We’ve had numerous calls this season about mushrooms popping up in lawns and landscapes. When the “fungus among us” forms a circle or arc pattern, it’s commonly known as a fairy ring. In some cases, fairy ring mushrooms can cause a discoloration or abnormal growth of turfgrass in lawns. According…
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Chances are, some or maybe even all of your trees on your property have a scaly-like substance all over them. What is it? And could it be a sign the tree is dying? UGA Extension Agent Paul Pugliese will answer those questions on the Farm Monitor.
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Sooty mold can be a very confusing plant disorder to troubleshoot for many backyard gardeners and commercial landscapers. Quite often small trees, shrubs, and flowers that have no obvious insect or disease problems can be completely covered by this mysterious black mold. Even more perplexing is the fact that the…
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Japanese holly, Ilex crenata, are popular evergreen shrubs found in many residential and commercial landscapes. Unlike many other types of hollies, Japanese hollies do not have any thorns. Some of the more popular varieties include ‘Helleri’, ‘Compacta’, and ‘Soft Touch’. These slow-growing Japanese holly varieties produce dense, compact shrubs that…
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The most important part of landscape disease management is identifying the problem. Eighty percent of all plant disorders are the result of the inability of a plant to adapt to its environment. Knowing the problem, whether it is stress related and/or disease related, begins with being able to correctly identify…
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Blueberries are one of the most popular backyard fruits for Georgia because they are relatively low maintenance compared to other fruit species. However, there is one particular disease issue known as “mummy berry” that can be problematic for blueberry growers. The disease is easily recognized when the fruit begins to…
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Every summer, we receive a lot of calls about holes in the leaves of ornamental cherry trees and other related fruit trees. Generally, when you think of holes in the leaves of a tree, you automatically assume that it was caused by some sort of chewing insect such as a…
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Brown rot is one of the most common and damaging fungal diseases of peaches in Georgia. In most years, all of the ripening fruit can be lost to this disease on unsprayed trees. The severity of the disease can vary from year to year depending on the amount of moisture…
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The oozing sap on stems and fruit are actually caused by two different issues. The exuding of sap or gum from the stems of stone fruit trees (peaches, plums, cherry) is so common it has been given the name gummosis.
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The abundant rainfall and warm weather over the past few weeks has unleashed a potential plague of weeds, insects, and garden diseases. It appears that spring is coming early this year! So far, we are about ten inches above normal for rainfall in North Georgia. Soil temperatures are warming up…
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