septoria leaf spot and powdery mildew

QuestionI live in southwest kansas. We have had an atypical wet spring summer and fall. My garden was infected with septoria leaf spot, started on my tomatoes and ran rampid through my garden. Got it identified by o

Sick Boston Ivy

QuestionThe Boston Ivy on an entire two-story brick wall of our home, looks and acts awful. Its been there for 19 years and approx. five years ago the leaves started turning yellow and then dropping. The

name of a plant species

QuestionDear Jim, I would like to aske why there is sometimes (L.) after a plant species name? What is it for? Does it need to be typed in italic as the species name? Also, apart from (L.), is there any similar ab

Deer

QuestionWhy are some many foresters, such as yourself, intent on reducing deer numbers to such low levels? Lower than they would be under natural conditions. AnswerYou have somewhere in your past been m

Disease in pine trees

QuestionThere is a disease killing the pine trees in my neighborhood. I have the largest pine, well over 50 feet and dont want to lose it. The first thing Ive seen is needles turning brown, falling off w

Conifer diseases

QuestionI have a loblolly pine that has a black sooty discoloration on its needles. Can you tell me what is may be and what to do with it? AnswerThe mold you are seeing is called sooty mold. It grows on the e

very tiny bugs on indoor plant

QuestionHi Jim, My schefflera has very, very tiny black bugs or a fungus all over it. Would a mix of dawn and water sprayed all over it help? A neighbor recommended this. Help!! I dont want the plant t

Preventing ginkgo blooms

QuestionDo you know if it is possible to treat a female ginkgo tree to prevent flowering and avoid the fruits? AnswerNo not really. Most experts say that the smell from the fruit can be avoided IF the fruit is coll

norway spruce

QuestionI live in Carmel, Indiana (near Indianapolis) and I have a couple of mature norway spruce trees (30-40 tall) that are dropping a significant amount of needles this winter. This is unlike normal need

Mealybugs - Indoor Plants

QuestionI have a problem with mealybugs & wish some specific advice. I have an extensive indoor plant collection & would like to use some of them to propagate more plants to sell. With mealybugs now, its out of the

Dead trees and shrubs

QuestionDear Jim, This is a strange one for you--There was a car fire in the street in front of my home in San Diego, Ca. about three weeks ago with alot of smoke and flames. A few days

Crepe Myrtle trees?

QuestionI have always had to spray my crepe myrtle trees in the summer because the beetles love them.This past year over a period of a month the leaves had this thick black coating on them that was terrible.What is

bagworms/webworms

QuestionThus far, I have been unable to eradicate bagworms and fall webworms in my pecan trees. What preventive measures can I take to keep them from going up the trees to begin with? Timing? Treat

sunflower diseases

QuestionHi, My name is Lindsey Fletcher and I am a seventh grade student doing an experiment to see if frosting will effect a sunflowers growth. I would like to know what diseases can effect a sunflower and how I ca

what can diseases that can kill my plant

Questionhi, I am Amy Aupperle. I am 12 years old. and I LOVE SCIENCE!!!! i wanted some imformation on the plant call sweet pea. what could kill them like cold weather hot weather something like that? so i hope you c

Are plants alive?

QuestionHi, I dont know if your the person to ask... but here goes, I made the mistake of buying grape vines, a fig and a Pecan tree from a flee market. When I opened the bag containg them there was sawdust in there

growing plants

QuestionMy name is Jessica Goines. I am in the 8th grade and I am doing a science fair project on growing plants. The question I am dealing with is will a plant grow better with water or with milk.  

Italian cypress & Euonymus question

QuestionI live in Dallas. I have an Italian cypress that had spider mites. They are gone but the bottom 1/3 rd of the tree has died back. New growth is stunted. What can I do? I have powdery mildew on a varigated e

Can Black Knot affect maples and birch,

QuestionAnswer - No black knot dose not effect Maples or Birch but the prunus species. There are several canker diseases that cause growths that could resemble the canker of black knot. Here is a web site on one of

blackspot on roses

QuestionWhat is the cause of black spot, I have a climbing rose that suffers badley from blackspot every year, even though i spray, I get severe foliage lose and bud distortion, can i prevent this problem from occur