With Thanksgiving bearing down upon us, it will soon be time for the Christmas Tree lots. For many families, the Christmas Tree is the main symbol of the holidays. Several have gone to the artificial trees for convenience, allergies, or other reasons, but many still prefer to get a cut or live tree for their symbol. Here are some helpful hints to make your purchase a cut tree and then keep your tree safely through the holiday season.

Freshness is the key to having an enduring symbol of the holidays. Freshness is directly related to the moisture content in the needles. Once the tree is cut, its life functions quit. However, it will continue to function much like a wick as it absorbs moisture through the stem if placed in water. If adequate water is not available for the tree, the moisture content of the needles (moisture is lost by transpiration in your house) drops by about 35 – 50%. Trees that drop below 85% moisture will not regain their freshness.

When identifying a fresh tree, one obvious way is to cut your own (or observe it being cut). Many families make a ritual out of selecting their own tree, and you know that it is fresh that way. If you buy from a "lot" you need to buy from a reliable dealer that can give information on how long the trees have been cut. You then need to determine freshness for yourself.

Fresh trees have needles that are needles that are relatively supple and firmly attached to the twigs. All trees will have brown needles that will fall, but the green ones are the ones that count! If the green needles tend to snap when bent between your fingers the tree is probably quite dry. If temperatures are low (around zero), then all needles will snap since they are brittle. Fresh trees will have a fragrance to them. They also will have a waxy, natural green appearance, but some trees are sprayed with a needle colorant to make them greener.

When caring for your freshly cut tree, start with trying to avoid hauling the tree over a long distance where it will be exposed to the wind. Air moving across the needles is what actually dries them out. If you purchase your tree from a sales lot, buying the tree early will help insure better freshness and selection. You can then take the tree home and give it the proper attention.

Once you get the tree home, you should make a fresh cut on the trunk of the tree, place it immediately in water, and store it in a cool place (like your garage). Avoid putting the tree on the ground since it could freeze in place and be difficult to move. The cut you make at home is important. You should make a straight cut to make it easier on you and the tree will take up just as much water as if you made an angled cut.

Water is then the rule! Make sure your stand will hold enough water for your tree. A fresh tree may use up to two quarts of water the first 24 hours, and up to a quart a day for the first week. You also have to have the water level above the cut surface of the trunk to keep your tree fresh. Live trees also have critical water needs, especially since you want to plant them after the holidays.

When you locate your tree, make sure it is not by a fireplace, furnace outlet, or other heat source as they will dry it out. Closing a heat register in the area of your tree will help keep warm drafts from drying out one side of the tree.

A properly cared for cut tree, that was fresh to start with, can safely be displayed in the home for at least two weeks. The tree is actually your best indicator. If needles start dropping, and water use stops, there could be problems developing.

Hopefully these tips will help you enjoy your holiday season. This will be the last column of the season, and hopefully you've enjoyed them. For off-season horticulture information, you can check out the "In the Backyard" blog on our website at www.extension.uiuc.edu/logan

Fall is definitely upon us, and we know the season coming next! While the weather is somewhat cooperative, it is time to take care of some of those final outside chores. At least you'll feel prepared when the weather turns cold, and the main gardening activity is watching your favorite gardening show on public television.

Leaves have been one of the main clean-up items this past week. They will continue to be an item, so here are a few options for you. Mulch them where they aren't too thick. You can mulch with a mower, blower vacuum, or a chipper. This will reduce the volume greatly. Then the mulched leaves can be used as a mulch, but they may best be used on beds away from the house. The decaying organic matter tends to increase the millipedes, pill bugs, and other nuisance pests around the house. Composting is also a great option. Composting leaves isn't tricky, it just takes a little bit of formulation. The rule of thumb is to add about one-fourth of a cup of commercial fertilizer per compressed bushel of leaves, or to use one part leaves and 2 parts of green material such as grass clippings or green material removed from the garden. Mulching before composting is a double-edged sword. The finer material will decompose quicker, but it will also compact more and reduces the oxygen need to make compost. For more information on composting, check the website at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/homecompost/

Tender bulbs, roots, or corms should be dug, if you already haven't done so. These would include dahlia, cannas, caladium, tuberous begonia, and gladiolus. Many of these will actually have rotting problems from frost. Be careful when digging so the bulbs are not cut, as any wound usually means a rot will begin. Any bulbs that look diseased should be thrown away. Most can be dried at room temperature, but gladiolus should be dried at a higher temperature (70-80 degrees) and dusted with malathion to protect against thrips. Store all the bulbs in a cool, dry place.

Plants which are completely dormant, such as peonies can be cut back. Leave a couple inches above ground on many such as mums since they store food above ground as well as below. The couple inches will also help catch snow and leaves to help create a "self mulched area" to help them survive the winter. Clean up around fruit trees, the garden area, and flower beds. Materials may be composted as long as they are not severely diseased.

December through February are the best months to apply the plugs to pin oaks and other trees which show iron chlorosis. You are best to not do any pruning at this time. Wait at least until December for the non-evergreens, with December being the best month for oaks (due to oak wilt) and maples and other trees with a high sap flow. The December to February time period is the best for pruning most non-evergreens. Do those in late June.

Someone told me I didn't talk about knockout roses in my winter rose care column last week, and there is a reason for that. Generally knockout roses don't require special care in hardiness zone 5 or south. We are in zone 5b. If you do want to do something because of prior problems, you can much the crown area. Some go to the extreme and burlap them or put wire around them and fill with leaves, but that is entirely up to you. The basic care is a pruning, if needed, in the early spring to size or shape.

Enjoy fall while it is here. As the sign along Lake Superior says: " Enjoy the day, we are one day closer to winter."

What an unusual year! That seems to be the understatement of the year. We haven't even had a killing frost in many locations yet as of November. The hosta foliage is golden, potted annuals are still thriving, peonies are just turning brown, and roses are still blooming. Following are the basics of rose care for fall and spring, but make sure you are dealing with dormant plants. This may mean you are doing these chores in December.

Many of the roses that are classified as old garden roses are extremely tolerant of cold temperatures, while others like hybrid teas experience considerable damage. Also, budded roses stand a greater chance of injury or death due to severe cold than do own-root roses. When selecting roses, always select cultivars that are able to tolerate the coldest temperatures in your area based on USDA hardiness zone maps. One of the ways to protect roses for the winter is to be sure they go completely dormant. To accomplish this, stop fertilizing early enough so growth slows down. No fertilizer should be applied after August 15. To further encourage dormancy, stop dead-heading or cutting flowers after October 1 and allow the plant to form hips.

There are many methods to provide winter protection for roses. The whole idea of winter protection is to keep the plant uniformly cold and frozen all winter and prevent the damaging effects of alternate freezing and thawing. Whatever the method, don't begin covering plants too early. Wait until a hard killing frost has caused most of the leaves to fall, and the temperature has dropped into the teens for several nights. Prior to covering, remove any foliage or other debris that might harbor disease for the next season.

Before covering, some tall roses may need minor pruning to reduce their height, and tie canes together to prevent wind whipping. Pruning at this point should be kept to a minimum. Most pruning will be done in the spring to remove dead and diseased canes.

The most common way to provide winter protection is to pile or "hill-up" a loose, soil and compost mix around and over the plant about 10-12 inches deep. A variety of hilling materials can be used, but the key is to be sure that the material is well drained. Wet and cold is far more damaging than dry and cold. Soil that is used to "hill-up" plants should be brought in from outside the rose garden. After the soil mound has frozen, the mound can be covered with evergreen boughs, hardwood leaves, or straw to help insulate and keep the soil frozen.

A variation of the "hilling" method is one utilizing collars. An 18-inch-high circle of hardware cloth or chicken wire is placed around the plant. The collar is filled with soil, allowed to freeze, then mulched with straw. The benefit of the collar is that it holds the soil in place all winter and prevents it from being washed or eroded away.

Another popular method of winter protection for roses is the use of styrofoam rose cones. If these are used, they need to be used properly. First, don't cover the plants too early. Follow the general timing guidelines. Second, cones need to be well ventilated by cutting holes around the top and bottom of the cones. This helps prevent heat build-up on the inside during sunny winter days. It is also advisable to mound soil around the crown of the plant before putting the cone in place. For extremely tender varieties, some rose growers cut the top off the cone and stuff it full of straw for added protection. It is also a good idea to weight the cone down with a brick or stone to keep it from blowing away.

Climbing roses offer more challenges. For marginal varieties, climbers may need to be removed from their supports and bent to the ground, then covered with six inches of soil and mulched. When laying climbers on the ground for covering, one needs to be very careful not to injure or crack the stems. As the weather gets colder their long stems are more rigid, and they are easily broken.

Another method that can be used is to physically pack straw around the canes while they are still attached to the trellis or support. The straw is held in place with twine to keep it in place over the winter.

Just when leaves were starting to look colorful, we were hit with the double whammy of wind and rain. With the weakened attachment of the leaf stems as leaf color changes, there are leaves on the ground everywhere. This brings up one of those age old questions "What do I do with all those leaves?" The simple answer is to give you three options: leave them (no pun intended), remove them, or chop them up.

If you decide to let nature take its course, letting leaves lie brings benefits and some problems. Many of the benefits are associated with your labor, or lack of it. The major non-labor benefit is when leaves collect in flower beds and around shrubs to provide a mulch for those plants. Problems generally develop where deep piles of leaves may smother grass or harbor diseases, causing large dead areas to deal with next spring. Of course if you are the only resident in a neighborhood who doesn't rake leaves, you may be talked about at many get-togethers this fall.

Removing leaves is generally done by raking or bagging with a mower attachment. This makes your lawn look neat, prevents problems for lawns, and gives you a workout if you are manually raking. The main problems are the time, labor, and disposal of the leaves when they are piled.

Chopping leaves means reducing the size. Benefits include less smothering, quicker breakdown, and less labor. The main drawback comes with deep piles that still should be removed because of trouble in shredding and smothering.

One thing to consider is the type of leaves. There is a huge difference in oak leaves and silver maple leaves. It's difficult to have smothering problems with oak leaves, while silver maple leaves may smother with a very thin layer. These green leaves will tend to smother more than the dry, rigid types will. Add to this the very wet conditions of leaves and soils, and we will have to wait for things to dry out a little bit before being able to chop effectively.

What do you do with the leaves you've accumulated? There are several possibilities. Many municipalities, Lincoln included, prohibit burning for the most part. Besides the fire risk, the respiratory issues for affected people can be life threatening. Raking leaves into the street, unless requested by the city for cleanup, usually results in clogging storm sewers. Options remaining include composting, using as a mulch, tilling into garden and bed areas, and hauling to the city landscape recycling dump. There may even be some private collection services that will take bagged or bulk leaves to a recycling center. Partial composting, and the subsequent use as a mulch, is one of the best solutions. Simply construct an enclosure at least two feet cubed, place leaves in it, and cover the top with hardware cloth or wire laid on it and weighted down. The resulting much may be used next spring on flower beds, gardens, around trees and shrubs, or spread back on gardens or lawns. More information on recycling leaves can be found online at http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0692/

One thing to consider is removing the leaves from around the foundation of the house. The decaying leaves provide a hiding place or food sources for nuisance pests such as lady bugs and millipedes. The removal from directly around the house may reduce the number of these insects making their way into your home.

The last week has found the lowly millipede taking homes by storm. If millipedes were insects, they would deserve insect of the week honors. Since they are not insects, we'll just dub them "pest of the week."

What are millipedes? They belong to the arthropod class Diplododa, which means double footed. The reason is simple: they have two legs per body segment. There are many different types of millipedes, over 1000 actually. They prefer to live in moist places, such as under mulch, in flower beds, in good quality lawns, and under wood. They feed on decaying organic matter, and occasionally on tender leaves or roots.

Millipedes lay eggs in the soil in spring and summer months, and usually overwinter as the adults that we are seeing now. The big problem with millipedes is that they migrate. Right now they may be migrating through your living room. Nobody knows for sure why they migrate, but the best guesses involve searching for food sources and seeking moisture.

Unlike centipedes, millipedes don't bite or sting. They do give off a bad odor when disturbed or smashed. Be careful crushing them on carpeting, as they can cause a stain. If you're not sure whether you have millipedes or centipedes, here are some differences: centipedes have on leg per body segment while millipedes have two, centipedes normally have much longer legs than millipedes, and centipedes move rapidly while millipedes move slowly.

Now that we know a little about millipedes, How do we get rid of them? Well, there isn't a simple answer (or I'd be rich), but an integrated program gives the best results. A program that uses both chemical and non-chemical methods is usually most effective.

Non-chemical controls aim at removing the moist resting places. Dethatch your lawn to reduce that damp thatch layer just above the soil surface, closely mow and edge the lawn to allow it to dry quickly, remove debris that provides hiding places, pull mulch away from the house, water grass in the early morning, and keep leaves from piling up along the foundation. That's one of the reasons we tend to have so many millipedes this time of year. The crumbling leaf material is an ideal cover and food source for millipedes. Use of glue boards for mice will also catch an amazing number of millipedes.

If millipedes get inside the house, the vacuum cleaner is probably the best control. It is non-chemical and prevents stains from smashed millipedes. Other controls in the home include the sticky boards, aerosol sprays that are used for flying insects (check the active ingredient as some contain permethrin which will last several weeks), and baseboard spays used for ants.

Outside the house, start with a foundation spray of something such as propoxur, bifenthrin, permethrin, or Sevin. Spray the foundation and the adjacent foot or so of soil and plants or lawn. Make sure you treat doorways and other openings as well. Since millipedes aren't insects to begin with, don't expect a complete wipe-out with a chemical spray program.

With the warmer weather, Asian ladybugs (technically the multi-colored Asian ladybeetle) are becoming more active. How did we come to have so many? Well.... the populations really climbed in early September as the populations of soybean aphids increased in soybean fields. The problem was the soybeans matured, and the aphids died. So now we have all these insects with no food source in the fields. They are traveling looking for food and a place to rest to gather warmth. We are also destroying their resting places by cleaning off flower beds and raking up piles of leaves. In Asia, the ladybugs climb the side of a cliff to gather sun. Since we don't have many cliffs around here, they use the side of your house, the car, a tree trunk in the sun, well you get it - about anything vertical and in the sun. These insects were actually imported to help control insects in pecan orchards. Once they succeeded there, they moved to other orchards, such as peaches, where they did more harm than good. Many people say the trend of more harm than good continues today, but they are mainly a nuisance pest.

The best control in the home is a vacuum cleaner. If you have numbers too large for that type of control, area sprays of an aerosol flying insect killer will knock down the ones it hits. If you are terribly bothered, try a perimeter spray of the foundation, door areas, siding, and window areas on the home with a pesticide that will last for a while. Color test the material on siding first, and hope for the best. The pesticides are effective, but they are sometimes overwhelmed by the number of ladybugs that you are trying to control. Permethrin and bifenthrin are probably the most commonly used pesticides for perimeter sprays, but don't expect a quick knock-out.

To start with, remove all the dead, short, and weak canes. The large remaining canes are thinned to 4 to 8 inches apart. The canes are cut back to 5-6 feet tall or if no support is provided 3 to 4 feet tall. The canes that produced last year should be removed anytime after harvest, or removed in the late fall. Canes are productive only one year and the new growth will produce the next year's harvest. The exception is the Heritage, or ever-bearing, raspberry which produce two crops of berries. One is in the fall, and the second is late spring or early summer. These berries should have the canes removed after the late spring or early summer crop.

Peonies are one of those "plant it and forget it" flowers. Many haven't been bothered for over 50 years, and still going strong. As with most plants, crowding can occur, and the time to dig and divide is late September through October. Peonies do best in soils with a slightly acid to neutral pH. The best time to add lime, if needed, is when you dig the plants.

When dividing, make sure you leave buds on each piece you plan to plant. These buds should be no deeper than an inch when replanted to allow for proper flowering. Mulching will help year-long on any plant, and peonies are no exception.

With impending frost, it is important to take care of a few items. For protection, you could always try the covers over the plants you want to protect. You will need to use something with a little bit of insulation value such as cardboard, blankets, or row covers. The row covers themselves don't have much of an r-value, but the air space between the cover and plant does. Just laying a cheap tarp on your plants will usually result in at least some damage to the top parts of the plant. And if there are windy conditions, it may be about impossible to keep much of anything covered.

If you are ready to have the season conclude, harvest what you can. The main things to harvest prior to a frost or freeze include squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, etc. Virtually everything in the garden will be affected except for frost tolerant crops such as lettuce, spinach, radishes, and the like. The main problem with any of the vining crops is the possibility of the vines rotting back to the vegetable. This in turn means they won't keep well. Unfortunately, vining crops harvested early won't continue to ripen. Green pumpkins tend to stay green.

For tomatoes, you may pick green tomatoes and they will ripen after a period of time. The best way is to pick firm, good quality fruit, and wash well with soapy water. After they are dry, wrap in newspaper or tissue paper and place on a rack or in a cardboard box in a single layer. Check periodically for tomatoes going out of condition, or becoming ripe. To speed things along, you can try putting a tomato in a paper lunch bag with a banana peel. Bananas are high in ethylene, which is the same thing used in a gas form to ripen tomatoes in transport during the winter. Of course, the flavor just isn't the same as a vine-ripened tomato, but tomatoes in the fall or winter are good regardless.

As for flowers, the same principals of protection apply to annuals. Of course if you have hanging baskets or potted plants, you can simply put them in a garage or shed until the danger of frost has passed. The key point is one or two nights of frost, followed by a week or two of good weather, probably justifies some protective measures. A frost every night for two weeks, or a long period of freezing temperatures, probably mean major efforts will produce very little gain.

Unlike lions, tigers, and bears, the grubs, skunks, and moles are not make-believe, and they can really cause some damage to your lawn. Let's start with the grubs, since most of the problems are associated with them. We are faced with a few different types of grubs, with the Japanese beetle larvae and the June bug larvae being the most common. These also are the grub types most damaging to your lawn.

Starting with the adult beetles, the life cycle goes something like this. The beetles mate, and lay eggs in a lush, grassy area. The eggs then hatch into a small grub. This grub will overwinter as a grub, diving deeper in the ground as temperatures cool. The grub will some back to the surface in the spring as temperatures warm. After a few weeks to a month, the grub will go into the pupa stage. Then the adult emerges from the pupa in May or June to start the cycle all over again.

