UMass Extension Landscape Nursery and Urban Forestry

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UMass Extension Landscape Nursery and Urban Forestry

Make a gift to the UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program: http://bit.ly/1Q3HPl4 The UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery, and Urban Forestry team provides programs and research-based information on the best horticultural practices and technology for environmental stewardship in nursery and landscape management.
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Our team is a group of educators and specialists in weed science, entomology, plant pathology, IPM, diagnostics, and sustainable practices. For home garden and landscape questions email: [email protected]

Operating as usual

12/23/2020

⭐️UMass Extension's Invasive Insect Webinar Series will return in 2021!⭐️ Join us on January 19th from 10:00 AM - 12:10 PM for the first of four FREE days of education!

10:00 - 11:00 AM: Invasive Earthworms in Massachusetts - Biology, Impacts, and Research Updates with Dr. Olga Kostromytska, Extension Assistant Professor and Turf Entomologist, UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture

11:10 AM – 12:10 PM: 2021 Forest Health Updates for Massachusetts with Nicole Keleher, Forest Health Program Director, MA Department of Conservation and Recreation

For more information, and to register, visit: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/education-events/invasive-insect-webinars

Registration is required to view the webinars. Pesticide contact hours available to participants who attend the LIVE webinars. Association credits have also been requested.

This FREE series is supported by the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture through grant AM180100###XG025. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the presenters and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

Image: Spotted lanternfly adult. (Lawrence Barringer, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org)

#InvasiveInsects #Horticulture #Landscaping #Arboriculture #UrbanForestry #Gardening #Insects #Entomology

12/19/2020

Winter is a great time for disease scouting and pruning. Pictured here is a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’) on the UMass campus infected by the fungal pathogen Nectria cinnabarina (coral spot canker). Pads of fungal tissue have ruptured through the bark, providing us with a sign of the disease. The pads appear more dull in color during winter, but are still readily visible.

12/08/2020

🎉Join TickTalk with TickReport! TOMORROW, December 9, from Noon - 1:00 PM for a FREE webinar: More Ticks in More Places; A conversation with Dr. Tom Mather aka “The Tick Guy” Speaker: Dr. Tom Mather, TickEncounter

The final TickTalk of 2020 will feature a conversation between host Dr. Stephen Rich and his guest Dr. Tom Mather. Dr. Mather will talk about “More Ticks in More Places”, and discuss his highly regarded TickEncounter web site and associated resource center. Dr. Mather is a world-renowned tick expert who has also spent more than a decade bringing his expertise into the public conversation. Dr. Mather discusses the challenges of educating the public about ticks and tick-borne disease in an internet-savvy world where competing messages of questionable veracity can be found in abundance. Join Dr. Mather for an online tour of the TickEncounter web site (including TickSpotters), and hear stories of what happens when people are “just wrong enough” in their understanding of ticks and risk of tick-borne disease.

Register now at: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/upcoming-events

This free webinar series is brought to you by UMass Extension and the Laboratory of Medical Zoology.

(Image: Deer tick. Scott Bauer, USDA ARS, Bugwood.org)

#Ticks #DeerTick #LymeDisease #TickDiseases #Horticulture #Gardening #Arboriculture #UrbanForestry #Forestry #PublicHealth

12/05/2020

⭐️Join TickTalk with TickReport! December 9, from Noon - 1:00 PM for a FREE webinar:⭐️ More Ticks in More Places; A conversation with Dr. Tom Mather aka “The Tick Guy” Speaker: Dr. Tom Mather, TickEncounter

The final TickTalk of 2020 will feature a conversation between host Dr. Stephen Rich and his guest Dr. Tom Mather. Dr. Mather will talk about “More Ticks in More Places”, and discuss his highly regarded TickEncounter web site and associated resource center. Dr. Mather is a world-renowned tick expert who has also spent more than a decade bringing his expertise into the public conversation. Dr. Mather discusses the challenges of educating the public about ticks and tick-borne disease in an internet-savvy world where competing messages of questionable veracity can be found in abundance. Join Dr. Mather for an online tour of the TickEncounter web site (including TickSpotters), and hear stories of what happens when people are “just wrong enough” in their understanding of ticks and risk of tick-borne disease.

Register now at: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/upcoming-events

This free webinar series is brought to you by UMass Extension and the Laboratory of Medical Zoology.

(Image: Deer tick. Scott Bauer, USDA ARS, Bugwood.org)

#Ticks #DeerTick #LymeDisease #TickDiseases #Horticulture #Gardening #Arboriculture #UrbanForestry #Forestry #PublicHealth

12/03/2020

A tree need not be large in size to be large in stature. This unassuming pin oak measures only 69’ tall with a dbh of 32”. But as the 1919 class tree, it has stood on the @umass campus for over 100 years.

