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?

I'm glad to know that my efforts in fertilizing the hostas isn't wasted. All of the beds are on the level so when it warms up my plants should be happy.

Earlier this week I cleaned up the perennial beds, applied Hollytone and "fluffed" the mulch to work it in a bit. My rain gauge has over 3" of water in it today. Do you think that the fertilizer has been washed past the root zones?

Could be Dothistroma needle blight. It is a big problem in Michigan now. Usually infects trees 8 years and older. Spores overwinter on pine cones. Pathogens are host specific so it may be too late to save your other trees. Diversification is very important in any landscape.

Have you tried cantalope or green beans in the trap? Be generous with the bait. Do it in early spring when he is hungry and then relocate him.

I found another photo of a Tollgate rose. There is excessive thorns on the new growth. I believe that is also a sign of the rose rosette disease.

I have seen the rose disease at MSU Tollgate Farm in Novi. Several roses have been removed. I believe that they have started a miticide spray program. It's hard to know how many roses have been infected before the disease was recognized. I have some photos but can't seem to post them. I took them with my phone. Ah - here they are:

We volunteer at Tollgate, where plants on site are divided, potted and ready for the plant sale in the spring. Today we went to clean up the dead foliage on the plants in the shade house. As I was gently pulling on the hosta foliage I found that on at least 20 pots the whole crown came out with the leaves. There are NO roots, just buds for next year and the crown. Help! Is there any chance that these hostas will grow roots over winter or should I compost them. Thanks.

I grow pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) to attract the cedar waxwings. My plant is quite large this year and full of berries. Now I am waiting to see the birds.

The ants did have a citronella odor. It was quite bizarre as the ground appeared to be moving when you stared at it. You were right about the ants being gone quickly. They didn't seem to be eating anything just lots of them. Thanks.

My neighbor called me frantically concerned about lots of ants in her back yard. I took some photos and looked on line for information. I think they may be citronella ants. Is anyone else seeing masses of ants?