It normally takes in the range of 10-12 grubs per square foot to cause damage to decent turf, and with the good growing conditions we have had this year that number can almost double. This means we probably won't see much actual grub damage unless we have a sudden drought. The other thing is the grubs will begin to go deeper in the soil as temperatures cool. Most of the damage is coming from four-legged critters seeking the grubs as a food source.

Moles traditionally eat grubs and earthworms. They have a long, straight, shallow tunnel they use for their main "run," and then have several short, curving tunnels off of this where they have sought food. Skunks will actually dig individual holes to get grubs. They have a wonderful sense of smell, and they tend to work in a specific area. The holes caused by skunks are usually about the size of a penny, and they go as deep as the grub was (usually less than an inch and a half).

As for your control options, that gets more difficult this time of year. A month ago, the best approach would have been to apply a grub control treatment. We are approaching the time when the grubs will go deeper into the ground, so the benefits of a grub control treatment will be minimal. Grub controls are best applied in August or September to control the small grubs. If the problem is grubs, you are probably out of luck for this year. If the problem is the animals eating the grubs, you are going to be reduced to individual elimination.

Mole control is best accomplished by trap or poison baits. There are three main types of traps including the jaw type, the plunger type, and the loop type. The plunger type is probably least effective, since it is hardest to get set to the proper depth. The folk remedy controls usually involve bubble gum or juicy fruit gum in the runs, but these don't work consistently enough to recommend them. You're better off chewing the gum yourself while you are setting the traps. There are also poison baits available that are effective. The soft baits, which are meant to imitate grubs or worms, are effective. Poison peanuts or milo are not, since moles don't eat seeds.

Skunk control is another ballgame. There are state trapping regulations covering skunks, so you are best to check those out yourself. There is no season on shooting them, if that is an option where you live. The best control in this case is really your defense, and that means reducing the grub population where you don't want the digging occurring. Of course, there may just be a 10 foot move to another area where grubs are available.

We had a tremendous buildup in the populations of soybean aphids just before the soybeans started maturing. What does this have to do with horticulture? When the population builds to a large level, or the food source runs out, the aphids grow wings to look for another location. In our case, both of these events occurred at about the same time. This might explain some of the clouds of "gnats" people have been asking about. Well, they aren't gnats, but soybean aphids in many instances. There are some fungus gnats, some other insects such as the insidious flower bugs or minute pirate bugs, but most of the clouds are soybean aphids.

With the build-up in aphid populations, comes a build-up in predator populations. Just think back to high school biology and the rabbits and coyotes graph. Remember the coyotes lag the rabbits by a while. What this means is a build-up in populations of aphid predators for us. Natural aphid controls include lady bugs, syrphid flies, parasitic wasps, and diseases. The end result is a monumental build-up in populations of these natural controls, and it is already underway. It stands to reason if we had over 1000 of these aphids on each soybean plant, it will take quite a few predators to try and control all of them. And if you have a soybean field close, you will probably have more aphids and predators.

The populations of the predators will then put them in the nuisance pest category, since you won't be able to open a door without admitting some of them. If they become too much problem in the house, you can do a quick spray with an aerosol for flying insects. The vacuum cleaner also remains a great way to pick up a few unwanted visitors in the home. As for the aphids, about the only potential problem from them is on garden beans still going. Most pesticides, including, malathion, bifenthrin, permethrin, insecticidal soap, will control aphids.

This week really makes it seem like fall, and one of the favorite fall decorations is the pumpkin. It's been a challenging year with many of the diseases common in a wet season, and having a cool year also. Following are some of the cardinal rules for selecting and keeping pumpkins:

• Choose a pumpkin with a stem and never carry it by the stem. Pumpkins without a stem will not last long.
• Select a pumpkin with a flat bottom, so it will stand upright
• Avoid pumpkins with holes, cuts or soft spots. These areas will rot.
• Light colored pumpkins are easier to carve because the skin is not as hard as darker orange colored ones, but they will not keep as well.
• Wash the pumpkin with warm water and let it dry before carving. Use of a small amount of dishwashing soap in the warm water may help extend the life of the pumpkin.
• To make the pumpkin last longer, keep it in a cool place until ready to carve. After carving, coat the cuts with petroleum jelly.
• Carving should only be done three days ahead of Halloween. After cutting, the pumpkin will deteriorate rapidly.
• The use of a candle in the pumpkin will also make it deteriorate rapidly.

Spring bulbs may be planted through October. When purchasing bulbs, the bigger the bulb the more expense, but the greater the flower bloom size. Daffodil bulbs sometimes have two bulbs together. Double bulbs may be pulled apart before planting. Spring flowering bulbs generally need well drained soil, and do best under deciduous trees. They will be rather short-lived under evergreens. Large bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils, should be planted six to eight inches deep. Small bulbs are planted about four inches deep. The rule of thumb is to plant bulbs at a depth equal to two to three times the height of the bulb. Plant the bulb with the point up. It is a good idea to map the location, or place a colored golf tee above the bulb. Then mulch with three to four inches of mulch, and water thoroughly after planting.

Check out the Bulbs and More Website at http://urbanext.illinois.edu/bulbs/ for in-depth information.

When the entire tree looks like it is dying, the injury, disease, or insect logically must be affecting the trunk or the roots. These areas would cut off the water supply to the entire tree. Look at the entire tree and compare it to nearby trees. Also consider when the problem started and what changed on the site about that same time. Healthy trees don't suddenly die because they are old. Many below ground reasons may cause tree decline. Drought, flooding, compaction of the root zone, poor soils, planting too deeply, inadequate space for roots and many other things could be involved. Often, diagnosing such a problem is a process of elimination. One of the possibilities more difficult to eliminate is root rot. Most gardeners believe that they cannot possibly know the health of a mature tree's roots.

Cankers on the stems, stem tip dieback, off-color foliage, early fall color and early defoliation are also clues that a tree may be stressed by underground causes. To detect the wood rots and root rots, look for mushroom-like fungi growing at the base of the tree or shrub. In wood rot fungi, the conks (also called shelf fungi or fruiting bodies) may be found growing on the trunk or main branches. These are signs of the disease. The actual fungus is probably growing in or on the roots, or inside the wood. One of the most common examples is Ganoderma root rot, which produces a shelf type of fungal structure at the base of many trees, especially honeylocust. The structure is reddish-brown and appears to have been varnished. Its presence indicates invasion by a root rot. Other fungi may indicate wood rots. Wet weather often triggers the formation of these structures. They could easily be confused with fungi growing on dead organic debris near a tree. If, however, they are growing from the tree itself, they are excellent signs of wood rot or root rot.

No chemicals help a tree in decline. Use approved cultural practices, such as proper watering and fertilizing to improve vitality. Cut out dead branches in the dormant season, fertilize in late fall or early spring and keep traffic off the root system. For very old or large trees, fertilization and watering may have no benefit, but these practices sometimes help the tree survive for years.

With fall seeming to arrive early, there are several things that could occupy your time. Let's start with grass seedings. A week ago would have probably been better for seeding new grass, but what difference does a few days make? Maybe no difference, and maybe a big one. If you are still interested in trying to get some new grass seed put down, don't delay too long. You will need up to four weeks to get bluegrass germinated, and then an additional period of time to get it sufficiently mature before things freeze up this fall. Figure about four pounds of a blend of Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue (red or chewings), and perennial ryegrass per 1000 square feet of area for bare ground. If overseeding, cut the rate in half. Go easy with fertilizer if you aren't tilling it in ahead of time, since the salt content of the fertilizer may affect the small grass seeds. The same time frame for grass seedings would also apply to operations such as dethatching and core aeration.

With skyrocketing populations of soybean aphids, we will have a corresponding increase in the numbers of predators of aphids. This means lady bugs, syrphid flies, and other insects that eat aphids will drastically increase in number. The problem comes when the soybeans mature, the aphids die, and the predators look for other food sources. This means they come to your house, and then become nuisance pests. Of course they will clean out most of the aphids in your flowers and other plants around the house as well, but that may be of little consolation when your porch light has a million Asian lady beetles in it. Make sure seals and screens fit tightly, and you can do an area spray with a flying insect killer. The vacuum cleaner remains one of the best tools to use in the home.

Leaves have been falling for quite a while. They will fall more rapidly as the days progress. Try to keep them mowed or picked up to avoid deep piles. On some trees, particularly oaks, this premature leaf fall is, well, premature. It usually indicates disease problems, and in the case of pin oaks, may indicate an eventually terminal disease. Many pin oaks are being infected with bacterial leaf scorch, which causes leaves to look like they have been through a drought and drop early. This is caused by a bacteria plugging up the tissues in trunks and limbs. It is probably transmitted by leafhoppers or treehoppers, but little is known about the disease. There have been no successful treatments in the North-Central States, but they are still working on them. There have been some successful treatments in the south, but those same treatments have struck out here.

Remember to let perennial flowers retain their leaves as long as they are green. These leaves are making food for storage in the roots, bulbs, or crowns for next year. Premature mowing will reduce the food storage, and could lead to weak plants or even death. When the leaves turn brown, they can then be removed. It's too early yet, but remember to leave a couple of inches on things like mums. There is quite a bit of food stored in the above ground portions of these types of plants.

Now is a good time to begin harvesting black walnuts, according to Bob Frazee, natural resources educator for University of Illinois Extension. In general, the light colored black walnut kernels will have a milder flavor than the dark ones. If you prefer light colored kernels, Frazee recommends you hull the nuts as soon as they drop from the tree. Allowing the hulls to partially decompose before hulling causes a discoloration of the kernels.

When black walnuts are mature, their hulls will be thick and fleshy. According to Frazee, they can be mashed and removed by hand, but using mechanical devices such as a corn sheller will make the job a lot easier. After hulling, wash the nuts thoroughly, and spread out away from sunlight to dry for two to three weeks. Then store in a cool, dry place.

Because the hard shell can make it difficult to remove the black walnut kernel, Frazee suggests "tempering" the kernels before the shell is cracked. To "temper" the black walnuts, plan to soak the nuts in water for one to two hours, drain and then keep in a closed container for 10 to 12 hours. The kernels will absorb enough moisture to become tough, yet will remain loose in the shell.

For individuals wanting more information about growing your own nut trees, selecting appropriate nut tree varieties, learning about their insect or disease pests or harvesting nuts, a pamphlet entitled "Nut Growing in Illinois" is available online at this University of Illinois Extension website: www.aces.uiuc.edu/~vista/html_pubs/NUTGROW/nuthome.html.

With the fall festival season comes the onslaught of yellowjackets, and the calls have been rolling in to the office. Yellowjackets are beneficial insects in the sense that they pollinate plants and feed other insects and carrion (dead meat) to their larvae. Many times they will prey on insects that we identify as pests. Unfortunately, their ability to sting makes them a considerable health concern. Yellowjackets alone are responsible for about one-half of all human insect stings. The stings of social wasps, such as yellowjackets, have evolved as a defense mechanism. The only purpose for the sting is to inflict pain. Yellowjackets are easily provoked and, unlike honeybees, can sting more than once. They will attack in force if their nest is disturbed. Unless a person is allergic to yellowjacket venom, stings are rarely life threatening.

Yellowjackets are most frequently encountered when they scavenge for food. Their habit of feeding on nectar and sugar can create a nuisance. Yellowjackets are attracted to open cups and cans of soda and other sweet liquids. They are also attracted to open cans of garbage, bright flowery clothing, and floral scented perfumes. All outside garbage cans must be kept clean and well covered, to reduce yellowjacket problems. Contact with the wasps can be decreased by reducing these attractions at picnics and other outings. In situations closer to home, the elimination of overripe fruit from gardens and orchards will dramatically decrease the number of scavenging yellowjackets. Holding gatherings indoors and using screens on windows will also help avoid yellowjacket problems.

There are a variety of traps on the market that claim to attract yellowjackets. These traps are baited with the scent of rotting fruit or other odors equally as appetizing to the yellowjackets. It is questionable whether these traps can out-compete the natural and man-made attractants described above. However, it is certain that through proper sanitation and removal of natural and man-made attractants, yellowjacket contact can be reduced. However, in situations where the potential for repeated contact exists, other management methods may be necessary. These traps can also attract more yellowjackets if placed close to the home or patio, so place them to attract the insects away from where you'll be.

Management of each species of yellowjacket differs because of their nesting habits. Both species do not reuse their nests, therefore what was a problem this year may not occur next year. Caulking cracks and crevices in structures in winter and early spring, after the nests have died, will prevent German yellowjackets from constructing nests inside buildings. Openings to active nests should not be caulked. Chemical control for ground-nesting yellowjackets consists of drenching the exit hole with an approved insecticide, such as Sevin, and plugging the hole with treated soil or cotton balls. Yellowjackets that are not killed by the initial treatment will be killed by chewing on the treated cotton ball or tunneling through the soil. Yellowjacket entrance holes in buildings can be treated with approved insecticide dusts. As the yellowjackets walk through the dust they pick it up on their legs and transport it into the nest. When yellowjackets groom themselves they ingest the dust on their legs. It may take up to a week for the colony to die and repeated chemical applications may be necessary. When the entrance hole of an active nest is in a building, the hole should not be plugged with the insecticide or caulked. The yellowjackets may decide to chew through the soft inside wall rather than chew through the insecticide or caulking material.

Implement chemical control measures at dusk or dawn when the wasps are in their nest. Wear protective clothing when attempting to eliminate the nests, such as long sleeved jackets, gloves, and pants. Tape the wrists and ankles to the clothing, to prevent the wasps from getting underneath the clothes. A bee veil or other enclosed form of face and neck protection should also be worn. Yellowjackets will defend their nest, so to avoid being attacked, use a flashlight covered with red cellophane when applying the insecticide at night, since yellowjackets are unable to see red.

With the wonderful fall weather we've been having, even in August, the urge to get out and do something is overwhelming. There are plenty of things to be done, if the body and soul are willing.

Let's start with the lawn. As mentioned before, the ideal seeding time is until September 10. Bare soil rates are about four pounds of seed per 1000 square feet and overseeding existing grass is about half that. This is also an excellent time for fall lawn fertilizer. Apply enough to get about a pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet (about 8 pounds of 12-12-12). This fertilizer application will also help trees and shrubs. Fertilizing and seeding can be done close together, as long as the fertilizer rates don't get out of hand. Too much salt in fertilizer can cause seed germination problems. A couple of weeks from now is also a great time to treat perennial broadleaf weeds in lawns, but you can't mix this operation with seeding. You'll have to wait until spring for the weed control operation. This is also a great time to aerate or dethatch. Grub treatment time is also upon us, since we wait about a month later to help with Japanese beetles.

Watering perennials when the weather is dry should also be on the to-do list. Perennials that lose leaves each fall are putting their last bit of energy into the roots this time of year. After returning to dry conditions, watering is the best way to provide optimum conditions for the critical fall period. Evergreens are even more critical. It is a great idea to provide an inch of water each week for all evergreens, until the ground freezes up for the winter. Evergreens continue to lose water through needles or leaves throughout the winter. A layer of mulch will help stabilize the ground temperatures, but wait until soils get cold to apply mulch. Mulch is intended to prevent wide swings in temperature.

We can also plant spring flowering bulbs. We may be a little on the early side, but it takes time to plan, obtain, and plant bulbs. It's always better to have a bulb in the ground than to try and hold them for another growing season if the weather turns sour on us. Pay particular attention to some of the less common bulbs or colors. Summer flowering bulbs should generally be dug after the first killing frost, since they aren't hardy enough to survive the winter in the ground.

Keep that garden going. It seems like we have entered the prime time this year for many of our garden staples. Tomatoes, squash, and peppers have just hit their main stride in the last couple of weeks. Pay attention to insects and diseases to keep them productive until frost takes them out. You might even have some success with planting some leaf lettuce, mustard greens, or spinach. Spinach sometimes doesn't get big enough for harvest in the fall, but in a mild winter it is ready to roll in the extreme early spring from your fall planting. Pay particular attention to vining crops for beetle control. Beetles are rapidly leaving corn fields and settling on pumpkins and squash. Controlling the beetles will help prevent the wilt virus that can be spread by them. The vining crops have also been attacked by powdery mildew it seems. Fungicides such as Daconil, mancozeb, or the organic neem should help. They should also help the fungal diseases on tomatoes.

A couple of "don'ts" should also be mentioned. It is really a rotten time of year to prune anything. Pruning spurs new growth and it will almost assuredly be winterkilled. Also, don't try and control crabgrass. It is a rapidly dying annual, which means another couple of weeks will turn it brown anyway. Start your control program around April 1 next spring with a preventative treatment.

There have been many findings of the emerald ash borer in central Illinois over the two years, including Bloomington, Chenoa, LaSalle County, and Bureau County. What does this mean for us? It means the borers have been active and undetected in areas for a long period of time. That is part of the problem with the emerald ash borer: it can be in a tree for three to five years before any visual symptoms are available to help us diagnose the problem.

Add into the equation there are other diseases and boring insects that cause similar problems, and we end up with some confusion. Much of the information Illinois is using has come to us from Michigan State University, where they have been battling the problem for many years. Symptoms of infestation of emerald ash borer include canopy dieback, shoots coming from the base of the tree, splitting bark, serpentine feeding galleries under the bark, increased woodpecker activity, and "D" shaped exit holes. Remember, many other problems cause many of these same symptoms.

Emerald ash borer does not do well moving from one place to another on its own. Most of the help comes from humans moving firewood, lumber, or other items made from infested trees. This movement of products is why the insect "leapfrogs" from one place to another, often many miles away.

Many people have asked to have their ash trees looked at to see if they have it. That is all well and good, but remember it can be in your tree for up to five years before it shows any symptoms that can be seen. The other question is how do I save my ash tree? To that end, here are some of the things to look at when considering an attempt at insecticidal control.

Phil Nixon, Extension Entomologist, has several things to look at in his list. First, the only certain method to control emerald ash borer is to remove the tree. This sounds extreme, but any control attempt is only effective in the 80 to 90 percent range. Second, the cost of treatment over a span of years should be looked at. It might only cost $35 to treat for one year, but that will really add up over 20 years with increasing costs each year. And third, a tree in a regulated are is subject to removal by governmental agencies regardless of whether it has been treated or shows signs of infestation.