12/03/2020

"An Intro to Mapping & Spatial Data Applications for Arborists"
Join Dr. Forrest Bowlick, Univ of Massachusetts, on the Thurs Dec 03 '#UrbanForestry Today' noonhour (Eastern) broadcast as he introduces the science & practice of digital map-making and spatial techniques for arborists & urban foresters. http://www.joinwebinar.com & enter: 193-492-139
For more details, visit: www.urbanforestrytoday.org

12/01/2020

🎉Don't have a new calendar for the new year yet? Check out the UMass 2021 Garden Calendar!

⭐️Looking for more information about vegetable gardening in your own backyard?⭐️

The 2021 UMass Garden Calendar inside cover feature article offers some tips on getting started and achieving success, with an emphasis on the basics, raised beds, and container vegetable gardening. Nothing is fresher or more satisfying than growing and harvesting an abundance of high quality vegetables and herbs. To become a successful gardener is not complicated; for the most part, the needed skills can be easily mastered...

Each month of UMass Extension's Garden Calendar features:

🔹One large, inspiring garden image plus information about the image.
🔹Daily gardening tips for Northeast growing conditions.
🔹Daily sunrise and sunset times and phases of the moon.
🔹Plenty of room for notes.

💲 COST: $14.00, bulk pricing is available on orders of 10 copies or more.

For more information and to order your copy, go to: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/publications-resources/umass-extensions-garden-calendar

⭐️Proceeds from sales of the Garden Calendar benefit the work of UMass Extension's educational programs.⭐️

#Landscaping #Entomology #Insects #Gardening #Horticulture #UrbanForestry #Arboriculture

11/25/2020

🍁ONE WEEK AWAY: Join UMass Extension for a Virtual Fall Wrap-Up Program focusing on Landscape and Turf Topics!🍁

For more information, and to register, visit: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/upcoming-events

⭐️Wed., December 2nd (8:30 AM - Noon) - Landscape Topics; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 29, 36 or Applicators License. Speakers include: Dr. Nick Brazee, UMass Extension Plant Pathologist, Tawny Simisky, UMass Extension Entomology Specialist, and Randy Prostak, UMass Extension Weed Specialist.

⭐️Friday, December 4th (8:30 AM - Noon) - Turf Topics; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 37 or Applicators License. Speakers include: Dr. Angela Madeiras, UMass Extension Plant Pathologist, Randy Prostak, UMass Extension Weed Specialist, and Dr. Olga Kostromytska, Extension Assistant Professor and Turf Entomologist, UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

⭐️Interested in attending both days? 6 pesticide contact hours for Applicators License; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 29, 36, or 37. Association credits pending.

💲75 for each half-day program
💲95 if registering for BOTH Landscape Topics on 12/2 and Turf Topics on 12/4.

Image: Spotted lanternfly adult. (Emelie Swackhamer)

#Insects #Entomology #Landscaping #Gardening #Horticulture #UrbanForestry #Arboriculture #Turf #TurfManagement

11/19/2020

"An Intro to Mapping & Spatial Data Applications for Arborists"
Join Dr. Forrest Bowlick, Univ of Massachusetts, on the Thurs Dec 03 '#Urban Forestry Today' noonhour (Eastern) broadcast as he introduces the science & practice of digital map-making and spatial techniques for arborists & urban foresters. http://www.joinwebinar.com & enter: 193-492-139
For more details, visit: www.urbanforestrytoday.org

11/17/2020

🎉Join TickTalk with TickReport! TOMORROW, November 18, from Noon - 1:00 PM for a FREE webinar: Babesiosis with Dr. Sam R. Telford III, Professor, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

Dr. Telford III joins Dr. Rich on the TickTalk webinar to discuss the second most commonly reported tick-borne disease in North America (after Lyme disease). Babesiosis is a malaria-like illness transmitted by the same ticks as Lyme. Dr. Telford is recognized as a global authority on this disease.

Register now at: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/upcoming-events

This free webinar series is brought to you by UMass Extension and the Laboratory of Medical Zoology.

(Image: Deer tick. Scott Bauer, USDA ARS, Bugwood.org)

#Ticks #DeerTick #LymeDisease #TickDiseases #Horticulture #Gardening #Arboriculture #UrbanForestry #Forestry #PublicHealth

11/07/2020

☀️Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend! ☀️

The Landscape Message for November 6th is now available: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/landscape-message-november-6-2020

Image: Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) fall color.

