Good Morning- Last week I noticed rose aphids for the first time on one of our properties. Aphids are easily controlled with insecticides or a sharp spray of water on the bush to knock them off the plant. Rose aphids are soft bodied insects approx. 1/4" in size and will vary in color from green to red.
It is time to spray Pines for tip and needle blight diseases. The target time to spray is when the candles or shoots (new growth) begin to elongate which is normally in Late April-May. However, due to the unseasonably warm winter and spring, they are elongating right now. Timing of fungicide sprays are imperative to control the disease. If the spraying is done too early or too late, it is useless. We recommend a series of 2-3 sprays approx. 14-21 days apart. Please call us if you have any questions.
Anthracnose is a common fungal disease that affects many varieties in Kansas each year. Some affected trees are: Maple, Ash, Sycamore, Elm, Oak, Walnut and Cottonwood. Many of these diseases develop in the spring and have similar leaf symptoms (blotchy leaf spots), but the common thread to all anthracnose diseases is the fact that the fungi which cause them produce similar, cup-like fruiting structures (spore-producing structures) called acervuli. These fungi also are host specific. For example, the fungus which causes anthracnose on maple will not cause injury to black walnut, and vice-versa. Anthracnose can be treated effectively if caught by fungicide.
Emerald Ash Borer found in Iowa along the banks of the Mississippi river in Allamakee County. This is the first confirmed case of the EAB in Iowa. This pest is native of to Eastern Asia and was first detected in near Detroit, Michigan in 2002. The pest kills all species of Ash trees at a devastating rate. The are approximately 80 million Ash trees in Iowa that are at a severe risk to be infested and possibly killed by the Emerald Ash Borer.
You may have noticed a patch or two of these odd looking guys in your mulch. Slime molds get there name from the fact that they may look slimey or as if they are oozing when they are wet. They come in many shapes and sizes, but in our area we mostly see brown or yellow blobs similar to the picture. If you disturb them a brown powder (spores) blow up and can be messy.
Slime molds thrive in wet humid conditions and actually feed on decaying plant material (mulch.) It can be seen in the lawn but seems to be a regular problem in the mulch beds. It is pretty much a harmless organism that can be looked at as an eyesore, or a speciman piece for your garden. For most of us it probably falls into the eyesore catagory. The most efficient way to be rid of slime mold is to simply scrape it up with a shovel and put it in with your lawn refuse or trash. You can also just disturb the mound with a rake or your foot and it will typically dry out and disappear into the mulch within a week or so. As the wet weather goes away and the high temperatures settle in, the slime mold will go away.
Picture from www.japanfocus.org
