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To read the full profile on Judy and Larry Rowe, pick up a copy of the June, 2013 issue of Michigan Gardener in stores or find it in our digital edition.
Photos by Sandie Parrott
Photos by Steven Nikkila
For the full article on raised garden beds by Janet Macunovich, pickup a copy of the June, 2013 issue of Michigan Gardener in stores or find it in our digital edition.
MSU Extension:
Boxwood leafminer, Monarthropalpusi flavus (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is the most serious insect pest of boxwoods. This small fly is native to Europe and widely distributed throughout the United States. The leafminer causes serious damage and heavily damaged plants will become quite unattractive. The larvae feed between the upper and lower leaves, which causes blistering and discoloration.
Both littleleaf boxwood, B. microphylla and common boxwood, B. sempervivens, are commonly attacked, but there is resistance found in individual varieties of both species. Common cultivars with reported resistance are ‘Handworthiensis’, ‘Pyramidalis’, ‘Suffruticosa’ and ‘Varder Valley’. Buxus microphylla var. japonica has also exhibited resistance to the leafminer.
Invasive pests like emerald ash borer harm Michigan’s natural resources. As part of National Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Awareness Week, May 19-25, 2013, the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) is urging travelers to leave their firewood at home and burn it where they buy it.
According to Gina Alessandri, MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director, “The easiest way for an invasive insect to move around is on firewood. The accidental introduction or spread of potentially devastating forest pests such as the Asian longhorned beetle, thousand cankers disease of black walnut, oak wilt, and gypsy moth can occur through firewood movement. Firewood should be purchased as close to where it is going to be used as possible. If you are camping and purchase firewood, don’t take unused firewood home with you or to your next camp site. Take a stand against potentially devastating pests and burn it where you buy it.”
National EAB Awareness Week helps emphasize the need for continued cooperation and support from citizens, tourists, communities, government, and industry partners related to preventing the spread of EAB, but also offers the opportunity to highlight the potential damage other exotic, invasive pests can have such as Asian longhorned beetle, hemlock woolly adelgid and many others.
Traps will be established in Michigan again in 2013 as part of the National EAB survey. Traps will be located in Iron and Gogebic counties in the Upper Peninsula to look for EAB. The purple traps contain a special bait to lure EAB and are extremely sticky on the outside so it will not be able to fly away once it lands.
Michigan residents and visitors are urged to learn about EAB and adhere to the State’s quarantine banning the transport of not only hardwood firewood but also ash trees, ash logs and lumber with bark, and hardwood wood chips greater than one inch in diameter from quarantined areas. Quarantine violators face fines/penalties ranging from $1,000 up to $250,000 and face up to five years in jail if found guilty of transporting hardwood firewood and other regulated articles out of the quarantine zones or from the Lower Peninsula into the Upper Peninsula.
For more information on the Michigan EAB quarantine, please visit www.michigan.gov/eab or www.emeraldashborer.info.
MSU Extension:
After last year’s (2012) drought and very warm temperatures, Michigan State University Extension expected to see more pollen cone production in conifers. This is a major concern for Christmas tree growers. However, we are also seeing heavy pollen cone production in conifers in the landscape this spring. The problem has been most acute in spruces, especially Norway and Colorado blue spruce, but we are also finding it in Douglas fir, several true fir species and pine.
Governor Snyder recently named May as the Plant Michigan Green month in an effort to highlight the impact of Michigan’s nursery and landscape industry. Michigan boasts the fifth largest nursery industry in the nation at over $5.5 billion in annual revenue and employment of over 36,000.
For more information on how to care for the environment, find a landscape professional, garden resources or to just enjoy the scenery, visit their website at www.plantmichigangreen.com.
NPR:
And it’s true: Nettles are high in iron, potassium, manganese, calcium and vitamins A and C (and are also a decent source of protein). The word “nettle” describes more than 40 different flowering plant species from the Urtica genus, which comes from the Latin word “uro,” meaning, “I burn.” The plant is native to Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, and is found throughout the continental United States. Nettles are readily available in spring and summer.
Continued from page 50 of the May 2013 issue.
Photos by Sandie Parrott
Michigan Department of Natural Resources:
Autumn olive is native to Asia and was introduced into the US in the 1830s. It was commonly planted for wildlife food and cover until its invasive traits became apparent. It produces abundant fruits that are widely distributed by birds and mammals. Like many non-native shrubs, it leafs out early and retains its leaves late in fall, shading out desirable native species and reducing species diversity. It is able to germinate and survive in shade as well as sun.
Autumn olive has root nodules that fix atmospheric nitrogen. As a result, it has the potential to degrade native plant communities that are adapted to low nutrient levels such as barrens and prairies. The resulting increase in nitrogen can promote the growth and spread of weedy species at the expense of low-nutrient adapted natives. In addition, it can increase stream water nitrate concentrations when it comprises a large portion of the stream bank vegetation.
Autumn olive does not appear to suffer significantly from herbivory by deer. In one study, it grew as tall outside of exclosures as it did within, while natives growing in the same places were much smaller when browsed by deer.
To learn more about Autumn Olive, download the DNR Best Control Practice Guide…
Continued from page 54 of the May 2013 issue.
Photos by Steven Nikkila
