UMass Extension Landscape Nursery and Urban Forestry

05/29/2026

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE for May 29, 2026 has been posted.

https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/landscape-message-may-29-2026

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE is a regular update to inform and help guide land care professionals in the management of our collective landscape.

Each edition includes valuable information from sites throughout Massachusetts, including growing degree day accumulation, soil temperature, precipitation amounts, and plant phenology.
Detailed reports on cultural practices and the status of insects, diseases, and w**ds of interest to landscapers, arborists and turf managers are also regular features.

There will be 20 messages throughout 2026. New messages are available weekly during the heart of the growing season, bi-weekly in early spring and mid to late summer, and monthly during the fall.

The next Landscape Message will be posted on June 5.

Photo: Foamflower by Anna Petrie

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05/27/2026

The Spring 2026 edition of POLLINATOR BUZZ has been posted.

https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/pollinators/newsletters/pollinator-buzz/pollinator-buzz-2026-vol-32

IN THIS ISSUE
• Featured Bee (and their parasites...): Dunning’s Miner Bee (Andrena dunningi)

Pollinator Buzz is a quarterly newsletter, discussing what bees are doing right now, student research, recent pollinator-related discoveries, and beyond! Archives are available on the UMass Extension website.

A female Dunning’s miner bee makes her way back to her nest, covered in pollen. Photo by Nicole Bell.

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05/26/2026

Registration for the Summer 2026 cohort of the Pollinator Steward Certification program CLOSES soon!

🐝This course includes foundations in pollinator ecology and habitat provisioning.

🦋With 34 lectures covering a wide array of pollinator-focused topics, students will come away with a well-rounded understanding of how pollinators interact with the environment, and how to best provision habitats for them.

💻Fully online and asynchronous, students will have through August to complete the program.

📆Registration closes May 31

🖇 Now approved for many professional association credits: (1) MCH, (3) MCA, (3) MCLP, (11.5) ISA, and (4) NOFA OLC

✅️Learn more and to register!
https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/resources/pollinators/pollinator-steward-certification-program

Content questions? Email [email protected]

05/22/2026

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE for May 22, 2026 has been posted.

https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/landscape-message-may-22-2026

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE is regular update to inform and help guide land care professionals in the management of our collective landscape.

Each edition includes valuable information from sites throughout Massachusetts, including growing degree day accumulation, soil temperature, precipitation amounts, and plant phenology.

Detailed reports on cultural practices and the status of insects, diseases, and w**ds of interest to landscapers, arborists and turf managers are also regular features.

There will be 20 messages throughout 2026. New messages are available weekly during the heart of the growing season, bi-weekly in early spring and mid to late summer, and monthly during the fall. The next Landscape Message will be posted on May 29.

Photo of red vein enkianthus by Geoffrey Njue

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https://t.ly/TNxtf

05/21/2026

Have questions for the Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory
? Check out some common FAQ's and get an answer!

Learn more:
https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/services/soil-plant-nutrient-testing-laboratory

05/20/2026

Excerpt from our May edition of Hort Notes:

Constructed soils should be made to mimic natural mineral soil and amended with moderate amounts of compost. The best practice is to use natural topsoil that was removed for construction, but this isn’t always possible. By dry weight, most mineral soil in Massachusetts is at least 90% minerals with only - at most - 10% organic matter. Because organic matter is much lighter than mineral particles, this weight ratio translates to about 25% organic matter by volume. Thus, if natural topsoil is unavailable or too expensive, new topsoil can be constructed by mixing 2” of compost into the top 6” of subsoil.

Read more in the article Growing in High Organic Matter Soil written by UMass Extension’s Artie Siller, Soil Health Educator, and Sam Glaze-Corcoran, Plant Nutrient Testing Lab Manager.

https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/newsletters/hort-notes/hort-notes-2026-vol-373

Photo by Artie Siller

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05/19/2026

The time for spotted lanternfly egg hatch has begun! The nymphs (immature insects) do not all emerge at once. Egg hatch may continue over the next several weeks. If you find intact egg masses, you can still scrape or crush them.

Check out this new instructional video from the MA Department of Agricultural Resources: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kcPI61AF8AE .

