Apply Give Search UMass.edu Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (/) UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program (/landscape) Search CAFE LNUF Home (/landscape) About (/landscape/about) Newsletters & Updates (/landscape/newsletters-updates) Publications & Resources (/landscape/publications-resources) Services (/landscape/services) Education & Events (/landscape/upcoming-events) Make a Gift (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1640/alumni/index.aspx? sid=1640&gid=2&pgid=443&cid=1121&dids=2540) Landscape Message: June 11, 2021 June 11, 2021 Issue: 10 UMass Extension's Landscape Message is an educational newsletter intended to inform and guide Massachusetts Green Industry professionals in the management of our collective landscape. Detailed reports from scouts and Extension specialists on growing conditions, pest activity, and cultural practices for the management of woody ornamentals, trees, and turf are regular features. The following issue has been updated to provide timely management information and the latest regional news and environmental data. The Landscape Message will be updated weekly in June. The next message will be posted on June 18. To receive immediate notication when the next Landscape Message update is posted, be sure to join our e-mail list (/landscape/email-list) To read individual sections of the message, click on the section headings below to expand the content: Scouting Information by Region Environmental Data The following data was collected on or about June 9, 2021. Total accumulated growing degree days (GDD) represent the heating units above a 50° F baseline temperature collected via regional NEWA stations for the 2021 calendar year. This information is intended for use as a guide for monitoring the developmental stages of pests in your location and planning management strategies accordingly. Soil Temp GDD Precipitation MA Region/Location (°F at 4" depth) Time/Date of Readings (1-Week Gain) 1-Week Gain 2021 Total Sun Shade CAPE 149.5 446 69 65 0.28 12:00 PM 6/9 SOUTHEAST 162.5 498.5 84 72 0.24 4:00 PM 6/9 NORTH SHORE 189 591.5 72 68 0.13 10:30 AM 6/9 EAST 185 593.5 73 67 0.12 4:00 PM 6/9 METRO 173 556 70 65 0.008 5:30 AM 6/9 CENTRAL 179.5 576 70 70 0.11 7:00 AM 6/9 PIONEER VALLEY 176 568 73 69 0.48 12:00 PM 6/9 BERKSHIRES 150.5 428 68 66 0.42 8:00 AM 6/9 AVERAGE 171 532 72 68 0.22 _ n/a = information not available As of 6/8, there is a status of "abnormally dry" for the Cape and Islands: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MA (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MA) Current municipal water restrictions are shown on this map: https://www.mass.gov/doc/water-use- restrictions-map/download (https://www.mass.gov/doc/water-use-restrictions-map/download) Phenology INDICATOR PLANTS - STAGES OF FLOWERING (BEGIN, BEGIN/FULL, FULL, FULL/END, END) PLANT NAME (BOTANIC/ CAPE S.E. N.S. EAST METRO W. CENT. P.V. BERK. COMMON) Tilia cordata Begin * * Begin Begin * Begin * (littleleaf linden) Rhus typhina * * * * * * * * (staghorn sumac) Ligustrum spp. Begin Begin Begin Begin Begin * Begin * (privet) Catalpa Begin Begin Begin Begin Begin Begin Begin/Full * speciosa (northern catalpa) Kalmia latifolia Begin/Full Full Full Full Full Full Full * (mountain laurel) Cotinus Begin/Full Begin/Full Full Full/End Full/End Begin/Full Full Full coggygria (common smokebush) Weigela orida Full/End Full/End Full/End Full/End Full/End Full/End End Full/End (old fashioned weigela) Syringa meyeri End Full Full/End Full/End Full/End * Full/End Full (Meyer lilac) Enkianthus * * End Full/End End Full/End End Full campanulatus (redvein enkianthus) Rhododendron Full/End Full/End End Full/End Full/End Full/End Full/End Full/End catawbiense (catawba rhododendron) Robinia End End End End End End End End pseudoacacia (black locust) * = no activity to report/information not available Regional Notes Cape Cod Region (Barnstable) General Conditions: The average temperature for the period from June 2 – June 9 was 70˚F with a low of 55˚F on June 3rd and a high of 90˚F on June 6. June 5 through June 9 has been dominated by higher than normal temperatures with a 5 day stretch (so far) of highs in the 80s and lows in the upper 60s. A little precipitation occurred on June 2 and June 3 totaling about a quarter of an inch. Soil moisture remains adequate following the previous periods’ precipitation, but may be short lived without more consistent precipitation events. The hot conditions have caused stress to newly planted trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants resulting in a need for increased watering frequency. Herbaceous plants seen in bloom during the period include lupine, foxglove, peony, bearded iris, Japanese iris, blood red geranium, oxeye daisy, painted daisy, fringed bleeding heart, blue false