bird in hanging basket

What can you do to prevent birds from nesting in hanging baskets?

by Connie Oswald Stofko Here’s a question from a reader: Have you heard of any way to deter pesky little birds from nesting in my hanging planters? Carol Thibault of Elma We love birds visiting our gardens, but I can see where it would be a nuisance if birds nest in hanging baskets. When you try to water your plants, you disturb the birds, and if you don’t water, your plants will die. Plus, the nest may mess up the…

fungus on crab apple

How to deal with fungus on crabapples, lilies

by Carol Sitarski Master Gardener, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Allegany County It’s raining, it’s pouring, and the fungal spores may be growing. This spring’s rain seemed to be nonstop. Don’t get me wrong— we needed rain to replenish our water tables, but with the good comes the bad. The bad is all the fungus that may start growing on our susceptible trees and plants. Already I have seen this happening on crabapple trees and Asiatic lilies in my area and…

Emerald Ash Borer larvae

Don’t move ash wood; there’s one big Restricted Zone now for Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)

There used to be eight separate Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Restricted Zones in New York State, and now they’ve been expanded and merged into one big zone. In the Restricted Zone, you can’t move potentially infested ash wood, which includes firewood, logs, branches and nursery stock. The new EAB Restricted Zone includes part or all of Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chenango, Chemung, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Genesee, Greene, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans,…

stinging nettle

Stinging nettle: weed or crop?

by Paul Hetzler, Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County If you have a nettle patch, put away the weed killer and consider yourself lucky to have this tasty plant. Many gardeners don’t like stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) because they are painful to touch. The plants sprout little hypodermic needles on their stems, leaves and even flowers. These glass-like silica-based needles, called trichomes, inject a mixture of irritating chemicals upon contact. So why would you risk putting it in your…

red lily leaf beetles mating

Wasp could help battle red lily leaf beetle, but not soon

by Connie Oswald Stofko A parasitic wasp could help Western New York gardeners battle the red lily leaf beetle, but that help is still years away, said John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County. What to do now with red lily leaf beetle Now is the time to look for the red lily leaf beetle, which can cause extensive damage to lilies and a spring bulb plant called fritillaria. The pests aren’t a problem for daylilies,…

creeping Charlie in Amherst NY

What to do about creeping Charlie

by Connie Oswald Stofko In this month’s issue of WNY Gardening Matters, the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County give us some hints on what to do about creeping Charlie, a weed that many of us struggle with. As they suggest, I will get out there now. It’s easier to get rid of this weed when you catch it early, and it’s easier to pull out when the ground is wet. In the article, you will not…

lesser celandine in yard

Don’t let your lawn get to this point, dig up lesser celandine now

by Connie Oswald Stofko I’ve been getting emails from people wanting to know what to do with lawns filled with lesser celandine. My best advice is to not let it get that far. Dig it up now. And do it this year when you have only a few patches! This is a serious weed, said Carol Ann Harlos, Master Gardener, garden writer and speaker. “You have two choices,” Harlos said. “You can either spend the time and dig it out…

oak wilt

Prune oak trees now to protect against spreading disease called oak wilt

Pruning oak trees in winter can help protect the oaks from becoming infected with oak wilt, a fungal disease that can be deadly for oaks, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The disease was discovered in six new locations in New York State last year and can be spread by beetles that are attracted to freshly cut or injured trees. Benefits of winter pruning: Diseases are rarely spread during this time, since insects and fungi are inactive. A tree’s…

soap slivers to keep deer and rabbits out of your garden

Simple and cheap tips for preventing deer & rabbits from eating your plants

by Connie Oswald Stofko You can never have too many tips for keeping deer and rabbits away from our plants. Even if we find something that works, the animals often get used to that technique and we have to try something else. Here are a bunch of tips. One is from me, but the rest are ones that local gardeners have shared with me. (These tips are often shared in quick conversations, so I often don’t have the name of…

For desperate gardeners, new idea to keep deer out of your garden

by Connie Oswald Stofko I saw some beautiful gardens when I was in Atlanta a couple weeks ago to attend the conference of GWA: The Association of Garden Communicators. But since the climate is so different there, I wasn’t sure I would be able to bring back any tips that would help us here in Western New York. Then we went to the home of Lee Dunn and her husband Mike. There I saw something that should interest gardeners who…