There are treatment options for professionals and homeowners. It is recommended to preventatively treat ash trees no more than 15 miles from known infestations. Control is usually more effective on smaller trees, and treatment is not as effective on trees already infested. The major treatment option for homeowners is to apply Merit (imidacloprid) insecticide as a soil treatment on an annual basis. This treatment will be more effective in the spring, and it takes a month or two to translocate in the tree. Also remember your tree can still be cut down if it is in the zone of a known infestation, whether it has been treated or not.

If you see emerald ash borer or its damage, you may call the Extension Office at 732-8289 or the Illinois Department of Agriculture at (800)641-3934. More information is available online at http://www.IllinoisEAB.com and http://www.emeraldashborer.info/

With the severe disease and insect pressure we have had, leaves are falling. As we approach September, some of this is to be expected, but some of it is due to damage from insects and diseases. Severely damaged leaves tend to drop early, especially when the leaf attachment is weakened. The causes are various, including: bacterial leaf scorch on pin oaks and red oaks, apple scab on apples and crabapples, anthracnose on many good quality shade trees, verticillium wilt on quality maples and ash trees, and of course Japanese beetle damage on many types of trees.

Bacterial leaf scorch will be an ongoing problem and is life threatening to trees, as is the verticillium wilt. These diseases plug the tissue that carries water to the plant parts, and have no control. Fertilization is about the only option (fertilize at the lawn rate to prevent problems to other plants). The other disease and insect problems happen on an annual basis, and trees should leaf out normally next year. You may, or may not, have the problems again next year depending on the weather.

"Houseplants that have been outside during the summer should be inspected carefully for insects and other pests before bringing them indoors," states David Robson, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, Springfield Center.

Houseplants spending the warmer months outside frequently attract a variety of pests. While the plant is outdoors, these pests rarely become a major problem because their numbers are kept low by predatory insects and other animals that eat them and by rainstorms that wash them off of the plant.

Once moved indoors, these pests no longer have their natural enemies and weather problems, so frequently become major problems.

Spider mites are the most common pests brought indoors. These tiny relatives of spiders suck the juices out of the leaves, causing them to turn bronzy and die. They spin fine webbing across leaves and between the leaf and stem; they appear as specks crawling through the webbing or on the leaf underside. Spider mites may be numerous outdoors, but other insects and mites keep them in check by feeding on the harmful mites.

Aphids are soft-bodied insects the size of pinheads that are frequently brought in with your plants. They are commonly green but may be any color. They and their close relatives, the mealybugs, are found on stems and leaves where they feed on plant sap. Mealybugs are about 1/8 of an inch long and are covered with white, waxy strands that make them look like tiny balls of cotton.

Spraying the plant with an insecticidal soap or some pesticides can eliminate spider mites, aphids and mealybugs.

When using these pesticides, take the plant outdoors to spray it if possible. Whether you use these pesticides or the insecticidal soap, treat the plant weekly for at least three weeks. Particularly severe mealybug infestations may require treatments over a two or three month period.

Keep plants separated to avoid spreading insect problems between plants. Segregate plants for at least two months.

Severe insect problems may not be noticeable until furnaces are turned on and the air starts drying.

The summer garden has taken its time to mature, but many are finally finding the fruits of their labor are at the peak of quality. The problem has been the unusually cool weather of July. Statewide, July was the coldest on record. One weekend we set record cold temperatures on two of the three nights. Tomatoes are a heat loving crop, and they just did not mature well with that cold weather.

The other problem has been with tomato diseases. As in past years, there are plenty of diseases to go around. The most common are septoria leaf spot and early blight. Both are fungal diseases that can overwinter in plant residue in the soil to reinfect the tomato plant the following season. They both require wet leaves (dew or rain) to infect.

Symptoms of septoria are very small, 1/8" across circular spots, with dark margins and grayish colored centers. You will also find much of the tissue between these spots has turned yellow. Early blight spots are larger, up to 1/2" across and are dark colored. You can find dark concentric rings (somewhat resembling a target) within this area.

It is too late to do much this year, but you can take steps to reduce them next year. First, rotate the area you plant tomatoes in the garden. Do not plant in the same area for at least two years, and also avoid areas where potatoes were planted as well, since they are in the same family and the same diseases can infect both.

Use some sort of ground cover (straw, newspapers, etc.) to prevent soil from splashing on the lower leaves. Since the disease can overwinter in the soil, eliminating the disease containing soil splash will help reduce the disease spread. These diseases spread from lower leaves to upper. When you notice discolored leaves, remove them.

Staking or caging plants will help with air circulation, which will allow leaves to dry quicker. Eliminate all residue from the garden. Compost it. Till the garden in the fall to help aid decomposition of any plant residues. If all else fails, there are some fungicides that can offer some help.

Other tomato diseases that are common would include bacterial spot and bacterial canker. Bacterial spots are very small, 1/16" in diameter and dark colored. In between these spots the leaves will turn yellow. This is one of the only tomato diseases you might find in the upper part of the plant first. Bacterial cankers are much larger dark spots, sometimes over an inch in size. They are almost always found on the margin of the leaf and are brown colored. For both bacterial diseases, follow many of the same recommendations listed above. Copper products can help in their control.

The time of year has arrived to put that final push on to prepare your lawn for the upcoming winter months. What you do now will have a big impact on how your lawn will look next spring.

Grub problems have traditionally been found first along walks, driveways, or patios. The current list of products includes imidacloprid and trichlorfon as the chemical active ingredients. Sevin may also be used, but it is specific for Japanese beetle grubs. Sevin also will have an effect on earthworms, which is good and bad. It is good if you have mole problems, and bad if you don't. If label directions are followed, these should provide adequate control of grubs. The insecticide must get to where the grubs are, so make sure to water the liquid formulations in as soon as they are applied.

Seeding of grass should be accomplished by September 10. This is a tried and true date, but the end of the world won't come about if you are a week later. The goal is to give the seed

enough time to germinate and become established before bad weather arrives. Seed at the rate of 4 pounds of seed per 1000 square feet on bare spots, or half that rate on overseedings.

If you have a compacted yard, or have a deep thatch layer, now is also an ideal time to dethatch or aerate. Thatch layers should not be over 1/2 inch deep for optimum growing conditions. When aerating, make sure you use a core type aerator.

Fall fertilization is also a good practice. If you haven't fertilized in the last month, consider applying a fertilizer treatment now. Use about 8 pounds of 13‑13‑13 fertilizer per

1000 square feet of lawn. Try to avoid the high nitrogen fertilizers this late in the year. It's hard enough to keep up with the mowing as it is, and nitrogen promotes top growth. The even analysis fertilizers will also promote root growth, which is what we want going into the late fall and winter.

Crabgrass and other annuals grass weeds can be seen about everywhere. They will die with the first frost, so treatment is not available or recommended in the fall. Make a note of where these grasses are, and an overseeding to thicken up the grasses you want there may help crowd out the annuals.

Last, but not least, is broadleaf weed control. Fall is a particularly good time to treat problem perrenial weeds since they are sending food down to the roots to overwinter. A sprayabout the 3rd or 4th week of September (making sure to use the appropriate product) can do a world of good on the perennial weeds. Remember to be very careful with herbicides around perennial plants since they are also getting ready to overwinter.

They're back, and almost a month earlier than last year. During the late summer small insects, known as insidious flower bugs and minute pirate bugs, become real pests by producing painful bites on people. They are about 1/5 of an inch long with black and white markings on the back. They are beneficial insects most of the time while feeding on small insects and their eggs.

They are present all summer in area fields, flower beds, and other landscape areas. Most of the summer the insects are beneficial, but then they become quite the nuisance when their regular food source runs out. Their painful bite is caused by their beak breaking your skin. These insects don't suck blood or inject venom like mosquitoes.

People differ in their response to the bites. Some people react to the bites like mosquito bites, with swelling and itching. Other people have no reaction at all. Control of insidous flower bugs and minute pirate bugs is not practical. They are mobile, and the populations change greatly. Wearing dark clothing on may help, as the insects seem to be attracted to light colors. Repellents are sometimes effective, but not enough to make a recommendation. Try the repellents for yourself and see if they work for you.

If you have been following a foundation spray program all year, keep it up. If you haven't been, it is probably time to start. The foundation spray program is your first line of defense against nuisance pests in the house. It cuts down on crickets, millipedes, spiders, ants, and many others that find their way inside.

To accomplish a foundation spray, you would select a material such as permethrin or bifenthrin to begin with. Then spray the foundation and the adjacent foot or two of soil or plant material with the spray mixture. Both these products are cleared on most types of plants. Foundation treatments should be applied every 7-15 days depending on the temperatures. The materials break down quicker in hot weather.

Foundation treatments won't prevent everything from getting in the house, and they certainly won't kill things already in the house. For insects already in the house, you have a few options. The first is mechanical control. This is fancy language for something like a flyswatter, shoe, vacuum cleaner, flypaper, or glue boards. The next is chemical control. This basically means aerosol cans inside the house. The most common ones are for flying insects or ants, although many of the flying insect killers now have permethrin in them and can last quite a while.

We are still experiencing a large number of beetles in the garden. This includes not only the Japanese beetles, but also the recently emerged Western corn rootworm beetles. These small black and yellow striped beetles are of concern around cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins since they can carry a wilt virus.

It is a good idea to treat your vining crops with Sevin, permethrin, or bifenthrin on a weekly basis. It is important concentrate on the new runners to help prevent damage from squash vine borers.

The numbers of Japanese beetles seem to be declining somewhat. Of course there are still plenty in many areas, but the population should continue to decline until the last of them are finished off by frost. As favored food sources are consumed, less likely plants may be attacked. This may mean a recheck of things around the landscape. I've recently seen them on marigolds, and seen some limited feeding on red maples. These plants are in the less preferred categories.

It has been a banner year for diseases in many plants. The lawns are starting to show some of the diseases as well. Conditions have been ideal for many of the fungi that cause up problems. Humidity makes an ideal environment for many diseases, but there are some that like drier conditions. Dollar spot, brown spot, and rust have been noted in area lawns.

There are treatments available for diseases in home lawns, but they can be rather expensive and time consuming. Treatments would be applied on a 7-14 day basis throughout the season. It isn't recommended for homeowners to treat diseases in the lawn. The recommendation is let nature take its course, and then do some reseeding if needed.

The disease needs a susceptible host, the right environment, and time to cause us problems. If you do some reseeding, use a newer variety with good disease resistance. This attacks the susceptible host part. Also, keep your turf growing well to prevent weakened grass plants from being more susceptible. The diseases will only be present during certain weather, and as the weather changes the diseases will go away.

The 2009 Logan County Fair is in the books. It seems like it gets harder to keep up with the pace as the years go by. The many volunteers who pitch in to make things go exceedingly well are to be commended for helping the youth have a positive experience. Running a show, carrying a table, or helping at the auction, your efforts are greatly appreciated.

People are beginning to complain about leaking sap coming from trees. Actually this has been going on for a week or so. What happens is a fine mist of sap coats things beneath a tree. This is actually called "honeydew," which is a secretion of sucking insects such as aphids. What makes matters worse is a fungus begins growing in the honeydew, making it turn black.

There are two ways to deal with the problem. The first way is to spray the entire tree with a product such as malathion or bifenthrin to kill the insects. The second way is to move anything portable from under the tree. If you opt for the first option, you need to make sure you can spray the entire tree. The kind of weather normal for this time of year will increase aphid numbers at a very great rate.

The end effect on the tree isn't all that great as long as adequate moisture is available. This means a shot of water when it stays dry for a week or more. We'll also be coming up on lawn fertilization time in about a month, so the added nutrients will help the trees as well.

With the numbers of aphids increasing in gardens, on trees, and in fields, that brings us to a couple of predators that we are familiar with. One is the Asian lady beetle, and the other is the syrphid fly. Both of these increase populations greatly when their food source, in this case aphids, increases.

We are all familiar with the Asian lady beetle. It is actually a beneficial insect since it eats aphids. It is also a nuisance pest when it gets all over the side of your house, or flies around your light over the kitchen table. The vacuum cleaner is the best control in the house, and think twice about treating them outside since they are helping you keep from having black, sticky lawn furniture.

Syrphid fly is a generic name given to an entire group of flies. There are some differences in appearance and color, but the yellow and black color is the major one in our area. The other names for syrphid flies are hover flies or flower flies. They tend to hover around your arms and face when you have been perspiring, and land to lap up the sweat. They are also commonly found on flowers, hence the flower fly name, and do a good job of pollinating.

Syrphid flies are actually beneficial insects. They help pollinate, larvae feed on dead organic matter, and the larvae are predators of aphids. They cannot sting, but their mouthparts can usually be felt when lapping up sweat from sensitive areas. You may feel a slight pinch.

We have discussed the timing of grub control treatments in past columns. As a reminder, the date would have been early August for annual white grubs. Treatment times for Japanese beetle grubs should probably be late August this year. Knowing when to treat grubs is one thing, and knowing what product to use is another.

Many grub control treatments are combined with fertilizer products, and this is the appropriate time to apply a fall fertilizer treatment. It seems each year provides more "stand alone" treatment options as well. Diazinon used to be the product of choice for many homeowners, but the cancellation of home horticulture uses of the product created confusion in selecting a product. The other wild card was the use of diazinon helped eliminate mole problems (by driving them to the neighbor's yard) since the product killed grubs and reduced earthworm populations. Many of the products currently used do not affect earthworm populations, and on the whole that is a good thing since earthworms greatly benefit lawns. There are now some "soft baits" available for mole control that are effective.

Current recommended products include halofenozide (Mach 2), Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Cruiser), imidacloprid (Merit), and trichlorfon (Dylox). Many of the chemicals have other brand names in addition to the ones listed in parenthesis. It is also recommended to drench treated areas with a half inch of water within 30 minutes of application, and this is especially important with liquid applications. Application just ahead of a rain is usually best. Granular applications buy a few days of time, but still need to be watered into the root zone where grubs are active. The products with Merit will take three weeks or so to activate. Some reputable sources also list carbaryl (Sevin) granules as an option for grubs from green June bugs and Japanese beetles. Carbaryl does reduce earthworm populations to some degree.

In good growing seasons, it normally takes at least 10 grubs per square foot of lawn area to justify treatment. In less favorable seasons, this number can be reduced to six to eight grubs per square foot. As your gasoline bill for the lawn mower can attest, this has been a good growing season to date.

Consider many factors when selecting a product. These would include combination with fertilizer, effectiveness, species controlled, cost, and the effect on the environment. The Cruiser product is actually a nematode, and would be the most environmentally safe. It also costs about $55 to treat about 3000 square foot of lawn. The other organic product sometimes mentioned for control of the Japanese beetle grubs is milky spore. This product is a bacteria which takes several years to become very effective and can cost around $35 for 2500 square foot of lawn. You can't apply any other controls with milky spore since you need high populations of grubs to increase the bacteria populations to high levels and provide transmission between grubs.

Good luck as you decide your attack plans against grubs. The choices are many, and the attainment of the "perfect" lawn is a goal many strive for. Remember, you can live with some grubs. However, too many can be devastating to a lawn. With Japanese beetle populations at very high levels in many areas, odds are great there will be grubs to battle.

Well not a week has passed, and an insect similar in appearance to the Japanese beetle has made its annual appearance. No, you don't have monster Japanese beetles. That insect is the Green June Bug. These beetles are much larger than either June bugs or Japanese beetles. Most people are concerned that they have bumble bees because of the buzzing sound the beetles make when flying.

Green June Bugs are also called fig eaters. This is because they can eat soft fleshed fruits such as grapes, plums, peaches, and apricots. In their larval stage they are a grub, but don't do a lot of turf damage like the normal June bug. They tend to be in high organic matter places such as flower beds, gardens, compost piles, and under shrubs, so the grubs aren't turf pests.

As for control, there is probably none necessary unless you need to protect those soft fleshed fruits. Then you should follow the recommended spray program so you don't cause problems with the fruit later on. The Green June Bug doesn't sting or bite, so you can put them in the nuisance pest category. The main damage they can do is fly into you, and that can hurt. On the bright side, you are probably already protecting things of value from the Japanese beetles, so you may be covered.

The cicada killer wasps will return shortly. They are actually considered beneficial insects because they control cicadas and katydids. This wasp gets its common name due to the fact that it hunts and supplies its nest chambers with a cicada, which becomes a food source for the young wasp. Cicada killers are a nuisance pest, especially when nesting in large numbers in a play area or near the house. People get concerned because the cicada killers resemble giant yellowjackets.

Cicada killers are about 2 inches long and black to red, with yellow banded markings on the abdomen. The head and transparent wings are reddish brown. They are not dangerous, but they are intimidating. Cicada killers are solitary wasps, with the female digging a 6- to 10-inch burrow (1/2 inch in diameter) in the ground. A pile of soil typically surrounds the entrance. The female locates and stings a large insect such as a cicada or katydid and then brings it back to the burrow. She places the insect into a chamber and lays an egg on it; sometimes she puts two in a burrow but lays an egg on only one. She then covers the burrow, digs another, and repeats the process. The egg hatches into a grublike, legless larva that consumes the paralyzed insect. Full-grown larvae overwinter in the burrow, pupate in the spring, and emerge as an adult during the summer, usually in July and August.

Cicada killers are unlikely to sting a person. Wasp and bee stingers are modified egg-laying devices (ovipositors), so males are not able to sting. Females may sting if crushed, either by being stepped on with bare feet or grabbed with bare hands.

Cicada killers are more common in areas with bare soil, so mulching, planting ground covers, or putting down sod can reduce problems. Applying permethrin or Sevin (some suggest the Sevin dust gives better control) to the burrowed area should kill females in high traffic areas. Once females are gone, males leave. In home yards, sandboxes can be covered with a tarp when not in use, as this deters the wasps (and also keep cats out). Sand below swings, jungle gyms, or other playground equipment is a popular site for the cicada killer. Raking the sand may discourage the wasps, or you could use mulch instead of the sand. In extreme nuisance situations, treatment of burrowing areas with a pyrethroid insecticide or carbaryl may reduce problems.

This year has again seen rainfall exceed the norm. Saturated soils can wreak havoc on trees and other plants. The main reason injury occurs is related to oxygen availability in the soil. In flooded or waterlogged soils, oxygen diffuses slowly and reduces in concentration to a few percent or zero. As oxygen is excluded from roots, there is decreased aerobic root respiration, root growth, transpiration, and translocation. This results in less growth, yellow leaves, leaf drop, less fruit, and possible plant death.

