The bad news is that the invasive Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was found in six areas in the New York City region beginning in 1996. The good news is that it was eradicated in four of those areas! The ALB hasn’t been identified in Western New York yet. But if it arrives here, we want to find it early so we can eradicate it before it damages trees. This invasive beetle attacks and kills maples, birches, willows and other hardwoods,…
Volunteers are needed to help WNY PRISM remove Japanese stiltgrass, a high priority, early detection invasive species, from areas in West Seneca. Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) was recently found in parts of Western New York. It is an annual, short grass that quickly spreads to form extensive mats that harm native plants and plant communities. It can also alter soil nutrient cycling processes, facilitate erosion, inhibit tree survival and growth, and reduce habitat and forage for wildlife. The plant is simple to…
by Connie Oswald Stofko The bad news is that a spotted lanternfly (SLF), an invasive insect, was reported last week in West Seneca. The good news is that the specimen that was found was dead. More good news is that Western New York probably doesn’t have an established spotted lanternfly population yet. There are two things that point to that conclusion. First, the specimen that was found was an adult, and it’s too early in the year to find an…
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a weed you may see at this time of year, said Carol Ann Harlos in WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. This plant and other ephemeral spring weeds pop up when the earth warms, quickly bloom and produce seeds. When the seeds are ripe, they shoot out and wait until autumn to germinate and grow. Depending on the conditions, several generations of plants can occur before…
by Connie Oswald Stofko “We do not have Asian giant hornets (also known as murder hornets) anywhere in Western New York,” said Sharon Bachman, Agriculture & Natural Resources Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. We ran an article about murder hornets in October 2021. We didn’t have any in Western New York then and we still don’t have any. I keep hearing from people who think they have spotted murder hornets–or even insist that what they encountered was…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here is one update and two reminders for the beginning of the growing season in Western New York. Some gardeners say they have seen fewer red lily leaf beetles in past years. Get tips on growing vegetables in gardens and in containers. Mulch volcanoes are popular, but bad for your trees. Are there fewer red lily leaf beetles in WNY? A few gardeners mentioned to me that they saw fewer red lily leaf beetles in Western…
Two recent articles from WNY Gardening Matters give updates on jumping worms, an invasive species that leaches nutrients from soil, making it difficult for most plants to grow. Jumping worms have been found in Western New York. NY iMapInvasives is trying to track where jumping worms are and where they haven’t gotten to yet. Please look in your yard and let NY iMapInvasives know whether or not you see this invasive pest. WNY Gardening Matters The first article says that…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Some gardening tasks have a small window of opportunity. Here are four things you should do in your garden now. Stop weeds before they pop out of the ground Pre-emergent herbicides stop weeds before they even pop out of the ground– they act on seeds at the germination stage. The optimal time to use pre-emergent herbicides is early in the spring, just before the forsythias bloom or while they are in bloom. Corn gluten meal is…
Winter is the best time to spot the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, and you can help monitor them from Feb. 12 through March 12 in New York’s first statewide Winter Mapping Challenge. You could win a prize! The challenge is being hosted by NY iMapInvasives and the NYS Hemlock Initiative. To participate: Get outside, find some hemlock trees and check for white “fuzz balls” on the undersides of twigs– these are the egg masses. Report your findings to iMap. Even if you don’t…
American wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), a native plant, is an appealing evergreen groundcover, according to this article in the most recent edition of WNY Gardening Matters. Its glossy leaves emit a pleasant teaberry scent when crushed. Its white flowers are tinged with pink in summer and develop attractive red berries. There’s another evergreen groundcover with the common name of wintergreen, but it’s in an entirely different family. Learn more about spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) in this article, too. Also in this…
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