Peter's Garden Blog

Arborvitae leafminer before and after

  There are four species of arborvitae leafminers in the Northeast, although Argyresthia thuiella is the most common. Mined arborvitae (Thuja spp.) leaves first exhibit a translucent or straw color which later turns to brown. Mines start in the scale-like leaves near the end of a branchlet, extending rapidly into other branchlets. Injury begins... [Read more of this review]

Black Turpentine Beetles kill Pines

Black Turpentine Beetles are destroying Japanese Black Pines And are now boring in to other pine species as well. I have seen recently Tanyosho Pine, Eastern White Pine, and Scot’s Pine with pitch tubes of frass from successful beetle attacks. Once this beetle invades the pine, the tree is usually doomed. I have had some success digging the beetle... [Read more of this review]

Hemlock Wooly Adelgid

Hemlock wooly adelgid is a persistent pest of hemlocks. It is an imported pest from asia and thrives here because it has no natural predators to keep populations in check. The white cottony sacs are actually females surrounded by 100 – 300 eggs. Eggs hatch into a “crawler” stage. Crawlers move out and settle on other unoccupied parts... [Read more of this review]

Weed Wacker Damage to Trees

Weed wackers and lawnmowers that hit tree trunks week after week cause irreversible damage. As good as a weed wacker operator may be, it is nearly impossible to string trim grass without nicking the tree. Thin barked trees like cherry and beech show the damage externally. Heavily battered trees may be stripped of bark and even become girdled. Thick... [Read more of this review]

Stop the landscape bed abuse!

Stop the madness! When landscapers “scratch” the beds to give them a fresh appearance they are doing more harm than good. Besides tearing up important fibrous roots, bed scratching disturbs soil microbes. Plants subjected to this poor cultural practice must waste energy to regenerate roots. They usually look terrible. I have never seen a... [Read more of this review]

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