Trees live in societies, and “In those societies, there is so much going on,” said Suzanne Simard. “It’s complex. “Trees have complex lives. They know what their neighbors are doing. They communicate with them through these webs of fungal filaments that travel through the soil. They also communicate by sending off chemicals through the air.” Dr. Simard, author of Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, will speak in a free, virtual event to be held at 7…
When you think of a willow, you probably think of a weeping willow (Salix babylonica), which originated in China. But if you want butterflies in your garden, you might want to choose native varieties of willow– they support at least 455 species of butterfly larva. Find out more reasons to plant native willows in the article Willows That Don’t Weep by Lynn Chimera. It’s one of the latest articles published in WNY Gardening Matters by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Now is the time to place your pre-order for the Great Plant Sale at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The deadline to order is Friday, April 10, but don’t wait–some plants sell out early. You can order online. You’ll pick up your pre-ordered plants at the Great Plant Sale at the Botanical Gardens from May 14-16. There will be other plants for sale then, too, that you don’t have to pre-order. But if you…
An invasive plant that has been identified in Genesee County and may be other parts of Western New York is slender false brome, according to an article in the latest issue of WNY Gardening Matters, published by the Master Gardeners of Erie County. Because slender false brome looks so much like other grasses, it may be undetected in other counties. See more about the plant in this article by Lisa Marie Gee. Other articles in this issue are: Find out…
Find trees to fit your landscape in the annual seedling sales held by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and by local counties. Each sale has different offerings. In addition to tree seedlings, some counties offer shrubs, wildflower seeds, ferns and supplies for your plants. See details on the DEC sale here. See sales in these counties: Cattaraugus Chautauqua Erie Genesee Niagara Orleans (See page 5 of the newsletter.) Trees with flowers, fruit & nuts Here are…
If you’re looking for a plant that blooms in your garden now, consider witch-hazel. American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a native shrub that produces fragrant blooms in late fall and early winter, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The streamer-like flowers are just starting to appear at this time of year, following the annual loss of the shrub’s leaves. The yellow flowers typically last into December. Since witch-hazel is one of the few plants blooming now,…
Blossom end rot is connected to a calcium deficiency, but, oddly enough, adding calcium to the soil doesn’t help. Read more in the article here to find out why. That’s just one of the articles you’ll find in the most recent issue of WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. Here are the other articles you’ll find in this issue: Earwigs are invasive insects that may cause minimal damage to plants but…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here are updates on three diseases and one pest: downy mildew on impatiens, tar spot on maple leaves, late blight on tomatoes and potatoes, and the brown marmorated stink bug. Maybe you’ve been dealing with these issues for years, or you might be noticing one of these for the first time. John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, gives us updates. Impatiens There’s good news and bad news about impatiens (Impatiens walleriana)….
If you want a large, dramatic plant with showy flowers that also attracts lots of pollinators, go for goat’s beard. That’s the suggestion from Lyn Chimera in September’s issue of WNY Gardening Matters, published by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. Goat’s beard (Aruncus dioicus), is hardy in zones 6-8, but needs moist shade in zones 7 and 8. It can get seven feet tall and four feet wide, so make sure you have enough room….
by Connie Oswald Stofko Even if you’ve never heard of mulch volcanoes, you’ve seen them. They’re those neat, cone-shaped piles of mulch at the base of trees. They’re kind of pretty. But like a real volcano, a mulch volcano is dangerous — it can slowly kill your tree. Nobody seems to know how this trend started. The trend continues, I guess, because people copy their neighbors. And then the mulch volcanoes seem to be everywhere. If everybody is doing it,…
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