Although survival is directly related to species' tolerance of waterlogged soils, other factors are important—including the soil type; the time, duration, and depth of the water; the state of the floodwater; and the age and size of woody plants.

Tolerant species, such as baldcypress, littleleaf linden, redtwig dogwood, mulberry, silver maple, and willow, can live on sites in which the soil is saturated for indefinite periods during the growing season.

Moderately tolerant species, such as green ash, hawthorns, honey locust, pin oak, red maple, river birch, sweetgum, and sycamore, can stand saturated soil for a few weeks to several months during the growing season, but these species die if waterlogging persists or reoccurs for several consecutive years.

Weakly tolerant species, such as American holly, balsam fir, black walnut, burr oak, catalpa, hackberry, Douglas fir, eastern cottonwood, and red oak, can stand relatively short periods of soil saturation—a few days to a few weeks—during the growing season, but they die if waterlogging persists for longer periods.

Intolerant species, such as American beech, black locust, crabapples, eastern hemlock, flowering dogwood, paper birch, pines, redbud, spruces, sugar maple, tuliptree, white oak, and yews, die if they are subjected to short periods of 1 or 2 weeks of soil saturation during the growing season. White pines and burning bushes are among the most sensitive, with saturation for as little as two days can cause root death, followed by plant death.

Unfortunately, little can be done to prevent damage to plants growing in waterlogged soils. If a woody plant shows injury symptoms, such as leaf drop, do not immediately replace it. Some plants will show initial injury symptoms and then recover. Many woody and herbaceous plants, including turf areas, will not recover. Be patient. Whether your plants are simply waterlogged or actually growing in flood areas, it will take a while to see the full extent of plant damage.

As grass growth slows, rust will be one of the lawn fungi we are dealing with. Rust appears as an orange or yellowish-orange powder (spores) on grass leaf blades, especially in late summer to early fall when the weather is dry. Rust typically develops on lawns growing very slowly. Overall, the turf may assume a yellow, red, or brown appearance. Close examination will reveal the pustules, which easily rub off on your hand. Rust spores can easily be tracked into homes.

Low fertility (in particular nitrogen) and low water availability slow down turf growth, allowing rust to develop. Seasons with excess rain may have rust outbreaks due to loss of available nitrogen. Cool nights with heavy dew and light, frequent rainfall add to the ideal conditions for rust to develop. Warm, cloudy, humid weather followed by hot, sunny weather also favors rust development on lawns. Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and tall fescue are all affected, depending on cultivars. Rust spreads through air, water, shoes, equipment, and sod. Rust may weaken turfgrasses and make them more susceptible to other problems.

Control rust through sound turf management. Begin by choosing a quality blend of turfgrass seed. Resistance to rust can vary according to the race of the disease present. Maintain lawns through sound watering, mowing, and fertilizing. If you are watering, water early in the day so the grass dries quickly. Manage problem thatch. Increase vigor with an early fall nitrogen application, but don't overdo it. Check soil phosphorus and potassium levels through soil testing. Also assure good airflow over the site and light penetration by pruning trees and shrubs in the area near the lawn.

When rust occurs at this time, improved growth conditions of early fall often get lawns growing more vigorously and the rust fades away. Early September is a key time for fertilization. If conditions are dry, irrigation is also needed to increase the growth rate of the lawn.

Fungicides are rarely suggested on home lawns for rust control. Focus on the listed cultural practices described above.

Earwigs have definitely been the insect of the week. They hide in damp places out of the sun during the day, and become more active at night. They do feed on a variety of many things, but are mainly scavengers. Inside the home, they definitely fit into the nuisance pest category.

Here is a link to the U of I fact sheet on earwigs http://ipm.illinois.edu/hyg/insects/earwig/index.html

Preserving insect enemies that reside in your garden will help control some insect pests, but sending additional enemies into the area may not be so useful. Many gardeners buy packages of "beneficial insects"—insects that feed on pests. Then they release the beneficial insects into the garden to control aphids and other crop-destroying insects. Most of the time people get much less out of these releases than they expected.

Three of the most common beneficial insects sold for this purpose are lady beetles, praying mantises and green lacewings. Two of these insects often do not do much good.

A common problem with mail-order lady beetles is that they fly away soon after being released. Because most of them will not stay in a backyard garden, only community-wide releases are likely to provide much benefit. Praying mantises are fascinating to watch, but they are not useful or efficient predators. Putting green lacewing eggs in the garden is really the most promising strategy, and even that has questionable value.

Already established populations of beneficial insects are likely to provide better results than introducing purchased insects. The following are some simple principles to help preserve any beneficial insects already living in your garden.

§ Learn how to recognize beneficial insects.

§ Minimize insecticide applications. Most insecticides kill beneficial insects along with the pests. For example, microbial insecticides that contain different strains of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis are toxic only to caterpillars, certain beetles or certain mosquito and black fly larvae.

§ Maintain ground covers, standing crops and crop residues. To survive the winter, many beneficial insects require the protection offered by vegetation. However, preserving ground covers and crop residues can also help certain pests. Evaluate this strategy according to its overall benefits and drawbacks.

§ Provide pollen and nectar sources or other supplemental foods. Plants with very small flowers make good sources of nectar for adults of certain beneficial wasps. Seed mixes of flowering plants intended to attract and nourish beneficial insects are sold at garden centers and through mail-order catalogs.

Cucurbits are basically everything in the squash and melon families. There are several potential insect problems with them, and today's column attempts to help minimize or prevent these problems. The first group of insects is the cucumber beetles. These can be green, black and yellow striped, or black and yellow spotted. The importance of the beetles is not that they eat small holes in the leaves, but that the beetles can transmit a bacterial wilt to the plants as they eat. The first thing you see is you have a plant that suddenly wilts on various runners, or the entire plant. The best means of controlling this disease is a good beetle control program. Current homeowner recommendations would include these products with the days to harvest restrictions in parenthesis: carbaryl (0), bifenthrin (3 days), or rotenone (1 day).

Of course, Japanese beetles love cucurbits as well. Their damage is direct leaf feeding. Remember they feed in groups, so once they get started you will have a battle on your hands. The carbaryl and bifenthrin are both good control measures.

Squash bugs are the next problem to discuss. Squash bugs are usually dark gray to black in color and like a long stink bug. Their eggs usually hatch mid-June to mid-July. Best control timing is when the eggs first hatch. Non-restricted products are sabadilla (1 day), which is an organic product that might be a little hard to find, and bifenthrin (3 days to harvest). One last note, if the squash bugs get past their early growth stages then physically removing them is about the only control method available.

The last insect problem on cucurbits is squash vine borers. These borers usually drill into the new runner areas and kill off individual runners at a time. The adult of these larvae are red and black clear-winged moths. Scout your plants and look for the adults, as well as entrance holes and the chewed-up plant material. Treat as soon as early damage occurs and use one of the following products for homeowners: carbaryl, bifenthrin, or rotenone. Days to harvest restrictions have already been covered (and these would also apply to pumpkin blossoms).

If you haven't checked for bagworms yet, now would be a good time. Small bags have been noticed in the county for the last few weeks. Re-treatment may be necessary in some cases. Carbaryl (Sevin) will work on the smaller sized bagworms, while the B.t. products, such as thuricide, may be required for the larger ones.

Remember bagworms frequently start in the tops of trees. Bagworms are the larvae of clearwing moths that don't fly too well. If you control the bagworms well, you may not have high populations for a few years.

This is the time of year to wrap up pruning chores on evergreens. This includes both needle-type and broadleaf evergreens. If you're wondering what a broadleaf evergreen is, that includes holly, rhododendron, and azalea. The logic behind pruning your yews at this time is to allow sufficient time for regrowth to become hardened off before winter, and to keep new growth from becoming too rank before the winter months.

Pruning evergreens is part art and part science, but mostly art. A few simple rules to follow make the job results much more pleasing. Upright growing evergreens, such as pines and spruces, should not have the main leader cut off. This will destroy the natural shape, and will make the resulting growth more susceptible to breaking off. If individual branches are being cut off, they should be cut back to a bud. This will allow the bud to become the new main branch. You can also control growth direction of branches in this way. If you are growing trees for cut Christmas trees, all bets are off, as you are only dealing with trees through the first seven years of their life or so.

Make sure you use the proper equipment. Individual pruning cuts are best done with bypass loppers or pruning shears. These make clean cuts without much damage to the remaining wood. The old anvil type shears and loppers cut to a point, then crush the remaining wood. For yews, junipers, and arborvitae that are trained to a certain size of shape, you will want to use hedge shears (electric or manual) that are sharp and properly tightened. Most of these types of shears can cut up to about a quarter of an inch in size.

When pruning evergreens, remember the dead zone. This is the area toward the center of the plant that doesn't receive much light. It also has few needles or active buds. Cutting into the dead zone will cause many years (or forever) of little green growth. Also remember to prune so that the base of plants is wider that the top. This allows sunlight to hit the bottom area as well, and keeps the bottom from dying up.

Many major tree diseases cause vascular system blockage. Verticillium wilt, oak wilt, and most of the canker diseases fall into the group. Usually a fungus "plugs the pipes" so there is reduced movement of water up and food down. This leads to dead areas above the blockage. Of course, if the blockage is on the main trunk you end up with a dead tree. It is often possible to see streaking of the wood, or a dark ring around the center portion of the branch or trunk with verticillium wilt, but a lab analysis is needed for definite confirmation. There are no cures for any of these diseases at this time. It is recommended to remove and destroy trees severely infected with verticillium, to help prevent transfer from root grafting. The list of trees affected by verticillium is very large, but good quality maples are very susceptible. There have been many affected trees this year, including maples and ashes. The only treatment is to water and fertilize to try and get new growth, and new water and food carrying tissues.

We have really had twenty-plus years of stressful weather. Just like us, trees like moderate weather. When we have extreme heat and cold, and no moisture or a flood, the trees are stressed. This stress makes them more susceptible to things that are always in the environment. Try to even out some of the extremes by watering when it is dry, fertilizing when you do the lawn (or just fertilize the tree), and mulching to even out the soil temperature in the root area. Remember that many diseases can be passed with pruning equipment, so disinfect your equipment between cuts.

Many pumpkins are already on their way, with seeds being sown a month ago. While this practice is great for producing pumpkins for pumpkin pie, it really doesn't work very well for producing the Halloween jack-o-lantern pumpkins. The Halloween pumpkins are best planted around Father's Day. This timing helps prevent the pumpkins from rotting before we get to the end of October.

Many different varieties are available, and they come in many sizes and shapes. The small pumpkins, ranging from two to five pounds, are called "pie" types. They are normally used for cooking and fall decorations, and include the Baby Bear variety. Intermediate and large varieties are primarily used for jack-o-lanterns. Many of the newer varieties have stronger side walls to aid in display and carving. The flesh of these varieties is generally poor in quality and not used for cooking. Processing pumpkins, that are canned commercially make poor carving pumpkins, and are more like a buff colored watermelon in appearance. The jumbo or mammoth varieties are mainly used for exhibition. These jumbos can weigh in the 900 pound range. For most homeowners, you might want to pass on these since moving a 900 pound pumpkin isn't for everyone. The other option is to try and grow one in place.

Pumpkins should be planted about now for carving or fall decoration. Vining pumpkins need at least 50 – 100 feet per hill, with the larger pumpkins requiring the larger area. Hills should be five to six feet apart and rows of hills should be 10 – 15 feet apart. Each hill should have about four seeds per hill, planted about an inch deep. The miniature varieties such as the Jack-Be-Little are sometimes grown in rows with seeds planted every eight to twelve inches, then thinned to about two feet apart in the rows. Fall decoration pumpkins should be cut from the vine before the vine dries in order to have a good stem attached to the pumpkin, but after the color is acceptable.

Keep the pumpkin bed free from weeds by shallow hoeing, and make sure it is watered during extended dry periods. Major pests are squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and vine borers. Most often, frequent applications of an insecticide such as carbaryl will help protect the new runners from the vine borers and also control the beetles that transmit the wilt virus. Make sure no applications are made to open blooms, that attract the bees for pollination, by applying insecticides in late afternoon or early evening.

Have you noticed a sticky substance on the leaves of trees and shrubs, or have you recently parked your car under the boughs of a spreading maple only to discover it splattered with a sticky material?

If so, don't blame the tree. The substance is not tree sap, but an indication of an infestation of insects call aphids. Aphids, often called plant lice, seem to be infesting many plants this summer. They can be found on maples, peppers, cabbage, pine trees, bluegrass, apples and many other plants.

An aphid is usually specific to one plant or possibly a very few species. For example, the tomato aphid is found on tomatoes; the pine bark aphid is found on pine limbs and trunks; and the cabbage aphid infests cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. However, some aphids are general feeders, such as the green peach aphid found on peach trees, peppers and potatoes.

Aphids are slow moving, winged or wingless, soft-bodied insects that vary in size and color. They multiply rapidly often producing young that mature in a week or less to produce even more aphids.

They also are very susceptible to disease and attack by parasites and predator insects. Therefore, an aphid population on a particular plant can increase rapidly or disappear just as fast.

Evidence of an aphid infestation includes curled leaves caused by aphid feeding, the presence of a sticky substance called "honeydew" with a sooty black mold growing on it and ash-colored skins shed by the aphids as they grow. Live aphids may have disappeared due to disease, lack of food or other factors.

A heavy stream of water will knock aphids off the plants. An insecticidal soap is an organic alternative. Heavy aphid infestations can generally be controlled by insecticide sprays including a few systemics. However, a few aphid species are resistant to some of these insecticides.

An infestation of aphids on healthy established shade trees generally does not need to be treated. The insignificant damage to the tree does not justify the cost of hiring a commercial sprayer who has the equipment to treat large trees. Heavy infestations on small or weak, ailing trees can be controlled with the above-mentioned insecticides.

Time and money is often better spent fertilizing and watering to insure good recovery and health. Avoid fertilizing trees and shrubs after July 15. Late summer fertilization can often stimulate lush growth that does not have sufficient time to harden off before winter sets in. The greatest response to fertilization is seen when it is applied in the fall or early spring.

Moss in lawns has been a frequent topic of conversation this year. Moss doesn't cause lawn decline, but tends to develop as lawns thin due to poor site or management factors. For example, moss may invade lawns with problems such as low soil fertility, poor soil drainage, compacted soils, excessive shade, poor air circulation, and high humidity. Poor lawn care practices are another source of moss problems. General neglect, irregular mowing, lack of fertilizer, and overwatering are common problems leading to poor turf growth that may lead to moss problems.

Moss can be temporarily eliminated by raking. Ferrous ammonium sulfate or ferric sulfate (iron sulfate) can also be used to control moss. The moss will temporarily burn away, but tends to return fairly quickly unless the site conditions and/or lawn care program is altered. Focusing on the reason you have moss is the best solution. Improving air circulation, reducing compaction, fertilizing properly, avoiding excess watering, selecting proper grass varieties, and mowing at the proper height are all considerations. Of course, the excess watering provided by Mother Nature is one of the main problems this year.

A few beetles have shown up in the area. Whether these are local hatches or tag-a-longs from southern areas doesn't much matter. They are coming. Japanese beetle adults have a 1/2 to 3/4 inch long body with copper colored wing covers and a shiny metallic green head. A key characteristic is prominent white tufts of hair along their sides. They also have an overwhelming appetite for your favorite rose. Adults feed in herds on many deciduous trees, shrubs and vines such as linden, Japanese maple, sycamore, birch, elm, and grape. They generally do not feed on dogwood, forsythia, holly and lilac. Japanese beetle adults feed on flowers and fruits and skeletonize leaves by eating the leaf tissue between the veins. Feeding is normally in the upper portions of trees. Beetles prefer plants in direct sun, so heavily wooded areas are rarely attacked.

Adults can be with us until mid August. The life cycle is similar to a June bug, only it runs a few weeks later. After mating females lay eggs in turf which hatch into grubs in August. Grubs feed on plant roots until cold weather drives them deeper into the soil. Adults emerge in summer of the following year.

The bacterial control, milky spore sold as Doom or Grub Attack, is frequently recommended to control Japanese beetle grubs. In our area milky spore is generally not recommended, since it controls only Japanese beetle grubs. Also Japanese beetle grubs must already be infesting the turf for milky spore to work effectively. Pesticides commonly used for lawn grub control will also control Japanese beetle grubs. Controlling Japanese beetle grubs does not significantly reduce the number of adult beetles the following year. The beetles are good fliers and easily fly a couple miles in a single flight. Evidence suggests that adult beetles are attracted to previously damaged leaves. Therefore reducing feeding damage now can result in less feeding damage in the future.

Generally pesticide sprays of cabaryl sold as Sevin can reduce damage for up to two weeks, but four to seven days is more likely. Sevin is toxic to bees. Synthetic pyrethroids can also be effective, but tend to break down quickly with extreme heat. These would include permethrin and bifenthrin. The Japanese beetle repellent made from Neem has not been shown to be effective. Picking beetles off by hand every couple of days may be just as effective as spraying. When disturbed, the beetles fold their legs and drop to the ground. Covering plants with floating row covers can protect prized roses and ripening fruit. Japanese beetle traps are not recommended since they can actually increase damage by attracting more than they kill.

A number of birds such as grackles, cardinals and meadowlarks feed on adult beetles. Two native predator insects and a couple of introduced parasites may help to keep Japanese beetle populations in check. Protect natural enemies by keeping the use of conventional pesticides to a minimum. Although damage looks devastating, Japanese beetle feeding rarely kills plants. Therefore, confine control of beetles to shrubs and small trees near main building entrances and other important landscape locations where damage is obvious. Protecting a prize rose bush, or a newly transplanted linden tree is a good idea.

As if trees didn't have enough leaf problems with the diseases, herbicide drift has shown up in a big way this past week. All cases I have seen, the herbicides involved have been members of the growth regulator group. This group includes products such as 2,4-D and Banvel. Both products are used in agricultural production, right-of-way maintenance, and in home lawn care.

Leaf symptoms usually appear as some sort of abnormal growth. This can include twisting, cupping, elongation, and rolling. Since the chemicals are systemic growth regulators, they move throughout the trees (or shrubs or flowers) and then show the most damage on the newest growing points. Think of what a dandelion looks like after it has been treated with 2,4-D and you get the general idea.