indigo, catmint, salvia, goat’s beard, lady’s mantle, and amsonia. Woody plants seen in bloom during the period include arrowwood viburnum, alternate leaf dogwood, kousa dogwood (in full bloom), roses, ninebark, yellowwood, Japanese snowbell, tree lilac, tulip tree and clematis. Pests/Problems: Insect pests or insect damage seen during the period include oak shothole leafminer damage on white oak in the upper Cape region, lecanium scale on oaks in the mid Cape area (female adults are now hemispherical in shape and can be found with eggs underneath), black turpentine beetle damage on pitch pine, viburnum leaf beetle larvae on viburnum, azalea lacebug nymphs on PJM rhododendron, andromeda lacebug on andromeda, earwig damage to buddleia, and aphids on numerous herbaceous and woody species. Disease symptoms or signs during the period include needle cast on the previous seasons’ needles of pitch pine, white pine decline symptoms, red thread on turf and cercospora leaf spot on oak leaf hydrangea. Invasive plants and weeds seen in bloom include multiora rose, black swallow-wort, black medic, yellow wood sorrel, red sorrel, and narrowleaf plantain. Southeast Region (Dighton) General Conditions: Temperatures in the nineties have made it challenging to work outdoors without being fully acclimated. I'm all the more thankful for the rain of the previous week. Among the many plants I've noticed in ower are the following: Achillea millefolium (common yarrow), A. 'Moonshine', Agastache (hyssop), Allium spp.(owering onion), Aquilegia (columbine), Astilbe (false goat's beard), Baptisia australis (false blue indigo), Catalpa speciosa (catawba-tree), Coreopsis spp.(tickseed), Chionanthus virginicus (white fringetree), Clematis 'Jackmanii', Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' (royal purple smokebush), Cornus kousa (Chinese dogwood), Cytisus scoparius (Scotch broom), Dianthus spp. (pinks), Dicentra formosa (western bleeding heart), Digitalis purpurea (biennial foxglove), D. lutea (perennial foxglove), Echinacea purpurea (purple coneower), Erigeron annuus (annual eabane), Geranium sanguineum (bloody geranium), Hemerocallis 'Stella D’Oro' (reblooming daylily), Hypericum perforatum (St. John's-wort), Iris germanica (German iris), I. pseudacorus (yellow ag iris), I. sibirica (Siberian iris), Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel), Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy), L. x superbum (shasta daisy), Leymus arenarius (lyme grass), Ligustrum (privet), Lilium (true lilies), Linaria vulgaris (common toadax), Linnaea amabilis (Kolkwitzia, beauty bush), Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle), L. sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle), Lupinus (lupine), Lysimachia vulgaris (yellow loosestrife), Medicago lupulina (black medic), Nepeta spp.(catmint), Oenothera biennis (evening primrose), Paeonia ocinalis (garden peony), Papaver orientale (oriental poppy), Physocarpus (ninebark), Pilosella (hawkweed), Plantago lanceolata (buck's-horn plantain), Rosa multiora (multiora rose), R. virginiana (Virginia rose), R. 'Knockout', Rhododendron x catawbiense, Salvia (sage), Sambucus canadensis (elderberry), Sedum stenopetalum (yellow stonecrop), Stachys byzantina (lamb's ear), Syringa meyeri (Meyer lilac), S. reticulata (tree lilac), Trifolium pratense (red clover), T. repens (white clover), Vicia (vetch), Viburnum plicatum (Japanese snowball, doublele viburnum), V. dentatum (arrowwood viburnum), Viola tricolor (wild pansy) and Weigela. Pests/Problems: Copious quantities of windblown grass pollen are everywhere, making for itchy eyes. Both swamp red maples and silver maples appear to have had a "mast" seed set this year. Some swamp red maples have virtually all of their resources invested in samaras and only a few terminal leaves. Such a reproductive strategy may help them to overwhelm the organisms that feed on maple samara. Red Thread was seen on a lawn. I've found that improper irrigation is a common cause of problems on residential turf. Somehow the default setting on many systems appears to be 15 minutes per zone daily. We should be watering deeply but only infrequently. Typical recommendations are one inch of water, or approximately 623 gallons, per one thousand square feet per week over only two or three applications. North Shore (Beverly) General Conditions: During this reporting period we had the rst heat wave of 2021 with temperatures above 90℉ recorded for three consecutive days on June 6, 7 and 8. The average daily temperature was 77℉ with the maximum temperature of 94℉ recorded on June 8 and the minimum temperature of 60℉ recorded on June 3. Very little precipitation was received in the area during this period. Only 0.13 inches of rainfall was recorded at Long Hill during this period. Woody plants seen in bloom include: