives, may not have noticed (“The true voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes, but in having new eyes” – Proust).  

  For those who are aware, “Remember what it was like not to know”, and teach others well.  Speaking of teaching this, no-one said it better than Aldo Leopold in his “A Sand County Almanac” (1949), a...

New England aster (Symphyotrichumnovae-angliae) is an excellent plant for the fall garden.  In addition to providing color in the landscape, it also is a late-season source of pollen for bees and other pollinators.  New England aster is native to much of the Eastern US and its purple daisy-like flowers can be seen in fields in bloom now.  It blooms from late summer through October. This plant prefers moist, rich soils but will tolerate clay soils, and some drought once established.  New England aster grows well in a sunny location but can also succeed in partial shade.  This plant...