Where the products come from on your trees is generally a big mystery. They can drift during the actual spraying process (called spray drift), or they can come back up off the ground as a vapor and move with winds (called vapor drift). The difficulty with vapor drift is that it can occur for up to one and one-half weeks after the application, and then can drift for up to a mile and a half.

Different species of trees are more susceptible than others, and the full-size leaves are less likely to show symptoms. Red buds, oaks, and lilacs are among the most susceptible trees. Grapes and tomatoes are among the most susceptible garden plants.

If you do have damage from herbicide drift, the end results can vary. Generally, on established perennials, the damage is ugly leaves for at least part of this growing season. You can also have some "wave" to the ends of branches, and possibly the loss of some small branch ends. On younger stock, transplanted in the last year or so, the damage may be fatal. It usually takes several weeks to get an indication of the amount of damage done, but a year is even better.

As for treatment, water when the weather stays dry. Don't fertilize at this time. Remember that growth regulator herbicides make things "grow themselves to death." You have to walk a fine line between keeping the tree healthy and making matters worse.

Soldier beetles will be appearing shortly. They look like pale lightning bugs without the light, and are very common around pollinating linden trees. Since soldier beetles are beneficial, it is inadvisable to kill them. They feed on small insects such as aphids, however, they do qualify as a nuisance pest in much the same way as the Asian lady bugs. Weather-stripping and caulking will help keep them out of your house. A vacuum cleaner will safely remove soldier beetles that are found inside.

After some very severe infestations of bagworms the past few years, the calls have been coming in all year on the correct treatment times for bagworms this year. Year-in and year-out, the correct treatment time for bagworms is June 15. You can mark this date on your calendar for

If you have been following a foundation spray program all year, keep it up. If you haven't been, it is probably time to start. The foundation spray program is your first line of defense against nuisance pests in the house. It cuts down on crickets, millipedes, spiders, ants, and many others that find their way inside. And, with the crickets singing, it's only a matter of time before they find their way into your abode.

To accomplish a foundation spray, you would select a material such as permethrin or bifenthrin to begin with. Then spray the foundation and the adjacent foot or two of soil or plant material with the spray mixture. Both these products are cleared on most types of plants. Foundation treatments should be applied every 7-15 days depending on the temperatures. The materials break down quicker in hot weather.

Foundation treatments won't prevent everything from getting in the house, and they certainly won't kill things already in the house. For insects already in the house, you have a few options. The first is mechanical control. This is fancy language for something like a flyswatter, shoe, vacuum cleaner, flypaper, or glue boards. The next is chemical control. This basically means aerosol cans inside the house. The most common ones are for flying insects or ants, although many of the flying insect killers now have permethrin in them and can last quite a while.

As mentioned a week or so ago, fungal leaf diseases were present. They are now making their presence felt with a vengeance. These diseases infected trees and shrubs earlier, and they have continued to develop rapidly. Some trees are now to the point of being, well, leafless.

Anthracnose is the number one fungal disease of good quality shade trees, and apple scab is hitting apples and crabapples hard. To give a brief overview, these diseases are preventable but not curable. They are seldom life threatening to the tree or shrub, but they can make things look rather unsightly. Many shade trees losing a large percentage of their leaves will often set another set of leaves within four to six weeks. Apples and crabapples are less likely to set another set of leaves, but it sometimes happens.

Anthracnose has different stages depending on the time of infection. There is a bud stage, where buds are killed as they begin to open. Next is a leaf stage, which affects only leaves. This stage is the one we are commonly seeing, and it infects leaves and gradually consumes the leaf. And the other stage is the twig stage which affects smaller twigs on trees and shrubs. This is one reason why sycamore trees tend to have so many small branches break. The infection leaves a brittle scar on the branch which makes it susceptible to breakage.

As I mentioned, once infection has occurred it can't be cured. The prevention part needs to begin with a regular spray program similar to production apples. This means starting when the leaves are just out of the bud in the early spring. The same kind of timing applies to ornamental trees. The main harm caused is the loss of food produced by the lost leaves, and the loss of energy to set another set of leaves. Fertilizer application at the lawn rate, to supply a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square foot broadcast, will help the tree as much as anything.

With the widely fluctuating amounts of rainfall, blossom end rot is definitely a possibility. The best solution is to mulch tomato plants to help even out the moisture supply, and help keep the roots cooler. This problem is caused by uneven calcium amounts in the plant. Addition of lime when you see the problem usually isn't as effective as evening out the moisture flow for the plant by mulching. Any material will do (grass clippings, straw, commercial mulch, etc.) with two inches being adequate and four inches being better.

As anticipated for the past few weeks, the fungal leaf spot diseases are wreaking havoc on ornamental and fruit trees alike. The main culprits at this time are anthracnose on good quality shade trees, apple scab on production apple trees and crabapples, and leaf curl on peaches.

The common factors, as in any disease problem, are a susceptible host, weather favorable for the disease, the disease present, and time. The "photo shoot" blog from a couple weeks ago had early infection stages of many of these diseases. Now, the full blown effect is heavy leaf drop.

These diseases are preventable to some extent, but not curable. This doesn't mean you will lose the trees, but young or weakened ones might be at risk. Most healthy trees, especially shade trees, will put out a new set of leaves even this year. It just takes energy out of the tree's system to do this. Preventative fungicide treatments would have been put on even as early as bud swell to help prevent peach leaf curl. With the abnormal amount of rainfall, you may have needed many extra treatments to have had any success.

For further information on fungal infections of shade and ornamental trees, check out the Report on Plant Diseases at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/forestry/publications/pdf/forest_health/UIUC_Leaf_Spot_Diseases_of_Trees.pdf

West Nile Virus (WNV) has, unfortunately, become a household phrase. WNV was first isolated in Uganda, Africa. It can harm humans, birds, and other animals. It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, primarily the northern house mosquito. The mosquito becomes infected after biting wild birds that are the primary host of the virus. The mosquito is actually able to transmit the virus after 10-14 days after biting the infected bird.

The mosquito life cycle has four life stages (egg, larvae, pupa, and adult). The female mosquito lays eggs on water or moist soil. Most of the larvae hatch after 48 hours and the larvae and pupae live in the water. The females need a blood meal before they can lay eggs, so only the females bite. They bite every few days during their adult lives, which may last several weeks.

Preventing mosquitoes is a first step. Homeowners can best accomplish this by eliminating standing water. Tires and old containers are obvious places to start, drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers, clean clogged gutters, don't allow stagnant water in anything such as birdbaths, change landscape slopes to eliminate standing water, and use larvacides in standing water that can't be eliminated. B.t. Israeli is the strain that is effective against mosquito larvae – not the B.t. variety commonly used on trees and gardens! The mosquitoes have already begun hatching, so treatment time is at hand.

Also protect yourself from bites. Mosquitoes can travel up to three miles from their breeding sites! Make sure that screens and doors are tight, use proper outside lighting such as fluorescent lights, stay indoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active, wear long-sleeved shirt and long pants when you must go outside, and use insect repellents properly applied. Exposed skin should be sparingly treated with a repellent containing up to 30% DEET (up to 10% for children), and make sure to treat thin clothing as well (since mosquitoes can bite through the thin clothing).

We are now in the middle of the correct planting time for the warm loving vegetables for our gardens. This would include lima beans, cucumber, eggplant, melons, peppers, summer squash, winter squash, and pumpkins. Pumpkins for use as fall ornamentals should be planted around Father's Day so they have less chance of rotting before fall display. Believe it or not, we're at the proper timing for fall garden plantings as of this coming weekend. That means potatoes, kale, and some others. Some of the planting dates overlap this time of year. That basically means plant it, but you can expect harvest to be closer to fall.

Keep pruning flowering shrubs after they complete bloom. That will allow for more flower buds for next year. Coming up the end of June will be the pruning time for evergreens.

Bagworm spray time will be coming up mid-June. We'll try and fine tune the date as we get closer. The cool spring has delayed things to this point, but warm weather could catch us back up to the book timing of June 15.

Last chance for the pour-on treatments for Japanese beetles on ornamentals using imidacloprid. Earlier application would have allowed for more translocation. These treatments do allow some damage to occur before a lethal dose is consumed.

With the type of weather we have had, it should have been expected many different diseases would come our way this spring. Well, they are here. Here are some shorts on the past week and some of the items found without looking too hard.

Peach leaf curl is caused by a fungus on trees in the stone fruit family. This would include mainly peaches and plums. It is rather striking with the bright red swellings on the green leaves. This disease can only be prevented with a dormant time application of a fungicide on your trees. Seeing it now means that you probably should have sprayed before the buds began to swell (meaning before leaves actually came out).

Anthracnose starts as dead leaf areas between leaf veins, or on the tips of leaves. When severe enough, leaves will fall. The good news is that it rarely harms trees. If enough leaves drop, a new set comes out in 4-6 weeks and we start all over. The next set of leaves may also get the disease, but they may not. Infection can continue with weather favorable to the disease, and when nighttime temperatures stay under 65 degrees. Treatments when you see the symptoms of this disease are simply wasted time and money. Apple scab is a disease similar to anthracnose, and can cause premature leaf drop in apples and crabapples. If you are on a regular spray schedule for fruit trees, it should prevent most of the problems. You could also spray crabapples this way, but you would have to weigh the cost and benefit since no fruit production is involved.

Many people are reporting holes in tree trunks. These holes are round and in a pattern either around or up and down on tree trunks. They are also usually found in a tree that has high sap flows such as maples, gums, or evergreens. These holes are caused by yellow bellied sapsuckers. About the time we notice the holes, the birds are gone. They migrate and only bless us with their presence about two months in the spring (around May) and again in the fall (around September). These holes can cause injury to the tree by allowing a place for insects and disease to get in, and death if they completely girdle trees. Control is very difficult, and consists of trying to scare the birds with pie pans, whirlybirds, rubber snakes, or other items that make sound or sight. If damage in an area of the tree trunk is severe, you can wrap burlap around that portion to protect it. The sticky type products, such as Tanglefoot would also have some effect, but might cause problems for some of the non-sapsuckers in the area.

Apple and pear trees are also having their problems. There is a large amount of tip dieback in some varieties , and this is probably fire blight. Look for a shepherd's crook at the tip of the affected areas as a clue it is fire blight. Fire blight is a bacterial disease, therefore there is little chance for you to treat it. The common treatment in commercial operations is streptomycin, but it has to be applied before symptoms appear. Bordeaux mixture can also help prevent the disease. Prune out disease cankers when dormant. This disease cost Illinois its pear industry.

• Continue with fruit spray programs. Be careful with insecticide applications during bloom periods, because of pollinators.
• The next couple of weeks are ideal to fertilize the lawn and control broadleaf weeds. Best to wait on the weed control if you have put down new seed this spring.
• Begin planting tender vegetable and flower crops. Of course, it's best to check the weather forecast for the next week.
• Prune flowering trees and shrubs after they flower for maximum bloom next year.

Throughout the year I get several calls and samples brought in dealing with puffballs or toadstools. This year we have had an unusual amount of calls about dark green grass in rings that kind of looks like a target pattern. These rings are called fairy rings.

Fairy rings are caused by a fungus in the soil. Actually there are about 50 fungi that can cause fairy rings. These fungi feed on decaying organic matter such as large roots from trees that were in the area, or from buried lumber. The dark green circle part of the equation comes from extra nitrogen that comes available as the organic matter is broken down by the fungus.

Some prevention will help keep the problem from occurring. Simply removing stumps, large roots, and not burying lumber help prevent this type of problem. As for a cure, fungicide drenches have been successful on a very limited basis. One option is to mask the symptoms of the dark rings by fertilizing the surrounding grass with a high-nitrogen fertilizer to make that grass green also.

As for the puffballs, toadstools, or mushrooms, they are part of the same complex as fairy rings. They are part of the natural decay process that helps break down large wood items in the ground. There is no real control so mowing them off or knocking them loose with a garden rake is about the best thing going.

Here is a listing of common borers and their control times: Ash borers (early June and early July), Bronze birch borer (mid May and repeat two times at two week intervals), Dogwood borer (mid May and mid June), Flatheaded apple borer (late May and repeat in three weeks), Lilac borer (early June and early July), Locust borer (late August and mid September), Mountain ash borer (early June and mid July), Peach tree borer (mid June and mid July), Viburnum borer (early June and early July), and Zimmerman pine moth (April or August). The Emerald ash borer, although not confirmed in our area at this time, control time in Michigan begins mid May and runs through mid July.

The products of choice for many borers are now permethrin or bifenthrin. Imidacloprid is fairly new on the market, and one trade name is Merit (sold for homeowners as Bayer Advanced Garden Tree and Shrub Insect Care). This product use rate is an ounce per inch of circumference of the tree trunk. You then mix it with three gallons of water and pour around the base of the tree. It may take a few months for it to translocate though the tree. A good time to apply it is in early spring when the sap rises. These treatments need to be completed by late May to have a chance of getting the current season borers. Each treatment lasts about a year, and is more successful on younger trees. Fruit trees generally are treated differently, with Sevin or bifenthrin applied to the trunk, or just using the regular spray program due to the possibility of residue in fruit

Zimmerman pine moth is one of those "kind of borers." It generally affects only severely weakened trees, and goes just under the bark to girdle the cambium layer. It seems like older Scotch, red, and Austrian pines are favorites when they begin to decline. Permethrin is recommended for Zimmerman pine moth. Bird damage from yellow-bellied sapsuckers on trunks and main limbs also looks like borer damage to many. This bird damage is easily recognized by the evenly spaced holes in a straight line.

With the cool, damp spring we expected to have a problem. The great outdoors now seems like one of those commercials for mosquito repellent, where a brave person puts his arms into a tent full of hungry mosquitoes. We not only have mosquitoes, but also the biting midges. These also are called biting gnats, punkies, buffalo gnats, no-see-ums, and worse. Some of these names are specific for black flies, and others for sand flies. At any rate, it seems as though outdoor activities may be a little more exciting than we planned.

Let's start with the biting midges. Like anything in the biting fly family, they are hard to control. They don't need standing water to develop in, they aren't dawn and dusk feeders like mosquitos, and they don't "roost" in a particular area. They are also small enough to come through many window screens. And when they bite, they leave a painful welt. Smaller screen wire size will help keep them from entering the home, as will keeping windows shut. Using "bug light" bulbs will also attract fewer, as will using sodium lights outside. Insecticide treatments are hard to apply, but products such as malathion, permethrin, or bifenthrin will at least kill the ones you hit. Repellents with DEET in them, such as the mosquito repellents, will usually show some deterrent.

For mosquitoes, prevention is the first step. Homeowners can best accomplish this by eliminating standing water. Tires and old containers are obvious places to start, drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers, clean clogged gutters, don't allow stagnant water in anything such as birdbaths, change landscape slopes to eliminate standing water, and use larvacides in standing water that can't be eliminated. B.t. Israeli is the strain that is effective against mosquito larvae – not the B.t. variety commonly used on trees and gardens!

Also protect yourself from bites. Mosquitoes can travel up to three miles from their breeding sites! Make sure that screens and doors are tight, use proper outside lighting such as fluorescent lights, stay indoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active, wear long-sleeved shirt and long pants when you must go outside, and use properly applied insect repellents. Exposed skin should be sparingly treated with a repellent containing up to 30% DEET (up to 10% for children), and make sure to treat thin clothing as well (since mosquitoes can bite through the thin clothing). The higher DEET percentages can work for four to six hours. The lower concentrations will work for about two hours. Mild products such as the active ingredient in cosmetic company non-DEET formulas may work for 15-30 minutes.

For that special occasion outside, you can reduce populations by spraying large areas with insecticides effective against flying insects, such as malathion, permethrin, or bifenthrin. Don't expect miracles, but you can greatly reduce populations for a few hours. Concentrate sprays in shrubbery, tall grass, and tree areas.

Roses - the "Queen of Flowers," should be in full glory in the month of June, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.

"The many colors, scents and flower sizes are all qualities the rose connoisseur craves," said Martha Smith. "Rose care is not difficult. What roses require, however, is consistent care.

"Roses are heavy feeders so a regular fertilizer program is essential. Disease problems can be controlled with a regular spray program."

Container-grown roses can be planted any time after mid-May. Choose a sunny area since roses require a minimum of six full hours of direct sun. Roses will not tolerate wet soil, so choose a site that has good drainage. Dig a hole deep enough and wide enough to generously accommodate the roots.

"If the rose is grafted, you need to consider how deep to set the graft union," she said. "In warmer climates, position the rose so that the bud union is at or just above ground level. In colder climates, position the bud union one to two inches below ground level and mulch over.

"If your garden soil is a heavy clay or very sandy, incorporate compost, peat moss or leaf mold into the backfill. Half fill the hole and water to allow any air pockets to settle out. Continue adding backfill to the hole until full and repeat the watering."

Smith said that if your roses are stunted, have weak growth, small flowers, pale or discolored leaves, premature petal fall and/or poor disease resistance, a regular fertilizer program may solve the problem.

"The Central Illinois Rose Society recommends adding compost or manure every year to the bed as well as following a fertilizer schedule," said Smith. "A complete fertilizer is recommended May 1, June 1 and July 1. A complete fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Follow the recommended rates on the label. They also suggest a liquid feed between monthly fertilizing."

In past seasons, you may have had rose foliage turning yellow with large black spots this is called black spot and is a very common disease of roses.

Infected leaves may drop prematurely. Severe infection may cause some canes to completely defoliate. Fungicide sprays serve as a protectorant and must be applied before infection. As the leaves emerge, and the day temperatures are above 50 degrees F., begin applying a fungicide every two weeks.

"Powdery mildew can also be a problem," she said. "It is easily recognized by the white powdery patches that form over the foliage. Powdery mildew can be a problem in shady areas, or where there is very little air movement. Fungicide sprays are again recommended and should be applied when new growth appears and repeated every seven to 14 days."

Rake up and discard fallen diseased foliage to minimize further spread of black spot or powdery mildew.

Properly pruning roses is another important item to consider.

"A rose leaf is actually comprised of several leaflets," said Smith. "Starting at the flower, count the number of leaflets on each leaf. Some will have single leaflets, three leaflets or five leaflets. The five-leaflet leaves have mature buds at their base that will produce a new shoot.

"Choose an outward-facing, five-leaflet leaf in the middle of the stem and cut above it. Don't cut back to the lowest. By choosing a mid-level bud, you ensure that adequate foliage remains on the plant. An outward-facing bud directs new growth away from the center of the plant."

