Stay with us this year as we create a library of viewers Frequently Asked Questions. 

Ornamental Diseases

1. I had Botrytis in my peonies last year.  What can I do to protect them this year?
    
2. This viewer thinks they have verticillium wilt in a Smoketree. Is there a way to tell before they take action? And if it is, then what happens?

Tree Diseases

1. My Austrian pine tree has a lot of brown needles.  What's the problem?
    
2. My ornamental plum tree has large black swellings on several branches.  What is this and will it kill my tree?

Vegetable Diseases

1. We're having a lot of trouble with diseases in tomatoes. Leaves turn brown from the bottom of the plant and move upward.  Is it a blight or a wilt?  We've moved the plants and rotated them to a new location in the garden but this hasn't helped.  So now we're thinking about creating raised beds. Will that help if these are soil fungi?
    
2. I would like to start seeds inside.  I have started them, but as soon as they start growing, they just fall over and die. What am I doing wrong?

General

1. What is a rain barrel?  Can I use rain water collected from my home's downspouts on my landscape plants?

2. This is a viewer bought jelly crystals in a store, those that expand to a hundred times their original size in water. They wonder whether they can actually put it in their garden soil to retain moisture or will it do any damage to the plants?

Trees & Shrubs

1. Large sections of the outer branches on my holly bush have brown, dried leaves this spring. It was fine in the fall, but now I'm finding all these brown leaves. What's going on?

2. A couple of evergreen questions with similar problems, even though the trees are different.  Forty 1-year old pines are turning yellowish on the south side of the trees in late April.  The south side does get more wind than the other side. The second tree is an arbovitae that is also turning brown.  What is happening?

3. What should I use for mulch around and under trees and plants to suppress weeds? Which is better: wood, rubber, or rocks? In addition, do I use landscape fabric?

4. A viewer has two oak trees with iron chlorosis. The trees are very large, but the leaves are light green. They want to know if there is a newer treatment than iron injections or inserting tablets to manage chlorosis.

Vegetables

1. When and where to I pick morel mushrooms?

2. My potatoes have developed small green, round "tomatoes" at the top of the plants.  Are these really tomatoes?

Household Insects

1. This viewer thinks they had wireworms invading last fall. They're wondering whether there's anything they can do to keep the bugs from invading the house next fall.

Lawn & Landscape Insects

1. I have mounds of soil in lawn, I think it is worms. Could it be anything else?
    
2. This is a viewer that has pavement ants where the concrete foundation and wooden structure of the house meet. They say it is difficult to get a granular control in there in the basement. How can they kill them?
    
3. Last year we had an infestation in the yard of very large, black & yellow wasps, which I understand are cicada killer wasps.  How can I get rid of them?

Ornamentals & Their Insect Problems

1. My roses have round sections chewed out of the leaves.  What's causing this and will it damage my plants?

Tree Insects

1. Parts of my juniper tree are turning brown.  When I look closely I see there are many small cocoons hanging from underneath the branches.  What's damaging my tree?
    
2. If homeowers don't see any bagworms on their evergreen trees, but know that trees in the neighborhood are affected how many times they should spray their trees and with what if they don't see them.
    
3. Small greenish caterpillars are eating the needles on my evergreen trees.  What are these insects and how can I control them?
    
4. What is this webby mass on top of my River Birch, and will to come back?

1. When do I prune my spring

2.  My ornamental plum tree has large black swellings on several branches.  What is this and will it kill my tree?

3. This Japanese Weeping cherry has developed a split and several of the limbs are starting to grow up and not down.  What can I do?

1.  Large sections of the outer branches on my holly bush have brown, dried leaves this spring. It was fine in the fall, but now I'm finding all these brown leaves. What's going on?

2. A couple of evergreen questions with similar problems, even though the trees are different.  Forty 1-year old pines are turning yellowish on the south side of the trees in late April.  The south side does get more wind than the other side. The second tree is an arbovitae that is also turning brown.  What is happening?

2. Parts of my juniper tree are turning brown. When I look closely I see there are many small cocoons hanging from underneath the branches. What's damaging my tree?

3. My Austrian pine tree has a lot of brown needles. What's the problem?

4.  My ornamental plum tree has large black swellings on several of the branches. What is this and will it kill my tree?

5. Is there something that can be applied around the ash trees to keep them from getting Emerald Ash borer (EAB)?

1. How do I plant asparagus?
    
2. Can you sprinkle rock salt on the base of asparagus to keep weeds out of it?
    
3. When and where do I pick morel mushrooms?
    
4. We're having a lot of trouble with diseases in tomatoes. Leaves turn brown from the bottom of the plant and move upward.  Is it a blight or a wilt?  We've moved the plants and rotated them to a new location in the garden but this hasn't helped.  So now we're thinking about creating raised beds. Will that help if these are soil fungi?