Finding SLF in a new community in MA? Report it here: https://massnrc.org/pests/slfreport.aspx

Not sure if your community has spotted lanternfly? Check here: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/a25afa4466a54313b21dd45abc34b62d/page/Page-2/?views=Spotted-Lanternfly

For more information about spotted lanternfly, visit: https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/publications-resources/insect-mite-guide/lycorma-delicatula

There is still time to scrape spotted lanternfly egg masses in the spring! Even though young lanternfly nymphs begin to emerge in Massachusetts in mid-May, i...

05/18/2026

Excerpt from our May 15 Landscape Message:

Now is a good time to scout for the wood-rotting fungus Kretzschmaria deusta. The primary hosts are European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Another wood-rotting fungus that produces fruiting bodies in the spring is Cerioporus squamosus (Dryad’s saddle). If possible, avoid any insecticide and fungicide applications to plants about to flower or those in full flower. For some diseases, such as fire blight (Erwinia amylovora), flowering coincides with peak infection, making the avoidance challenging. But a growing body of literature reveals that fungicides can be very damaging to pollinators by disrupting key physiological processes. A summary of the specific impacts can be found on the Xerces Society website.

Links both fungus fact sheets and Xerces Society summary are in the Pioneer Valley report by Nick Brazee, Plant Pathologist, UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab

Landscape Message: May 15, 2026 : Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE) at UMass Amherst

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE is a regular update to inform and help guide land care professionals in the management of our collective landscape.

Each edition includes valuable information from sites throughout Massachusetts, including growing degree day accumulation, soil temperature, precipitation amounts, and plant phenology.
Detailed reports on cultural practices and the status of insects, diseases, and w**ds of interest to landscapers, arborists and turf managers are also regular features.

Photo of fruiting bodies of Kretzschmaria deusta on a sugar maple (Acer saccharum) being evaluated using sonic tomography by Nick Brazee

05/16/2026

Are you 👀seeing lots of these in your community? Say hello to our native eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum. 🐛

Populations of the eastern tent caterpillar fluctuate over time. Natural enemies typically keep their populations noticeable only to curious observers, plant healthcare professionals, and appreciative entomologists. However, historically, it was not uncommon for these insects to outbreak and become very noticeable every 8-10 years or so.

Patchy areas of some Massachusetts communities may be experiencing noticeable populations of the eastern tent caterpillar at this time. If this includes yours, please take some photos and report what you are seeing here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/tree-shrub-insect-mite-pests-of-massachusetts

The tents and masses of caterpillars may feel like a nuisance when found in ornamental or managed favored hosts such as crabapples and apples. But these insects are typically associated with cherry in our forests. They are also an important part of our healthy Massachusetts ecosystems.

Take-home Points:
⭐If you see these tents and caterpillars, you can leave them alone.
⭐If they cannot be tolerated on an ornamental tree or shrub, prune out or otherwise remove the tent when the caterpillars are resting within it.
⭐Do not set fire to tents in living trees or shrubs. We shouldn't have to say it, but we do. Only you can prevent unnecessary damage to your tree or shrub (and forest fires).
⭐For more information about eastern tent caterpillars, visit: https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/fact-sheets/eastern-tent-caterpillar

Photos: Eastern tent caterpillar tents made of white webbing surround the branches of a tree. Dark masses of caterpillars rest on top of the webs or within. The branches are surrounded by green leaves and a blue sky background. (Tawny Simisky, UMass Extension)

05/15/2026

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE for May 15, 2026 has been posted.

https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/landscape-message-may-15-2026

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE is a regular update to inform and help guide land care professionals in the management of our collective landscape.

Each edition includes valuable information from sites throughout Massachusetts, including growing degree day accumulation, soil temperature, precipitation amounts, and plant phenology.
Detailed reports on cultural practices and the status of insects, diseases, and w**ds of interest to landscapers, arborists and turf managers are also regular features.

There will be 20 messages throughout 2026. New messages are available weekly during the heart of the growing season, bi-weekly in early spring and mid to late summer, and monthly during the fall.

The next Landscape Message will be posted on May 22.

Photo: Cherokee brave dogwod (Cornus florida) by Geoffrey Njue