MG gal

Thanks Janet for your help. The damage on these boxwoods looked like leaf miners but the actual worms are not there like I have seen in the past. The leaves look "blasted" or peeled open. These plants are in an area that doesn't get a lot of attention, except for water as there are a couple of hydrangeas planted near by. What puzzles me are the missing leaves below the yellow, dead leaves. Is is possible that they were damaged by leaf miners last year, fell off and I didn't notice? The yellow leaves really got my attention this year so I took a closer look.

I have 2 Green Mountain Boxwoods that look terrible this spring. They are much worse than the typical winter damage that I see on other boxwood in the yard. They grow in shade and don't get any salt spray. They seem to be missing a lot of leaves and the leaves at the ends of the branches are peeled open. I have had leaf miners on other boxwoods in my yard but not on these. Any ideas? I will prune heavy and bag the clippings.

This plant is growing in a cultivated garden in Michigan. Would like an ID. Thanks.

Last year most of the viburnums in my garden were eaten by viburnum leaf beetles. This winter I did some research about their life cycle. My research says that eggs are laid generally in a row in the new tip growth. They look like small brown bumps on the under side of the twig. It was suggested that pruning off the twig with egg case may reduce their population. Does anyone know if this pruning will help? Now that the snow is gone, I was able to get into the beds and I can see that most of the new growth has egg cases. I'm looking for ideas to reduce the viburnum leaf beetle damage this summer.

I believe what you are seeing is damage from the viburnum leaf beetle. My native viburnums are particularly susceptible to the beetle. The very small caterpillars are eating now. I have been spraying insecticidle soap with success. But the spraying needs to be repeated regularly as they keep hatching. It is a very devastating pest in Michigan now. Below is a link with photos of all stages of the insect. Last year I started using Bayer Tree and Shrub on a couple of my viburnums to see if it would make a difference. The 2 that I treated (American High Bush Cranberry) do not have damage. I have several others that were not treated and the leaves skeletonized now. http://www.hort.cornell.edu/vlb/manage.html

I always grow my cannas in very large landscape pots. That way I can place them in the garden when I have an empty space to fill. Mine usually don't flower as they are in some shade but the large red leaves add a lot of height and color to my garden. I even loaned them to a neighbor that was having a graduation open house and needed to "hide" some ugly pipes. I haven't planted mine them as yet. Maybe next week.

I had a very small tiger eye a few years ago and the rabbits or deer pruned it to death. A friend gave me her tiger eye because she didn't like the suckering. It is doing well and I now protect the small suckers with my prunings from the burning bushes.

When doing some pruning I found 3 preying mantis egg cases. I have them in a large bug barn on the back porch. Should I take the egg cases into the garden and leave them? I would really like to see them hatch and share with the grandkids. Any ideas? About when will they hatch?

Does any one know when to plant the aerial tubers or bulbils that are formed on Dioscorea batatus? I collected a handful of bulbils from the "cinnamon vine" and need to know if I should store them in the refrig and plant in the spring or plant them in container now and leave them in the garage for winter. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I have taken a photo of the coyote scat that is frequently found in our daughter's back yard. They regularly hear them howling at night. Do the droppings you have observed look like this?

I was looking at my Viburnum on the weekend and noticed some lacy leaves. Upon closer inspection I noticed little caterpillars. I think I have viburnum leaf beetle larvae. I have heard others having them but this is the first time in my yard. I have about 5 of the high bush cranberrys and they are feeding on all of them. I have other viburnums but no larvae. I sprayed some insecticidle soap on some, others I squished. Does anyone have ideas for control? A friend suggested a dormant oil application in early spring.

I have been watching a couple of sets of seedlings this spring. What are they? Weeds or seedy perennials?

I believe that the weed you have photographed is called Epipactus helleborine. It grows to about 15- 18" tall. There are several greenish/purpleish orchid like flowers on the stem. When you dig it up the roots are coarse and whiteish. I have them all over my yard. They don't seem to be controlled with glyphosate. They must be dug.

Last year I bought a green floating row cover at ACO hardware. It was 9' x 12' and cost $ 4.99. I don't know if they still sell them but need to buy a couple of more to protect my large hostas.

Again this year I am finding a lot of leaf tiers on my H. Annabelles. I have been carefully pulling apart the little leaf pouch and squishing the pale yellow caterpillar. Is any one else seeing these pests on their Annabells?