Pests & Weeds Archives - Page 18 of 23 - Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

There’s a new bug in Western New York and it might eat plants in your garden

by Dana Santasiero There’s a new bug in Western New York and there are two main things you need to know about it. First, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is called a stink bug because when you step on it, it smells. Second, it could eat the plants in your garden. The good news is even though it is big and ugly, it won’t hurt you. You might find it in your house over the winter but it’ll just be…...

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Dec 8, 2015

Disease called aster yellows is affecting coneflowers in WNY; get rid of diseased plants

by Connie Oswald Stofko Margaret Raupp, coordinator of Open Gardens, brought to my attention a couple plant problems that she noticed around Western New York this summer. Last week we talked about the lily leaf beetle, which is damaging lilies. This week we’ll discuss aster yellows disease, which affects coneflowers and causes the blossom to be deformed. “I saw it everywhere and most gardeners were not aware of it,” Raupp said. Bizarre green tufts growing out of the flower are…...

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Aug 25, 2015

Had damage to your lilies? You might have a new invasive bug called lily leaf beetle

by Connie Oswald Stofko Margaret Raupp, coordinator of Open Gardens, alerted me to a couple of problems with disease and pests that she noticed while touring the gardens. We’ll talk about the first one, lily leaf beetle, today. Raupp said that when she visited an Open Garden in Lockport, the garden of John Taylor and Mary Brennan-Taylor, almost all of the Asiatic and Oriental lilies were lost to the lily leaf beetle, an invasive species that’s fairly new to Western…...

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Aug 18, 2015

Pool owners: It’s time to look for invasive Asian longhorned beetle

It’s again time for pool owners to check their filters and skimmers for the Asian longhorned beetle. If you find one, please report it during the fourth annual Citizen Pool Survey being held through Aug. 30 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). If you don’t have a pool, you can still help. DEC expanded its survey to include photo submissions from anyone who spots a suspect beetle, even if the beetle isn’t found in a pool…....

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Jul 28, 2015

Wet weather brings mildew, blight to Western New York gardens

by Connie Oswald Stofko “The wetness we had early in the season has caused disease issues that will show up the rest of the season,” said John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County. These issues include mildew and blight. How you handle it depends on the particular plant that is affected as well as on your gardening preferences. Some plants that get a fungal disease don’t need to be treated at all. If a lilac bush…...

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Jul 14, 2015

Help a reader: How can you keep squirrels from eating your tomatoes?

by Connie Oswald Stofko A reader sent me this question that I can’t answer, but I hope one of my readers can. If you have suggestions, please leave a comment below. Does anyone have suggestions for deterring squirrels? Every year my friendly neighborhood squirrel gets in my garden and eats my tomatoes. He even actually brings them up on my porch sometimes and leaves the peels and uneaten portions laying there. It’s very frustrating that he picks my fruit before…...

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Jun 29, 2015

Update: Impatiens might do okay in WNY this year, or they might not

by Connie Oswald Stofko If this summer is like last summer in Western New York, you might be able to plant impatiens and have them perform well, perhaps into August, anyway. But there are still a lot of ifs involved, and there are certainly no guarantees. Margery Daughtrey, senior extension associate with Cornell University who co-wrote a fact sheet on how downy mildew affects impatiens, gives us an update on what Western New York gardeners might expect from impatiens this…...

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May 6, 2014

bee from Buffalo and Erie Botanical Gardens

You can help protect bees from toxins; learn more at Honey Bee Festival

by Connie Oswald Stofko Let the clover and dandelions grow in your lawn. Minimize your pesticide use, too, especially on flowers that are attractive to honey bees. Those are ways gardeners can help with the problem of Colony Collapse Disorder, said Reed Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at the Ohio State University. Dr. Johnson will speak at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 3 at the Honey Bee Festival at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South…...

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Apr 29, 2014

Two new emerald ash borer infestations confirmed in WNY

Recent detections of trees infested with Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Angola (Erie County) and Fredonia (Chautauqua County), both near the NYS Thruway, remind us that we need to continue to prepare for the eventual spread of this devastating invasive insect, according to Cornell Cooperative Extension. The Chautauqua detection is the first reported find of EAB infested ash trees in that county, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). A free information session on the EAB…...

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Apr 29, 2014

Help a reader: What is this awful plant?

by Connie Oswald Stofko A reader sent me this question: “I have what I assume is a weed every year in one garden bed. I cannot get rid of it no matter what I try. It is green leafed and grows on a stem that snakes under ground. The stem is reddish purple under ground and the leaves come up from that as it spreads all over. It can get very tall. It’s coming up already. It twists through my…...

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Apr 22, 2014