Bring cut flowers inside for your enjoyment. Also, prune off faded flowers.

"Any gardener can have success with roses if they follow these guidelines," she said. "Remember, rose care is not difficult, you just need to be consistent. For more information on rose care, visit Our Rose Garden (http://urbanext.illinois.edu/roses/)."

Mulching is a sure-fire way to eliminate many summer gardening chores, states David Robson, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, Springfield Center.

The primary benefit of mulching is to reduce soil water loss or evaporation. This means more water is available to the plants, which means less wilting problems.

Typical soils can lose a quarter to half inch of water per day when temperatures are above 90 F. Since most plant roots are in the top 8 inches of the soil profile, plants suffer greater wilting stress when temperatures are high.

Mulching also keeps the soil cooler during warm spells. Mulches act like insulation, preventing hot air from reaching the root system. Roots grow better when soil temperatures are in the 60s and 70s; proper mulching can maintain this desired level when air temperatures approach 100 F.

Weed control is another added benefit of mulching, adds Robson. Most weeds need sunlight after germination to grow. Mulching limits sunlight reaching newly germinated seedlings. Fewer weeds mean less competition with plants for water and nutrients.

Vegetable gardeners should realize that mulching limits some diseases, especially fruit rots. Most disease organisms are transferred to plants or their fruits by raindrops splashing on the soil and bouncing back up. Mulching deflects water droplets from "bouncing" back and infecting the plants. Produce commonly in direct contact with the soil—such as cucumber, melons and even tomatoes—are less likely to be infected by disease organisms when mulched. Mulching also increases the ease of harvesting, especially after heavy rains or irrigation.

Proper mulching consists of no more than 2 to 4 inches of an organic material such as wood chips or composted leaves and grass clippings. If you use cocoa bean hulls, which can lead to problems with dogs if they eat it, limit yourself to 1 inch. Heavy applications of cocoa bean hulls tend to mold.

Deeper levels of mulch may inhibit water and air penetration into the soil or tend to compact. Shallow mulching reduces the benefits of weed control, cooler soil temperatures and water retention.

Ornamental plants such as flowers, shrubs and trees benefit from 4 to 6 inches of mulching. However, make sure to keep mulching material an inch away from tree and shrub trunks to minimize insect and disease damage.

Everyone seems to have been waiting for warmer temperatures, and the appointed date, to begin broadleaf weed control programs. Well that time will come, believe it or not. We have also been waiting for a period of drier conditions with lighter winds. For most of the broadleaf products to work, the temperature has to be over 55 degrees. These chemicals do work better when it is warmer and the weeds are actively growing.

The first item of business is to know what type of weeds you want to control. This will make a big difference in what product, or products, you select. One website useful in identification and control of weeds is http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/weed_web/index.htm . It gives a variety of pictures, as well as control products. Of course, you get to click on a weed by name to see the pictures. You may have to click a bit to find the one you are after.

The main products used for broadleaf weed control in lawns are 2,4-D, MCPP (mecoprop), dicamba, a combination of those three products, and triclopyr alone or in combination. Let's start with the triclopyr since it's probably the easiest to discuss. Its place in weed control is for hard to control weeds and woody plants. It also improves control of violets. It can be added to one, or more, other chemicals to provide broad spectrum control. Some blends now contain trichlopyr, so check the label under active ingredients.

2,4-D is the old standby. It is good on carpetweed, chicory, dandelion, lambsquarters, plantains, and wild carrot. MCPP is good on chicory, lambsquarters, and white clover. Dicamba is good on black medic, chickweeds, chicory, dandelion, dock, henbit, knotweed, lambsquarters, pearlwort, purslane, red sorrel, thistles, white clover, wild carrot, and yarrow. The combination of all three products will pick up all of those listed for the individual products, plus a few more such as mallow, speedwell, and wild onion. The combinations are sold under many different trade names, so check the active ingredient list for ones you need.

My annual disclaimer for application of these types of products is: "Beware of potential drift from these products." Not only can the spray move under windy conditions while you are spraying, but particularly with dicamba, the products can drift as a vapor for up to two weeks after spraying with hot and humid conditions. There are amine, low volatile ester, and ester formulations of many of these products. The amines are water soluble and don't vapor drift as much. The ester forms are much more likely to vapor drift, but also penetrate weed leaves better.

Weeds can also be an indicator of turf condition. Around here, crabgrass and white clover may be an indicator your mowing height is too low. Most cool season grasses should be mowed at a minimum of two inches tall. If you have an abundance of these weeds, try mowing a half inch higher. Of course, these same weeds tend to fill in spaces where turf grasses are absent.

The West Central Region has designated April 19-25 as Extension Week. Logan County has had Extension since February of 1918. It began with a Farm Advisor named Elmer Ebersol who began selling the county memberships in the combined Extension and Farm Bureau system that remained in place until the 1950's.

Early projects included establishment of the county Pure Bred Live Stock Breeders' Association, Pure Bred Beef Cattle Breeders' Association, Pure Bred Dairy Cattle Breeders' Association, and the Pure Bred Swine Breeders' Association. Soybeans were a new crop at that time, and their planting was being encouraged. Of course, soybeans were used mainly for hay in their early years. Spring wheat was the predominant wheat crop of the time, and there were several thousand acres of oats. Farm labor was a major concern of the time, and labor placements were a major focus of Extension. The first soil survey of the county was also begun.

The 4-H Program began about 1920 with the first 4-H Clubs focusing on specific projects of swine and corn. Later in 1923 there began a push for home economics based clubs, and the push was on to identify volunteer leaders. Home Economics was added a few years later with the first "Home Advisor." Focuses were on running a household and home food preservation.

Logan County added an aggressive Community Resource Development program in the late 1970's. This program was responsible for many of the community wide surveys done in the early 80's, and these surveys even led to removal of the city of Lincoln parking meters around the square and municipal parking lots.

Extension continues to evolve as needs of residents change. Horticulture programming became more prevalent in the 1980s, non-traditional youth programs such as school enrichment and special interest clubs began in the 1980's, and the Family Nutrition Program started in the 1990's. Web pages began to be a communication medium in 2003, and today there is an average of about 15,000 hits per month on county web pages.

Extension Week helps us remember where we have been, and to focus on being of value to local citizens. Extension has always been blessed with many exceptional volunteers, and today is no exception. There are over 100 volunteer leaders in the 4-H program, and many others serving on committees and councils for various programs. If you are interested in volunteering, please feel free to contact the office at any time.

Early in the spring, there are many pest that become active. Many of these are timed by the saucer magnolia blooms, according to Orton's "Coincide" book. The past week or so, when the magnolia blooms were in the pink-bud stage, spruce spider mites became active. These mites are one of the major downfalls of spruce in our area.

To determine if you have spruce spider mites, hold a piece of white paper under a branch and shake it. The mites will look like moving dust specks on the paper. Many times, there will be some fine webbing, like spider web, visible on the needles as well.

Spruce spider mites can be controlled with sprays of acequinocyl, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, insecticidal soap, or summer oil spray. The soap or oil sprays will require a second application about a week later to give good control. These mites normally remain active until mid-May, but the cool conditions thus far may extend their life cycle this year.

Other spring pests are also indicated by the saucer magnolia. During the bloom stage, going on now, the ash plant bug, fall cankerworm, spring cankerworm, Fletcher scale, leaf crumpler, eastern tent caterpillar, juniper webworm, and Zimmerman pine moth are susceptible to control. As we get to the petal fall stage, European pine sawfly, Gypsy moth, hawthorn mealybug, honeylocust pod gall, and willow aphid become susceptible to control.

• Mow the grass as it is needed. Try to remove no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade to do away with catching or raking grass.
• Broadleaf control is just around the corner for many weeds. Look at early May for control.
• Grub control is largely unsuccessful in the spring because of large grub size and a short life cycle. Look to August and September for grub control.
• Moles are active, but controlling the grubs won't help much now. Look to a noose or scissor trap, or one of the soft baits with poison for control. We actually have a couple of traps for "rent" this year.
• The average last killing frost date is about May 5 for our area, and many gardening charts use May 10 for planting tender crops in our area.

Now that most of our spring flowering shrubs and trees are finished blooming, it is time to prune them so they will flower on schedule next spring. These plants bloom best and can be kept in bounds with annual pruning.

Since early flowering plants bloom from buds set the previous summer, prune now so plants have plenty of time to set buds for next spring. Begin by removing all dead or broken branches.

Multi-stem flowering shrubs can become too tall and bare at the bottom. They can be renewed by cutting out a number of the oldest stems to the ground each year. This stimulates new growth from the roots. Cut out 1/4 of the oldest stems all the way to the ground. Renewal in this manner keeps the plant quite free of borers and scale insects and the oldest stems will be only four years old.

Old plants may have only a few main stems. The immediate result of renewal on these plants may be somewhat unattractive. But new shoots from the bottoms of the plant will provide a better shape and foliage to the ground. Then future renewal pruning will result in no loss of beauty.

Stems remaining from renewal pruning are often too long and ungainly. Therefore, single stem plants and small flowering trees may be headed back. Head back overly long branches by removing them to a shorter side branch that grows in the same direction or away from the center of the plant. The result will be a smaller plant, but it won't change the character or shape of the plant.

Flowering trees and single stem shrubs are often grafted on different rootstocks. Remove any suckers that are growing from the ground. Also flowering trees bloom best on horizontal branches. Remove any strongly vertical water sprouts that shoot up through the center of the tree before they take over.

Most people are afraid to do any pruning on their plants because they think it will harm them or because they are afraid to make a mistake. Pruning actually stimulates plants to grow, making them more vigorous and healthy; they flower better. Plus, plants continue to grow; so if you make a mistake, in a season or so when the plant has recovered, you can do the pruning again the right way.

Do not be afraid to experiment. Plants are very forgiving. They can take quite a bit of abuse and come back faithfully to provide enjoyment and beauty in our garden.

A common maintenance chore in a perennial garden is that of dividing. There is no set rule as to when to divide perennials. Some may need division every 3-5 years, some 8-10 years and some would rather you not bother them at all.

Perennials will send signals to let you know that they would like to be divided. The signals to watch out for include: flowering is reduced with the flowers getting smaller; the growth in the center of the plant dies out leaving a hole with all the growth around the edges; plant loses vigor; plant starts to flop or open up needing staking; or it just may have outgrown its bounds. These are the signs to look for and not a date on the calendar.

If division is indicated, spring is the preferred time to divide. Some fleshy rooted perennials such as poppy, peony, and iris are best divided in the late summer to very early fall.

Division is usually started when growth resumes in the spring. The process starts by digging around the plant and then lifting the entire clump out of the ground. Then, using a spade or sharp knife, start to cut the clump up so that each clump is the size of a quart or gallon sized perennial.

Discard the old, dead center and trim off any damaged roots. The divisions should be kept moist and shaded while you prepare the new planting site. After replanting, water well and protect the divisions from drying out. Division is no more complicated than this. Some perennials may be more difficult to divide than others because of their very tenacious root system. Division has as its primary goal the rejuvenation of the perennial planting, so it can continue to perform the way it was intended. Many home gardeners have found that the process of division is more traumatic to the gardener than it is to the perennial.

The spring mowing season has begun for some, and will shortly for the rest of the people. We are running a couple of weeks behind normal as for the starting time, but soil temperatures retreated about 10 degrees in the last 10 days. There is certainly enough moisture, so add a little bit of heat and we'll be hard pressed to keep up this spring.

There are a few very simple rules for mowing grass. The first is to use equipment that is ready for the job. Make sure the mower has sharp blades. Dull blades will show up as injury on the grass blades like brown tips and jagged edges. Blades can be sharpened in several ways. Using a file or grinder are the most common methods.

Next is the rule of one-third. Never remove more than one-third of the leaf blade at any one time. This rule must be followed if you don't want to catch, or rake the grass. A good general mowing height for combination bluegrass and fine fescue is about two inches. This would mean that you would need to mow every time the grass reached three inches in height.

Bagging grass clippings may actually add to the build-up of thatch (that dead matted layer on the soil surface). Thatch is broken down by microbes at the soil surface. Without a food source, the microbe numbers crash, and any clippings remain, without breaking down. The variety of grass also has a lot to do with the thatching tendency.

Mulching is OK. It isn't a cure-all, and it does take quite a bit of extra power to accomplish. The final word is that grass mowed on the on-third rule doesn't need to be caught or mulched. Bagging takes time and the clippings must then be disposed of. Mulching takes extra power and fuel.

Mowing intervals depend upon grass growth rather than a calendar schedule. The spring and fall periods will require more frequent mowing than during the summer. That is in a "normal" year. Mowing frequently really reduces the labor needed for overall operations.

With alternating warm and cool (or cold) weather, we see many nuisance pests when we get the warm days. We've been through the second round at least, and I'll guarantee at least one more round this spring. Add to that the fact we are active on the warm days, and we are doing things like destroying their resting places by cleaning off flower beds and raking up piles of leaves.

Let's start with the Asian ladybugs. Right now they are alternating between resting and sunning, weather dependent of course. These are the beetles that overwintered as adults, and are looking for a place to stay and something to eat. We've already had a round or two this spring, and we're sure to have more with the type of weather we've experienced. Sunrooms, porches, and windows are the obvious collection points for the beetles. The best control in the home is a vacuum cleaner. If you have numbers too large for that control, area sprays of an aerosol flying insect killer will knock down the ones it hits. If you are terribly bothered, try a perimeter spray of the foundation, door areas, and window areas on the home with a pesticide that will last for a while. Color test the material on siding first, and hope for the best. The pesticides are effective, but they are sometimes overwhelmed by the number of ladybugs that you are trying to control. Permethrin and bifenthrin are probably the most commonly used pesticides for perimeter sprays.

A common home invader over the past several weeks has been the millipede. Millipedes are hard shelled animals that are worm-like with many segments. They also curl up when disturbed. Most body segments have 2 pair of legs, except for the 3 behind the head. Adults are 1-2 inches long and can be brown, tan, or gray. Most millipedes are scavengers. They feed on decaying organic matter such as leaves, compost, and grass clippings. They may sometimes injure small, young plants by feeding on the roots and tender plant parts, but this is rather rare.

When they enter the home in large numbers, they can become quite a nuisance. They do not bite, feed on clothing, or cause any real damage. They are simply a nuisance. Control of millipedes in the house is best accomplished by running the vacuum cleaner. Most insecticides are not very effective against millipedes. The best way to prevent them from entering the home is to remove and discard accumulations of leaves, rocks, boards, and other trash from around the foundation of the house. Also, keep shrubbery and flower beds free of leaf mulch during the warm months. Foundation sprays of permethrin or bifenthrin may have some effectiveness, but they may not provide satisfactory control. To apply these sprays, spray the foundation of the house and the adjacent foot of soil. In severe cases, you may need to expand the soil treatment area (and maybe spray the entire yard).

Also with some warmer weather comes the swarms of insects that raise that perennial question of "Are they ants or termites?" Swarming time for both insects is about the same time, and they are really looking to start new colonies because they have outgrown their old ones. This is the reason for the winged insects, the wings allow the ants or termites to cover larger areas to start their new colonies. The differences between ants and termites are several.

Let's start with the body color. Termites are always blackish in color, while ants may be black or other colors. If you have winged insects that are not black, you don't have termites. Next, look at the body shape. Ants have a constricted "waist" while termites don't have that classic hour-glass figure. Antennae and wings are the other two body parts to look at. Antennae on ants are elbowed, basically in an "L" shape, and those on termites are straight. Both ants and termites have pairs of wings, but termite wings on the same side will be of equal length, while ant wings are of different lengths on the same side.

Spring is barely two weeks old, and we are about to experience how fickle Mother Nature can be. If the forecasters are correct, very cold air will move through Illinois.

"Just last weekend I was commenting on how many buds my tree peony had, anticipating the large, beautiful fragrant blooms that will cover the plant," says Martha Smith, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. "With temperatures forecasted to dip below 30 degrees, I wonder if they will survive."

We have been spoiled with early warm temperatures. But, patience this time of year is so important. Average dates of last frost range from April 5 in southern Illinois to April 25 in northern Illinois. That means we still have a 50 percent chance of freezing temperatures.

"We usually recommend a 2-week waiting period before it is declared 'safe' to plant," says Smith. "But, I remember May 3, 2005, when night-time temperatures in western Illinois dipped to 28 degrees --- Mother Nature's way of reminding us of who is in charge!"

There are two types of freezes, radiation and advective.

Radiation freezes or frosts occur on calm, clear nights when heat radiates into the environment from surfaces or objects. Soil, buildings, plants and other objects at the earth's surface act as a heat reservoir by absorbing heat during the day. Plants are damaged when enough heat is lost from this reservoir to lower the temperature at the surface to below critical temperatures. These freezes are generally considered light, and they primarily damage outer tips and expanded buds. Plant damage from a radiational freeze can be minimized by reducing radiant heat loss from plant and soil surfaces.

Advective freezes can occur when cold air masses move down from northern regions, causing a drastic drop in temperature. Windy conditions are normal during advective freezes. Although radiant heat loss also occurs during an advective freeze, Smith says the conditions are quite different from a radiation freeze. The temperatures tend to be much lower and are liable to last longer during advective freezes, and protecting plants is more difficult. Expanded buds and new leaves will be damaged. Tip die-back may occur. Herbaceous plants may be killed completely or die back to ground level.

Plant protection during radiation freezes involves covering plants to prevent heat given off by soil and plants from escaping into the atmosphere. Protective coverings are usually porous material such as newspaper, bed sheets or burlap.

"Use stakes to hold the covering up and off the plant material," advises Smith. "Boxes, buckets, styrofoam containers or milk jugs with their bottoms removed can also be placed over plants to help alleviate heat loss."

If your lawn is overly shaded and has poor drainage, moss may be a problem. Moss is a fast-growing, shallow-rooted plant that covers the ground, smothers grass and exhausts food reserves from the soil.

When moss appears in a lawn, it is usually because growing conditions for grasses are adverse, such as overly shaded or moist areas of the lawn, states David Robson, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, Springfield Center. Other conditions favorable for moss invasion include soils with poor aeration, compaction or drainage, low fertility and high acidity or alkalinity. To control moss permanently, conditions that allow its growth must be eliminated.