#Gardening #Landscaping #UrbanForestry #Entomology #Insects #Plants #Horticulture

11/05/2020

Join Karl Niklas, Ph.D., Cornell University, for today's (Nov 05) '#UrbanForestry Today' Noonhour (Eastern) webcast as he discusses "Tree Biomechanics: Responses to Wind & Gravity". http://www.joinwebinar.com & enter: 318-953-083
For more details visit: www.urbanforestrytoday.org

10/31/2020

Some fantastic scenes in the garden this morning. Temperatures took a nosedive into the lows 20s on this final day of October, on the heels of accumulating snow yesterday.
1. Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' & Callicarpa japonica
2. Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Gracilis'
3. Acer palmatum 'Tiger Rose' & Taxus cuspidata 'Amersfoort'
4. C. obtusa 'Sunny Swirl' & C. pisifera 'Lemon Thread'

10/30/2020

Join Karl Niklas, Ph.D., Cornell University, for the Thurs Nov 05 '#UrbanForestry Today' Noonhour (Eastern) webcast as he discusses "Tree Biomechanics: Responses to Wind & Gravity". http://www.joinwebinar.com & enter: 318-953-083
For more details visit: www.urbanforestrytoday.org

10/28/2020

It’s been three weeks now since the derecho on 10/7 blasted the Commonwealth with hurricane-force winds. Many trees, some with serious structural defects due to decay, were felled. A few campus and park trees brought down by the storm are shown here. Cleanup continues still.

A derecho is a widespread, straight-line band of severe thunderstorms that travel at least 240 miles at a speed near 60 mph. However, wind gusts can be much higher. A gust of 88 mph was recorded at Mount Tom in Hampshire County while Barnes Airport, in Hampden County, recorded a gust of 74 mph. Estimates have the total storm length around 320 miles with most of the damage in NY and MA.

10/28/2020

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING: 🍁Join UMass Extension for a Virtual Fall Wrap-Up Program focusing on Landscape and Turf Topics!🍁

For more information, and to register, visit: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/upcoming-events

⭐️Wed., December 2nd (8:30 AM - Noon) - Landscape Topics; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 29, 36 or Applicators License. Speakers include: Dr. Nick Brazee, UMass Extension Plant Pathologist, Tawny Simisky, UMass Extension Entomology Specialist, and Randy Prostak, UMass Extension Weed Specialist.

⭐️Friday, December 4th (8:30 AM - Noon) - Turf Topics; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 37 or Applicators License. Speakers include: Dr. Angela Madeiras, UMass Extension Plant Pathologist, Randy Prostak, UMass Extension Weed Specialist, and Dr. Olga Kostromytska, Extension Assistant Professor and Turf Entomologist, UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

⭐️Interested in attending both days? 6 pesticide contact hours for Applicators License; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 29, 36, or 37. Association credits pending.

💲75 for each half-day program
💲95 if registering for BOTH Landscape Topics on 12/2 and Turf Topics on 12/4.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE: For eligible employers (must be located in Massachusetts), the Fall Wrap-up registration fee may be partially reimbursed (up to 50%) through the Massachusetts Workforce Training Fund Express Grant Program. Employers should submit an online application to the Express Grant program at least 4 weeks in advance of the event date. To find out if your company qualifies and to apply for benefits, go to http://workforcetrainingfund.org/apply/express-program/ . The information needed to submit an Express Application for reimbursement is:
⭐️Course Name: UMass Extension Fall Wrap-Up
⭐️Course ID#: 1127338
⭐️$95 for both sessions; $75 for one session

#Insects #Entomology #Landscaping #Gardening #Horticulture #UrbanForestry #Arboriculture #Turf #TurfManagement

Images: Oak anthracnose distorted and collapsed foliage from a landscape white oak (Quercus alba) infected by Apiognomonia errabunda (Brazee), pinned spotted lanternfly adults with wings open (Simisky), and Japanese knotweed stems (Prostak).

10/24/2020

🎉Free shipping on orders of the UMass 2021 Garden Calendar ends November 1st!

⭐️Looking for more information about vegetable gardening in your own backyard?⭐️

The 2021 UMass Garden Calendar inside cover feature article offers some tips on getting started and achieving success, with an emphasis on the basics, raised beds, and container vegetable gardening. Nothing is fresher or more satisfying than growing and harvesting an abundance of high quality vegetables and herbs. To become a successful gardener is not complicated; for the most part, the needed skills can be easily mastered...

Each month of UMass Extension's Garden Calendar features:

🔹One large, inspiring garden image plus information about the image.
🔹Daily gardening tips for Northeast growing conditions.
🔹Daily sunrise and sunset times and phases of the moon.
🔹Plenty of room for notes.

