Landscape Diagnostic Guide

Landscape Diagnostics cover for Problems Affecting Woody Ornamentals and Herbaceous Perennials

This guide provides information on problems commonly associated with woody and herbaceous perennials of the upper Midwest. Detailed information about when and where the problems are observed, signs and symptoms, and treatment methods are included for each problem.

Landscape problems can be caused by living (biotic) or nonliving (abiotic) sources. Biotic pests include insects, mites, fungi, viruses, bacteria, and wildlife. Abiotic problems develop from environmental (temperature, wind, moisture), site (soil, compaction), cultural (pruning, mower blight), chemical (spills), or nutritional (excess or deficiency) problems.

NOTE: All links below are PDF files (Size range: 200KB to 1.5MB). You will need Adobe Reader to view and print the files.

Woody Ornamentals

Arborvitae
Ash
Aspen
Azalea/Rhododendron
Bald Cypress
Birch
Catalpa
Cotoneaster
Cottonwood
Dogwood
Elm
Euonymus
Fir
Firethorn
Flowering Ornamental Fruit Trees
Forsythia
Hackberry
Hawthorn
Honeylocust
Honeysuckle Juniper/Cedar
Lilac
Linden
Locust
Magnolia
Maple
Mountainash
Oak
Pine
Privet
Redbud
Rose
Serviceberry
Spirea
Spruce
Sycamore
Viburnum
Walnut
Willow
Yew

Herbaceous Perennials

Aster
Butterflybush
Chrysanthemum
Columbine
Coneflower, Rudbeckia
Daylily
Delphinium
Geranium
Grasses, Ornamental
Hibiscus
Hosta
Iris
Milkweed, Butterfly
Peony
Periwinkle (Vinca)
Phlox

Vertebrate Pests

Vertebrate Pests

Vertebrate pest damage occurs on many woody and herbaceous plants. Most of the time vertebrate pests are not discriminating as to the host they damage.

Damage from beavers, chipmunks, deer/elk, feral hogs, mice, pocket gophers, porcupines, rabbits, raccoons/opossums, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, tree squirrels, voles, woodchucks, woodpeckers, and other birds are included in the vertebrate pest pages.