Because shade is a major cause of moss growth, you might want to prune some of the trees surrounding your lawn. Removing lower branches and thinning the crowns of large trees will also help.

Improve your lawn's drainage by filling depressions, redirecting downspouts and adding tile. Slicing or core cultivating will improve aeration or reduce compaction.

Mechanical devices such as aerifiers, core cultivators and vertical mowers can be rented at local rental stores.

Test the soil pH to make sure your lawn is not too acidic or alkaline for the variety of turfgrass grown. Incorporate needed amounts of fertilizer and lime or sulfur to correct the soil pH.

In addition, raising the mower cutting height to 2 1/2 or 3 inches will improve the vigor of the grass and will help shade out moss.

Moss can be temporarily removed by raking or can be chemically killed by thoroughly soaking the moss with a ferrous sulfate solution at 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet of lawn. Dead moss may be removed by raking, and bare areas can be reseeded.

Where conditions are not corrected, moss will continue to grow.

We are now on the books with the first snow of spring. Two to four inches of the white stuff, but at least it didn't last long. We really won't have any ill effects to plants from the snow, quite the contrary, as it provided an insulating blanket for everything. Grass and early garden plants look better after the snow than two days ago. Of course we can do without any more for this season. The main problem is the moisture accompanying the storm. Soil will be too wet to work for several days now, and this fact can put us a little behind on the gardening calendar. Don't worry, unless the trend is prolonged. Heat units accelerate as we approach the summer months, and many crops catch up quickly.

Each year, the winter annual weeds chickweed and henbit run number one and two in the early spring. This year is seems like henbit is running slightly ahead. Winter annual weeds can actually germinate in the fall, carry through the winter, then get going very early in the spring. They also are done by the heat of the summer, leaving seed to germinate again later in the fall. Right now chickweed stands out in yards because it is quite abundant, and has a lighter green color than grass and most other weeds. I can't begin to tell you how to identify it, it gets even harder when there is common chickweed and mouse-ear chickweed. Henbit is easier to identify since it has purple flowers and smells like mint. As for control, that gets a bit easier.

The straight 2,4-D that is used on dandelions seems to act like a fertilizer for chickweed and other problem weeds. Combinations that contain 2,4-D, MCPP, and dicamba are rated very effective on chickweed, henbit, red sorrel, purslane, white clover, and others. Just remember the control time for most broadleaf weeds is early May. These combinations are sold under several different trade names. You can find these at most hardware, discount, and lawn and garden stores. Just check the label under active ingredients and check for two long chemical names and dicamba. You can also check to see that it says it will control chickweed and henbit. This group of chemicals is effective in the 50 degree range and up. As with any chemical control, read and follow label instructions very carefully. There will be some cautions on these product labels concerning injury to sensitive plants that you should be aware of. This is because dicamba can drift as a vapor for a few weeks after you apply it if the weather gets hot and sunny.

One of the main things to discuss today is the removal of nuisance fruit. You may be thinking about those apples or peaches, but really the nuisance fruit category includes things that are much more a nuisance like sweet gum balls, maple seeds, and crabapples.

There are several products available to eliminate nuisance fruit. The most common is ethephon, and it is used as a foliar spray to reduce or eliminate undesirable fruit or seeds. Some of the trade names include Florel and Ethrel. The product is effective at eliminating much of the fruit without affecting leaf growth and color, and it does not harm other plants that get some spray drift on them. It also does not affect the actual flowering of the treated trees.

With ethephon, the key is in the timing. The application must be made during flowering, but before the fruit set in. For most flowering trees there is a 10-14 day window of opportunity. Sweet gums are a little tricky since there are no showy flowers involved, so effective sprays should occur just as new leaves begin to emerge. Sprays should leave leaves wet, but not to the point of dripping. Good coverage of the tree is needed, so keep in mind the size of the tree when you are weighing this option. There are injectable products available, but must be applied by a professional. The injectable products have not been as effective as the sprays.

This product is a growth regulator that naturally occurs. Its natural production is stimulated by stress, so make sure you aren't treating a tree that is under stress from drought, high temperatures, diseases, or other environmental stresses. Treating stressed trees can cause severe injury to the plant such as leaf loss or scorching.

While 60-70 degree temperatures get us used to spring/summer, we may be jumping the gun on planting warm season garden items. Many annual flowers, tomato plants, and other warm season plants should not be set out until after May 10. When we look at our average frost free date, we see that it is April 25. About half the time in the last 30 years, the average last spring killing frost has occurred by this date. That also means that about half the time it hasn't. The last two years have been good examples of a late-season freeze occurring.

Those selling transplants love those of us that like to buy these plants in mid-April. More years than not, they get to sell us at least two sets of transplants. Of course all bets are off if you use protective covers (such as milk jugs, row covers, or wall-of-water types of protection). Usually it is just as easy to wait until the recommended date, and that would be after the range of April 25-May 10 for green beans, sweet corn, and tomatoes. These are all considered "tender vegetables."

Melons, peppers, pumpkin, and squash are considered "warm-loving" and should be planted in the range from May 10- June 1. Pumpkins planted for Halloween jack-o-lanterns should be planted about Father's Day. Pumpkins will get ripe too quickly for use in late October if planted the normal time. Pumpkins for pies can be planted in the May 10 to June 1 period.

We are getting quite a few questions about fertilizing a garden. The normal (without soil test information) rule-of-thumb rate for fertilizing flower or vegetable gardens is about 15 pounds of 10-10-10 per 1000 square foot of area. If you are using 12-12-12 or 13-13-13 fertilizer, use about 12 pounds per 1000 square foot. Soil pH may need to be adjusted due to the addition of lime and sulfur, which are acidifying. Generally, about 4.25 pounds of lime neutralizes the acidity from one pound of nitrogen or sulfur. Beware of pH requirements for different plants before you go out to apply lime. Surrounding plants are also affected. Examples would be blueberries, rhododendron, azalea, pin oaks, and many evergreens.

One of the more popular questions, at least during the growing season, concerns how to prevent the leathery rot on the bottom of tomatoes. The leathery rot is called blossom end rot. It is caused by a calcium imbalance in the plant. You could apply some lime to the area where tomatoes will be planted, because lime supplies calcium. The more reliable method is to mulch tomato plants well. This evens out the soil moisture available to the plants. The alternative is watering on a frequent basis, but too much water can cause root rot problems.

When soil conditions permit, it is time to plant things such as asparagus crowns, leaf lettuce, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, rhubarb plants, spinach, and turnips. Give it another week or two and it is time to plant such things as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. As with most things, a little bit of planning goes a long way in preventing problems later on.

Reminders

· It is time to get the crabgrass preventer on, but don't apply if you seeded your lawn.

· Cut back butterfly bushes to live material, with a 10 inch maximum height.

· Cut back mums, but leave two inches of dead material since much stored food is located there.

· Cut back ornamental grasses to a height of four inches or so.

· Apply imidacloprid (Bayer Advance Tree and Shrub insect control and other names) to kill adult Japanese beetles as they feed on ornamentals. Don't use on fruits and vegetables.

Warmer temperatures have us thinking spring. Lawns will be greening up very soon, and areas protected under leaves or other types of loose mulch are already there. Spring seeding lawns is usually our second best choice, because of the warm weather soon to follow. Fall has been the preferred time for many years, but temperature and moisture have a great effect on success.

Spring seeding should be done between March 15 and April 1 for the best chance of success. The reasons for the early date are the heat and the long germination time for Kentucky bluegrass. It can take up to a month for bluegrass seed to germinate. This means an April 1 seeding might germinate May 1. Then add six to eight weeks for it to become established. This could then be close to July 1. Usually we tend to get hot weather by then. Let's start with the basics. The normal seedings are a blend of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescue. The fine fescue is much better in shade, and the perennial ryegrass will provide quicker cover. The seeding rate is generally four pounds per 1000 square feet in bare dirt seedings. Use two pounds per 1000 square feet in overseeding thin lawns. Of course this can run into some real money when doing very large areas. Many rural seedings are done more on the basis of a pound per 1000 square feet. There are almost 44,000 square feet in an acre, so you can do the math on this one.

Fertilizer is always an area of many questions. The place to start is a soil test. This will tell you where you are starting from. Basic soil test levels for phosphorus, potassium, and soil pH should be in the neighborhood of 40, 350, and 6.1 respectfully. Phosphorus and potassium are on a pound per acre basis. This must be considered if you use labs that report in parts per million, which will give numbers half as large. These numbers will provide a great environment for grass. Grass will really grow in very poor conditions, but it certainly won't have that manicured lawn look many strive for. Lacking a soil test, or being at recommended fertility levels, general maintenance applications provide a pound each of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium per 1000 square feet of lawn area in May and again in September. Really lush lawns will usually have twice as much nitrogen applied in a season, but split among four applications. Hang on to your wallet again this year, as fertilizer prices have increased dramatically.

If you decide to try seeding this spring, remember a couple of things related to weed killers. Number one, you can't use crabgrass preventer in the same season as you put down seed. The crabgrass preventer doesn't know the difference between grass seed and weed seeds. The second rule is to mow the new seeding at least three times before trying any broadleaf weed killer. Generally this means spring broadleaf control doesn't happen when you seed in the spring. The end result is if you seed in the spring, you control weeds in the fall. Seed in the fall, and you control weeds and crabgrass in the spring. If you do plan to use a crabgrass preventer, time it so it is on about the time the forsythia blooms. This would be the approximate soil and air temperature needed for the crabgrass to germinate. April 1 is a good guess, but this date can vary widely with the weather. Many crabgrass preventers also only last for four to eight weeks, so plan on repeating the application in June anyway.

Pest Season Comes Again

With some warmer days, come some of the many nuisance pests. Over the years, we have battled many nuisance pests such as boxelder bugs, elm leaf beetles, and crickets. None of them compare to the multi-colored Asian lady beetle. These ladybugs are everywhere, and they'll find a way inside the home whenever we get warm spells.

Right now they alternated between resting and sunning. These are the beetles that overwintered as adults, and are looking for a place to stay and something to eat. The place to stay is on the side of something in the sun (in order to warm up) and the something to eat is soft bodied insects such as aphids. Without aphids present, these ladybugs will chew on about anything.

The best control in the home is a vacuum cleaner. If you have numbers too large for that control, area sprays of an aerosol flying insect killer will knock down the ones it hits. If you are terribly bothered, try a perimeter spray of the foundation, door areas, and window areas on the home with a pesticide that will last for a while. Color test the material on siding first, and hope for the best. The pesticides are effective, but they are sometimes overwhelmed by the number of ladybugs that you are trying to control. Permethrin is probably the most commonly used pesticide for perimeter sprays.

Swarms

Also with some warmer weather comes the swarms of insects that raise that perennial question of "Are they ants or termites?" Swarming time for both insects is about the same time, and they are really looking to start new colonies because they have outgrown their old ones. This is the reason for the winged insects, the wings allow the ants or termites to cover larger areas to start their new colonies. The differences between ants and termites are several.

Let's start with the body color. Termites are always blackish in color, while ants may be black or other colors. If you have winged insects that are not black, you don't have termites.

Next look at the body shape. Ants have a constricted "waist" while termites don't have that classic hour-glass figure. Antennae and wings are the other two body parts to look at. Antennae on ants are elbowed, basically in an "L" shape, and those on termites are straight. Both ants and termites have pairs of wings, but those on termites will be of equal length while ants will have wings of different lengths.

Reminders

There are several other items to keep track of this time of year, if you're so inclined. Following is a brief list in bulleted form:

• Finish lawn seedings quickly – normal cutoff date is April 1
• Aerate or dethatch lawns by April 1
• Uncover strawberry plants as you notice yellow leaves
• Start your own transplants about six weeks before you need them ready
• Grub control is ineffective in the spring
• Get that mower ready for use
• Apply crabgrass preventer when forsythia blooms

When it comes to spray programs for apple and pear trees, the two rules are to be consistent and be persistent. Quality fruit these days takes these two things, and time. It seems like quality fruit must be sprayed at the recommended intervals. Starting with dormant oils, these need to be applied before buds swell. Dormant oils are usually needed only every two or three years to provide control of scales and mites. Sure, the populations will build up in the off years, but should remain relatively low if the three-year program is followed. Dormant oils do require temperatures above freezing for 24 hours, but you want to be ahead of the bud swell.

The first regular spray of the year is applied when the green tissue is ½ inch out of the bud. This spray for homeowners usually consists of a multipurpose fruit spray (and sulfur if needed for powdery mildew). Multipurpose fruit spray has been re-formulated the last few years to include malathion, captan, and carbaryl (methoxychlor was eliminated from the old mixture). This same mixture would be used when the fruit buds are in the pink stage (when fruit buds show color). After that, the persistence and consistence pays off as you spray with the same mixture about every 10 days until we get to within two weeks of harvest. In our area, we need to continue spraying this late because of apple maggot and sooty mold.

This spray program will also control borers on apples and pears, if you also thoroughly spray the trunk and main limbs of the trees. On non-bearing, young fruit trees where borers have attacked, you can spray the trunks every two weeks during June and July with a multipurpose fruit spray.

The spray schedule for peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums varies a little bit. The dormant spray for them uses captan fungicide. This is the only spray that controls leaf curl and plum pockets. The next spray is when fruit buds show color with captan, followed by captan at bloom. When the husks begin to pull away from the base of the fruit we would then spray with sulfur, captan, and malathion. This mix would then be used every 10 days or so to within a week of harvest.

For borers on the peach group, you can spray or paint the trunk only with carbaryl (Sevin) on June 15, July 15, and August 15. We have some challenges with the loss of some of the insecticides, since carbaryl can cause fruit drop or thinning on the peach group and some apples.

Application of imidacloprid (Merit and other brand names) and other systemic insecticides is effective in controlling Japanese beetle adults. Although the imidacloprid occasionally doesn't work in a tree to control this pest, it does over 80 percent of the time. However, a soil application of imidacloprid typically takes 6-8 weeks to move completely up to the leaves of large trees. With Japanese beetle emergence typically starting the fourth week of June in our area, the sooner the better for application. This would be a prime option for linden trees, crabapples, rose bushes, and other favorites of the Japanese beetle.

Imidacloprid can be soil-applied either as a drench or by injection. Because imidacloprid is easily tied up on organic matter, mulch and other dead organic matter must be removed from around the base of the tree before a drench application is made. Removal of turf around the tree would also be recommended for a drench. Soil injections should be made deep enough to get below mulch, turf thatch, and other organic matter, but not deeper than 3 to 4 inches. Apply to the soil within 1 to 2 feet of the trunk, where the greatest concentration of fine feeder roots is located.

Just remember, each beetle must eat some leaf to get the insecticide. If a million beetles all take two bites of your linden leaf, there are still going to be a lot of linden leaves eaten. Don't use this treatment on fruit or small fruit trees unless labeled.

University of Illinois Extension is gathering input to help us plan programs. If you are over 18 and would like to participate, the link is in the upper right corner of the home page (Tell Us) or try the direct link

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=drykQ5whZ9oGTjqOzNFkng_3d_3d

The total time of the online survey should be 10 to 15 minutes. Thanks for your help!. The total time of the online survey should be 10 to 15 minutes. Thanks for your help!

What has often been termed the Queen of the Vines, clematis, can offer rich, striking beauty as does royalty, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture specialist.

"At the same time, it can be very temperamental just as some royalty can be," said Greg Stack. "But once you have decided to include clematis in your garden, there are a few things that should be noted so your 'royal resident' will find your garden to its liking."

Clematis are members of the buttercup family and have well over 300 species and countless man-made hybrids in the group. Not all of these are suited to Midwestern gardens and so selection needs to be done carefully.

Clematis are mainly woody, climbing plants. They do not attach themselves to supports by twining stems, aerial roots or tendrils.

"However, they attach by twining their leaf petiole around support structures," he said. "Because of this, thought has to be given to providing the proper supports otherwise they will ramble along the ground until they do find suitable support.

"The best supports are those things that are less than three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Clematis petioles find this size to be the easiest to wrap around. Many gardeners find that using heavy fishing line is a good way to get clematis to climb up poles or arbor posts."

If a knot is tied in the line at 12 inch intervals, this will help keep the vine from sliding down the fishing line, he added.

In the wild, clematis is often found growing at the edge of woodlots where they climb through the tree limbs to reach full sun while their roots remain in the shade.

Success with clematis starts with proper soil preparation, planting, and after planting, pruning.

Clematis prefers a cool, moist, well-drained soil for best growth. They do not like poorly drained soils especially those that stay wet over the winter. While it is true that clematis prefers alkaline soils, they will grow successfully in soils that are neutral (pH 7.0) to slightly alkaline (pH 7.5). To determine if liming is necessary, a soil test should be taken to guide you on how much if any lime needs to be added. Annual liming is not suggested as over-liming can lead to other nutrient deficiencies.

"When preparing the planting site, be generous with the planting hole," he said. "Dig a hole at least twice as wide as the pot the plant is in and at least twice as deep. This allows for adequate organic matter to be incorporated into the site, a key to good root development.

"When planting, plant deep. Place the crown of the plant at least two to four inches below the surface of the soil. This will help with the production of stems from dormant buds below the soil and also helps the plant recover if stems are injured by animals or mechanical means."

Newly-planted clematis should be pruned back to about 12 inches in the spring following planting. This pruning will encourage new shoots to develop and will produce a fuller, bushier vine with many more stems and a not-so-bare bottom.

Clematis like to be fed but not overfed. Fertilizing in the spring with a general purpose fertilizer right after pruning should carry the plant through the season.

"Because clematis prefers cool soils, some type of mulch should be used over the root area," Stack said. "Planting a low perennial groundcover near the plant often works well or organic mulch can be used.

"Apply about four to six inches of mulch at the base of the plant, keeping the mulch about eight inches from the stems to avoid stem rots."

Now comes the mystery for many gardeners when growing clematis: when, how and where do I prune?

Stack answered that pruning clematis is not complicated and even if done incorrectly it is not fatal. The worst that can happen is you will either delay flowering or flowering does not occur for a year.

Clematis is divided into groups or categories for pruning purposes. They are designated as A, B, C or 1, 2, 3, or hard, half pruning or none, depending on what source you are reading. In any case, always look at the tag that accompanies your plant. It will often mention the pruning category your plant falls into. Take note and there will not be any doubts.