💲 COST: $14.00, bulk pricing is available on orders of 10 copies or more. ⭐️Shipping is FREE on orders of 9 or fewer calendars - FREE SHIPPING ENDS NOV 1!⭐️

For more information and to order your copy, go to: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/publications-resources/umass-extensions-garden-calendar

⭐️Proceeds from sales of the Garden Calendar benefit the work of UMass Extension's educational programs.⭐️

#Landscaping #Entomology #Insects #Gardening #Horticulture #UrbanForestry #Arboriculture

10/21/2020

10/20/2020

Conditions have been ideal in recent weeks for the development and spread of boxwood blight. The disease is caused by the fungal pathogen Calonectria pseudonaviculata. The plant pictured here, which recently arrived at the UMass Plant Diagnostic Lab, is a Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa'. This cultivar is especially susceptible to the disease. Symptoms include rapid leaf shedding and canopy dieback with black-colored stem and leaf lesions. This plant is also harboring Volutella blight (Pseudonectria) and an infestation of the boxwood mite (Eurytetranychus buxi).

10/19/2020

🍁Join UMass Extension for a Virtual Fall Wrap-Up Program focusing on Landscape and Turf Topics!🍁

For more information, and to register, visit: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/upcoming-events

⭐️Wed., December 2nd (8:30 AM - Noon) - Landscape Topics; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 29, 36 or Applicators License. Speakers include: Dr. Nick Brazee, UMass Extension Plant Pathologist, Tawny Simisky, UMass Extension Entomology Specialist, and Randy Prostak, UMass Extension Weed Specialist.

⭐️Friday, December 4th (8:30 AM - Noon) - Turf Topics; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 37 or Applicators License. Speakers include: Dr. Angela Madeiras, UMass Extension Plant Pathologist, Randy Prostak, UMass Extension Weed Specialist, and Dr. Olga Kostromytska, Extension Assistant Professor and Turf Entomologist, UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

⭐️Interested in attending both days? 6 pesticide contact hours for Applicators License; 3 pesticide contact hours for categories 29, 36, or 37. Association credits pending.

💲75 for each half-day program
💲95 if registering for BOTH Landscape Topics on 12/2 and Turf Topics on 12/4.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE: For eligible employers (must be located in Massachusetts), the Fall Wrap-up registration fee may be partially reimbursed (up to 50%) through the Massachusetts Workforce Training Fund Express Grant Program. Employers should submit an online application to the Express Grant program at least 4 weeks in advance of the event date. To find out if your company qualifies and to apply for benefits, go to http://workforcetrainingfund.org/apply/express-program/ . The information needed to submit an Express Application for reimbursement is:
⭐️Course Name: UMass Extension Fall Wrap-Up
⭐️Course ID#: 1127338
⭐️$95 for both sessions; $75 for one session

#Insects #Entomology #Landscaping #Gardening #Horticulture #UrbanForestry #Arboriculture #Turf #TurfManagement

Images: Oak anthracnose distorted and collapsed foliage from a landscape white oak (Quercus alba) infected by Apiognomonia errabunda (Brazee), pinned spotted lanternfly adults with wings open (Simisky), and Japanese knotweed stems (Prostak).

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Videos

InsectXaminer Episode 4 - Imported Willow Leaf Beetle (Plagiodera versicolora)

CHECK OUT EPISODE 4 OF INSECTXAMINER! The imported willow leaf beetle was first reported in the United States in 1911 in Staten Island, NY. This invasive insect is native to Europe and prefers willow (Salix spp.) but has also been recorded on poplar (Populus spp.). Common willow hosts include Salix nigra, S. lucida, S. alba, and S. interior. Adults feed on willow leaves by creating irregular notches or holes. Larvae skeletonize leaves. In warmer parts of this insect's introduced range, up to 4 generations per year have been reported. In New England, 2 generations per year are likely. Adults, eggs, and larvae are showcased here on an infested willow in Hampshire County, MA. Pupation has been reported in the literature as occuring on host plant leaves, but that was not observed at this location. When abundant, feeding from the imported willow leaf beetle can cause leaves to brown. Most trees can tolerate total defoliation from this insect, as long as it does not happen every year. Predators and parasites of various life stages of the imported willow leaf beetle are discussed.

Bountiful Bagworms!

Are there caterpillars wearing wizard hats on your plants? On 7/31/19 Tawny Simisky, Entomology Specialist with UMass Extension, was given one of the best gifts you could give an entomologist: a bucket full of caterpillars! In this case, bagworms. If you turn your sound up for this video, you can hear them... Did you know that the bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, feeds on more than just arborvitae and juniper? Some sources note over 130 host plants for this insect which is typically found from southern New England to Florida and east of the Rocky Mountains. In this particular case, young London planetrees (planted two seasons ago) had been defoliated in Northampton, MA. Bagworm caterpillars (larvae) create these "bags" around themselves by tying together chewed leaves and other plant debris with silk. The bag grows in size as they feed and grow in size. These larvae have likely been active since mid-June. At this point in the season, it is late to manage this insect unless the host plant(s) are small enough that (like in this example) the bagworms can be removed by hand and dispatched in whatever way you decide is appropriate. Do not pull them off the plant and throw them on the ground - they will crawl back up and continue to feed. More information on bagworms will be found in next week's Landscape Message: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/landscape-message