Mealybugs can be a problem for your houseplants during winter.
Find out what to do about this pest in the newest edition of WNY Gardening Matters, published by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County.
Mealybugs are tiny, but they’re a problem because they suck fluid from plant, weakening the plant and making the plant susceptible to diseases.
A second article in WNY Gardening Matters is an update on oak wilt, a disease affecting oak trees. We discussed oak wilt here on Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com in August, and now this disease has been discovered in Canandaigua.
A third article shares information that Master Gardeners learned in an Agriculture Staff In-Service at Cornell in November. After our dry summer, gardeners will be interested to hear that Frank Rossi, associate professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist, said he has never seen a lawn die from drought. Lawn irrigation is not necessary once the lawn is established. The same article has two more topics: forecasting invasive species using climate change and a discussion of whether alien plants can be good.
Vinegar and water 1 to 9 mix does a great job of killing scale and mealy bugs. Just makes one hungry for a salad but not harmful to humans.