For group A, these plants flower on "old wood" or last season's stems. For these varieties only light pruning is done in the spring to remove dead stems. Another pruning opportunity occurs right after the plant has finished blooming. Prune in late spring or very early summer. The resulting new growth now becomes next season's flowering stems.

Group B clematis flower on both old and new wood. Because of this it can make pruning a bit more challenging. Prune lightly in spring, removing dead and weak stems. The largest flowers will be produced on the old wood while new growth will provide bloom for late season. If a group B clematis ever needs major pruning to rejuvenate it, a hard cutting back can be done right after spring flowering and still have plenty of time for the new shoots to provide a fall show of blooms.

Group C is the easiest. Here you grit your teeth, grab your pruners and cut the plant down to eight to 10 inches. By doing this you will ensure a lot of vigorous shoots from the base and a nice, full plant covered with flowers. Many group C clematis are often not pruned hard enough and the result is a rather "trashy" looking vine with lots of tangled stems.

"One problem that is frequently seen with clematis is clematis wilt," he said. "This problem has been attributed to a fungus and is most damaging early in the growing season when the plants start flowering. Leaf spots and partial stem rot occurs, resulting in wilted stems.

"This can happen slow or fast. Fungicides have been used as a preventative control but once the plant is affected the only suggested control is to prune out affected stems at least 2 inches below the point of infection. Most experts agree that clematis wilt is not fatal and most will re-sprout from buds located lower down on the stem."

To get you started with clematis or to add to your current collection, here are a few suggested varieties that exhibit good performance and interesting flowers:

Anne-Louise - Violet purple flowers with contrasting red-purple stripe. Blooms May-June and August–September Group B

Arctic Queen – Fully double white with a very strong habit. Blooms May – August Group B

Crystal Fountain – Lilac blue flowers with a fountainlike center. Compact plant good for small gardens and containers. Blooms June-September Group B

Franziska-Maria – Blue-purple fully double flowers. Good for containers. Blooms on old and new wood. Blooms June-September Group B

Rosemoor - Large rose-colored flowers. Blooms on old and new wood. Blooms May-September Group B

Rouge Cardinal – Large velvet crimson flowers. Blooms June-August Group C

Polish Spirit – Rich purple. Good cut flower. Blooms July-September Group C

Tangutica – Small yellow bell-shaped flowers. Vigorous grower, attractive seed heads. Blooms July-September Group C

Duchess of Albany – Pink bell-shaped flowers with red stripe. Vigorous grower. Blooms July-October Group C

We are rapidly approaching the end of the pruning season for most fruit trees and deciduous ornamentals. There are a few rules that are recommended for pruning, and there are several other items that are up to "pruner discretion." One of the beginning items to discuss is the equipment.

Most pruning can be done with three pieces of equipment. The most used piece is a pair of bypass pruning shears. These shears will cut up to about 3/8 inch comfortably, and make sharp cuts that don't tear or crush. There are still anvil type shears available, but their use is mainly in vineyards to girdle grape vine ends. The second piece of equipment is a bypass lopper. Loppers can cut up to about 1.5 inch wood, depending on the type and size. If you have the money, a good set of compound action loppers would be a good investment. The third piece of equipment is a pruning saw. These can come in several shapes, sizes, and price ranges. For smaller limbs, a folding or straight pruning saw is a good buy. For larger limbs, a bow saw may be needed. The maneuverability and ease of use are key points when selecting a saw.

The time of year we prune various trees and shrubs is important. Most trees and shrubs that aren't flowering in nature should be pruned between December and mid-March. Flowering trees and shrubs should be done after they flower. Evergreens are best pruned in late June. With oak wilt in the area, oaks should be pruned in December to lessen sap flow, which attracts virus-carrying beetles. And, any branch that hits you in the face when you are mowing should be cut off immediately (except on those oak trees)!

Basic pruning should serve to remove poor branches, keep the plant growing aggressively, and do a little bit with shaping a plant. Poor branches mean bad angles from a trunk or main branch, dead branches, branches that rub together, or multiple leaders. As far as keeping a plant growing aggressively, remember that pruning is a rejuvenation process. Regular pruning also produces more two-year-old wood that produces fruit on fruit trees, and flowers on flowering trees and shrubs. Minor shaping and sizing are possible, but major changes probably mean a different plant should be selected.

When making a pruning cut, the key is to cut back to something. Branch tips can be cut back to a bud, and entire branches can be cut back to another branch or the main trunk. When making the cut to a branch or trunk, cut to the edge of the collar (about a 1/16 of an inch from the other branch). Cutting too close to the other branch destroys the water carrying tissue, and leaving a stub will guarantee a rotten branch stub (that will eventually rot into the main branch or trunk). Topping a tree lessens weight, and reduces size, for a short period of time. Within five years of topping, you will generally have more weight and growth than you would have had without topping. If you are making cuts on large branches, it is best to cut once about 18 inches from the main branch, then make a second cut to leave the 1/16 inch collar. This will help prevent the cut branch from tearing other branches.

Hopefully these basic pruning hints will help you get started on the right foot. Remember the golden rule of pruning "If you think you've cut out too much, you're probably about right."

It's now approaching early March. The temperature is still downright cold some days and the days are still short, but, it is time to plan for starting your own transplants. There are quite a few details to begin your own transplants. Starting your own will only pay benefits for you if you want to transplant several plants, otherwise the seed cost (and it has gone up this year) may be more than a four-pack of plants. Of course, some people just enjoy raising their own from seed, or you do it to make sure you get a variety you want.

I don't know which comes first, the chicken or the egg, so I'll begin with the hardiness zone. All of Logan County lies in zone 5b, but we are on the border with 5a. What difference does this make? "About three weeks difference in seed starting date" is the answer. In zone 5b, we would want to start broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce (if that's something you want to transplant) as early as March 5. Eggplant, herbs, pepper, and tomato would be started about March 25. Cucumber, muskmelon, and watermelon are started as early as April 15. The rule of thumb is to allow about six weeks before you want to set the plants outside.

What should you plant your seeds in? You should use a sterile growing medium. There are several kinds of soilless germinating mixes, potting soils, peat cubes, and compressed peat pellets that are available. These media are generally free from insects, diseases, and weeds. Enough fertilizer is generally present in these to allow for three or four weeks of plant growth.

As far as sowing the seeds, traditionally seeds have been put in shallow boxes in rows about two inches apart and covered lightly with vermiculite. Soon after the seeds come up, they are transplanted into other containers. An easier method is to start the seeds directly in the final growing container. For small individual, or sectioned, containers, it is common to plant two seeds per section. The final container should match the seed (or plant) planting depth to what it would be directly seeded in a garden.

Most seeds will germinate in a growing medium temperature of 60 to 70 degrees, but the melons and eggplants like it a bit warmer. Watering and fertilizing are just as important as seeding directly into a garden. Water can't be too much, or too little. The medium you are using also makes a difference, as peat pellets tend to dry out quickly. Fertilizer should be in the medium for the first three to four weeks. You can add a soluble fertilizer to the water at the rate of one tablespoon per gallon, to be used about once a week on established seedlings. Non-fertilized water should be used between the fertilizer applications.

Vegetable plants need direct light. Natural light only goes so far in the winter months. We want to try and provide about 12 hours of light a day on these transplants. Artificial lights work well to supplement natural light, or provide all light in a basement setting. Grow light bulbs work well, but are expensive. A combination of cool white fluorescents and incandescent bulbs provides about the same light spectrum. Lamps should be about 12 inches away from plant leaves.

Before your starts are transplanted outdoors, they should be hardened gradually by exposing them to outside conditions. Start by placing the plants outside a few hours a day. Use a very sheltered area to protect from direct light and winds. Gradually extend the time outdoors as planting time approaches. Remember, this process takes at least six weeks, so don't wait until the week before you are ready for transplants. Otherwise, you'll be in line buying plants.

In the dead of winter, it sure is nice to have something to look forward to. Especially when that something is colorful and alive, like growing plants. The arrival of seed catalogs tells us it is time to prepare for the growing season.

In a very short time it will be time to start your own transplants from seed. Just two months away we'll be seeding lawns and doing some renovation. And right now, we should be studying those seed catalogs and getting things bought or ordered. The trick is to have everything in hand so you can start about eight weeks in advance of when you want to set them out. It is also time to do pruning on most deciduous trees and shrubs. Of course you'll want to pick a warm, sunny day for those chores! Try to have that pruning done by early March.

More entries will follow in a few weeks with specifics on these different chores, but it is nice to at least think of colorful and alive things instead of the snow and cold.

Houseplants do not thrive during the winter months, states David Robson, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, Springfield Center. Yet, most homeowners try to "push" their plants to grow.

Tropical plants, like trees and shrubs, go through a dormant period. Leaves are not lost, but growth slows. New leaves and shoots are not produced. This natural resting state is important for a plant to build up food reserves and compensate for unfavorable environmental conditions.

Homeowners need to realize most plants grow in locations with at least 14 hours of sunlight per day, temperatures between 65 and 85 F and relative humidity approaching 100 percent. Indoor winter conditions usually only provide 8 hours of sunlight, temperatures ranging between 55 and 75 F and a humidity level of 15 to 20 percent.

When conditions are not ideal, plants enter their dormant state. That does not mean plants stop growing, Robson adds. Even leafless trees and shrubs outdoor are growing during the winter. Roots continue to absorb water, and nutrients, twigs and buds expand.

Plants easily adapt to cooler temperatures by slowing down the amount of water roots absorb and limiting new growth.

However, hot air blowing on a plant from a heat register may encourage a plant to produce weak, spindly growth. Always avoid placing plants in a direct line with hot air. Likewise, avoid drafts. Cold air can damage leaves and buds. Plants should be at least six inches from a window. Keep plants away from frequently opened outside doors.

Houseplants should not be forced into growth by using fertilizers. As a rule of thumb, avoid using fertilizers between October and April.

On the other hand, plants need as much light as possible during winter months. A typical double pane window can reduce the potential light by 80 percent. Add that to the fact that light intensity is cut by roughly 50 percent during the winter and you can see why some plants look anemic. South and west exposures provide the most light. Plants typically thriving during the spring and summer in a north or east window may need to be moved to a brighter window.

Supplement light can be added by placing the plant under a lamp. The top leaves of a houseplant should be between 10 and 24 inches under a fluorescent light and 15 and 30 inches for a typical incandescent bulb. Otherwise, you might burn the leaves. Further spacing results in less light reaching the leaves.

Water only when the plant needs it. Overwatering during the winter kills most plants. Allow all but the most sensitive plants to wilt slightly before watering. Plants can appear wilted for several days before passing the point of no return.

It is usually impossible to establish a schedule for watering during the winter. Outside and indoor temperatures have an effect. Check plants daily or weekly for watering needs.

Increasing the humidity level is the most helpful. Group plants together or purchase a cold-water humidifier or vaporizer. Plants can also be set on trays filled with pebbles and water. The pebbles prevent the plants from sitting directly in water. As the water evaporates, it creates a "mini" greenhouse around the plants. Misting increases the humidity around a plant for roughly five seconds. It might make you feel better, but it does little for the plant.

Houseplants do not thrive during the winter due to adverse growing conditions. However, houseplant pests such as mites, aphids and scales do.

Green plants have become very popular in homes. Most gardeners have learned how to handle such plants indoors with little difficulty. These plants are pleasant additions to our homes, but many gardeners are looking for something different—a new challenge.

Flowering plants can provide an added dimension to our indoor gardens. If you can grow green plants, you can grow flowering plants too. However, you will have to learn not only how to grow the plants, but how to get them to flower. There is tremendous satisfaction in getting a plant to grow, develop and burst forth with a profusion of bloom.

African violets are without a doubt the most commonly grown flowering plant indoors. They require 10 hours of light and moderate temperatures, and they resent having wet leaves. Once they become accustomed to their new home, they usually bloom faithfully and nearly year round.

Bromeliads are all related to pineapples. They grow in a similar fashion with a whorl of spiny leaves and a brilliant flower that develops in the midst of the whorl. They need well-drained soil, filtered light and household temperatures. When the plant has flowered, the center of the whorl deteriorates, but the new "pups" grow from the base.

Amaryllis are plants with strange habits. The large 4" bulbs are planted singly in pots with just enough room around them for a little soil. If watered immediately after potting, a bulb sends up a strong stem and, in six weeks or so, several 6-inch flowers. They may be red, orange, white or pink.

As the flowers fade, the bulb sends up several strap-like leaves that persist for several months. Plants sending up leaves in spring can be set outdoors in a protected place for the summer.

Repot, and bring in before frost. Dry off so leaves die back, and keep in a cool dry place for a couple of months. Then resume watering, and the cycle will repeat. Some people time the red flowers for Christmas each year.

There are several flowering shrubs that bloom well indoors. Oleander and hibiscus need only a bright warm place and will flower profusely. However, oleander is considered poisonous and should be kept away from children. Gardenia grows well and sets flower buds easily; but if it is too hot or cold, too dark or light, too wet or dry, it will drop its buds before they open. Azaleas grow nicely indoors and can take a summer vacation outdoors. Flower buds develop during summer but need several weeks of cool temperatures (in the 40's) to break dormancy. Then when moved indoors, the buds break into bloom for a period of several weeks.

Most gardeners consider orchids the maximum challenge, yet there are some species that adapt well to home conditions. Cymbidiums, the smaller colorful corsage orchids are remarkably easy considering the reward for the effort. The plants grow from pseudobulbs in a light potting mix of at least half sand. A shoot of daylily-like leaves develops each spring.

In the late fall or early winter, one or two flower spikes develop from the base of a pseudo bulb. A spike may have a dozen or more flowers which last for weeks. Pick off one or two, and make a corsage if you like.

Cymbidiums like filtered light and cool temperatures indoors. In summer, they really enjoy a screened porch or sheltered spot outdoors. Do not be intimidated by their reputation—the orchids make delightful houseplants.

Cyclamen has become one of the favorite winter blooming pot plants. Newer, hardier varieties introduced during the 1980's have increased the ease with which it can be grown and has led to increased popularity, states David Robson, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, Springfield Center.

The flowering period of the cyclamen is from mid-November or early December until well into spring. So, the cyclamen can add color and cheer to a household during the long, dreary winter months.

Cyclamens have either white, red or pink flowers that grow on tall stems above heart-shaped, blue-green or dark green leaves. The foliage is attractively marked with veins and light green splotches. Thirty or more blossoms may appear on the plant before it declines.

Cyclamen love cool temperatures and bright (not direct) light. A daytime temperature of 60 to 65 F is recommended with a nighttime minimum of 50 F. An ideal location is an unshaded east window, fairly close-up to the glass.

Cyclamen need relatively high humidity to remain attractive. To help maintain humidity, fill a large plate or broad, shallow pan with water. Set the cyclamen on an inverted dish, just up out of the water. The evaporating water will do a great deal towards maintaining humid air around the foliage and flowers.

Check soil moisture regularly. This plant requires plenty of water and good drainage. Keep water out of the foliage crowns.

Handled in this way, a well-budded specimen often continues blooming for 2 to 3 months. Bud blasting and leaf yellowing result from a hot, dry atmosphere, lack of water or insufficient light.

Although the cyclamen is difficult to re-bloom, you will be proud if you can be successful in your attempt. To carry it over for another season, gradually withhold water after the flowers are gone. When the foliage has withered, remove the "bulb" from the soil, clean off all of the soil and debris and store it in dry peat moss or vermiculite in a plastic bag at 50 degrees F.

Replant in good potting soil in May or June, keeping the upper half of the tuber above the surface. When well started, grow the plant in a cool, bright, protected spot outside, with partial shade during the hottest part of the day and with the pot sunk in a bed of moist peat moss.

The All-America Selections have been announced for 2009. Just in time for ordering in the seed catalogs coming our way! Check out the selections, or view past selections, at the link below:

http://www.all-americaselections.org/Winners.asp

During the Holiday Season there is much interest in other plants to brighten up the home. This link has information on many of the traditional favorites, as well as some of the not-so-traditional.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees/greenery.cfm

The poinsettia is a plant that is native to Mexico, and has become the traditional potted plant at Christmas time. While many believe that the red, pink, or white color is the flower, it is actually called a bract. Bracts are colored leaves. The true flowers are there, but they aren't very showy.

Many of the improved varieties offered today last an amazingly long time. To keep them looking good and lasting, keep the room temperatures between 60-68 degrees (if possible) and with very high humidity. Temperatures over 75 are really hard on poinsettias, especially with low humidity. Try to place your poinsettia by a bright window just out of direct sunlight. Remove it from the window at night if there is a danger of chilling. Keep soil moisture at moderate and uniform levels, and never let the pot stand in water.

Reblooming poinsettias is a common goal, but bear in mind that this is one of the most difficult plants to succeed with. If you're a gambler, or a die-hard horticulturalist, here are the basic steps to improve your success.

After you are done displaying your poinsettia, gradually withhold water. The leaves should soon turn yellow and drop. Store the dried-off plant in a cool (meaning 50-60 degree), dry, dark, basement room until April or May. During this period, water lightly with just enough to keep the roots and stems from drying out too much.

When you bring the plant back up, prune stems to about six inches. Remove from the pot, take some old soil from the roots, then repot using a well-drained mixture. If there are several plants in the pot, separate and pot them individually. Use a pot that provides plenty of room. Water the plant well and place in a warm, sunny spot for renewed plant growth. You can put the plants outside when frost danger has passed, but be wary of direct sun in the hottest part of the day. You may have to repot the plant if it becomes rootbound. If you're into starting cuttings, you may have decent success by starting new plant from the shoots that appear on your old cut-back plant in the spring.

Keep the plant actively growing during the summer months by watering regularly and applying a complete liquid fertilizer every couple of weeks. As new shoots form, pinch them back so that two nodes (leaf pairs) remain on each. Stop pinching off shoots in August. Also, you may want to remove some of the weaker stems completely, allowing only a few of the stronger ones to develop. Control insects as they appear, and if plants become diseased they should be pitched.

Before cool weather in the fall, place the plant inside in a south window with full sun through the day. Watch the temperatures and moistures. Temperatures should be 60-65 during the day and 70-75 at night. Moisture should be moderate. Starting the last week of September, your plant should only be exposed to natural sunlight (this means no house lights after dark). Probably the best method is to put the plant in a closet overnight. Once the leaf color forms you can increase non-daylight light.

With these recommendations, and a little bit of luck, your poinsettia should be ready for the holiday season.