A New Podocarpus? No, Just Aphids!
I spotted a podocarpus in a landscape with attractive curly new growth. I thought to myself, “is this a new variety with a unique characteristic?” As I came in for a closer look, I saw… Read More
Category: Pests & Disease
Pruning Masks Pygmy Date Palm Problem
If palms are pruned before identifying the cause of decline, sometimes the symptoms are removed that indicate a nutritional or disease problem. In the case of this recently pruned pygmy date palm, a few leaves… Read More
Why Do Some Plants Get Cankers?
Canker diseases are common, widespread and destructive to a wide range of trees and shrubs. A ‘canker’ is really a symptom of an injury often associated with an open wound that has become infected by… Read More
Fall Leafs Spots on Ornamental Plants
All of the wet weather that we experienced this summer created the perfect environment for fall fungal and bacterial leaf spots. Typically predominant in the late summer and fall, these diseases can especially affect plants… Read More
The Lowdown on Sedge in Turf
Sedges are annual or perennial grass-like plants. Sedge species may be found in a wide range of conditions, ranging from very wet to dry, and in many soil types. They can be very competitive with… Read More
Caterpillar Invasion
The yellownecked caterpillar (Datana ministra) recently invaded the newly planted river birch trees in the Exploration Gardens. Related to the azalea and walnut caterpillars, the yellownecked caterpillar has a wide range of host plants, including… Read More
Ouch! Watch Out for the Venomous Puss Caterpillar
I recently came in contact with a puss caterpillar and the area ached for about 12 hours. It was the second time in my life that this has happened. Many years ago, I was moving… Read More
When Good Worms go Bad – New Guinea Flatworm
There’s a worm in town, but it’s not that fat, happy earthworm that we like to find tilling our gardens. Instead, it’s a flatworm, which kind of looks like a cross between a slug and… Read More
Chinch Bug Resistance Still a Problem
Most lawn care and pest control professionals rely on insecticides to manage the southern chinch bug in Florida lawns. This is largely due to a lack of effective and easily implemented alternative integrated pest management… Read More
Peach Gummosis
Do your peach trees have some gummy looking sap exuding from the trunk? Gummosis is the term for the symptom of gummy sap oozing from the trunk and branches. It is not that unusual and… Read More