BYGL June 3, 2010 Home BYGL 2011 Text Only Contacts Search Site Map ENLT Presentations Lead Editor: Curtis Young Contributing Authors: Pam Bennett, Joe Boggs, Cindy Burskey, Jim Chatfield, Erik Draper, Dave Dyke Gary Gao, David Goerig, Tim Malinich, Becky McCann, Bridget Meiring, Amy Stone and Curtis Young Buckeye Yard and Garden onLine provides timely information about Ohio growing conditions, pest, disease, and cultural problems. Updated weekly between April and October, this information is useful for those who are managing a commercial nursery, garden center, or landscape business or someone who just wants to keep their yard looking good all summer. BYGL June 3, 2010 Thursday, 03 June 2010 15:50 his is the 9th 2010 edition of the Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (BYGL). BYGL is developed from a Tuesday morning conference call of Extension Educators, Specialists, and other contributors in Ohio. In This Issue: 1. WEATHERWATCH. 2. PLANTS OF THE WEEK: Annual (Calibrachoa), Perennial (Blanketflowers), Woody (Japanese Tree Lilac), Vegetable (Snow and Sugar Snap Peas), and Weed (Yellow Nutsedge). 3. HORT SHORTS: Growing Degree Days (GDD), Fruit Drop in June, Asparagus Not Producing Well, and Mushroom Mania II. 4. GREEN SHORTS: IPM Case Study, and Assassins on the Loose (Assassin Bugs)! 5. CLINIC CLIPS. 6. BUGBYTES: Pine Spittlebug, Sawfly on Creeping Jenny, Ant Mound Builders, and Holey Thistle! (Thistle Tortoise Beetle). 7. DISEASE DIGEST: Another Disease First for Ohio (Downy Mildew on Sweet Basil), and Download Vegetable Disease Diagnostic Posters. 8. TURF TIPS: Hot + Wet + Humid Weather = Disease!, and 1What Caused My Lawn to Turn Brown? 9. INDUSTRY INSIGHTS: Late Blight Lookout, and Bagworm Alert. 10. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Ohio Tree Climbing Championship, Miami County in Bloom, Cincinnati BYGLive! Diagnostic Walk- About, Up by Roots Workshop in Columbus, and Beekeeping Class for Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs) and the Public. 11. BYGLOSOPHY. 1. WEATHERWATCH. The following weather information summarizes data collected at various Ohio Agricultural Research Development Center (OARDC) Weather Stations spanning the dates from January 1-May 31, 2010, with the exception of the soil temperatures which are readings from Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 6:05 p.m. Reports from the northern portion of Ohio were wet! Curtis Young, Amy Stone, and Erik Draper all reported being on the receiving end of some heavy rains on Monday, May 31, 2010. While other BYGLers reported lighter rainfall amounts, Pam Bennett and Dave Dyke both http://bygl.osu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=896:bygl-june-3-2010&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=74[4/7/11 10:01:31 AM] BYGL June 3, 2010 mentioned that soils where drying out in Clark and Hamilton Counties, respectively. Weather Region of Ave. High Ave. Low Total Normal Soil Temp F Station Ohio Temp F Temp F Precip." Precip." 2"/3" Ashtabula NE 48.2 32.1 6.45 12.8 69.00/74.57 Wooster NE 51.1 32.2 10.79 16.1 76.91/74.54 Hoytville NW 54.1 34.6 12.53 12.76 84.37/81.48 Columbus Central 53.6 35.1 13.24 17.8 77.78/75.08 Piketon South 56.0 35.3 17.67 17.5 87.56/84.71 For a link to the OARDC Weather Stations, visit: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/centernet/weather.htm For more information, see: Weather Station Link 2. PLANTS OF THE WEEK. *ANNUAL - CALIBRACHOA (Calibrachoa x hybrida). Sometimes called million bells or trailing petunia, Calibrachoa is related to the petunia and has smaller blooms that resemble petunia blooms. It's an excellent annual for sun and does quite well in containers and hanging baskets. It does not tolerate high pH soils that are found in most of Ohio; therefore, it won't perform as well in the ground. The compact mounding plants grow to around 9" tall on trailing stems; some cultivars grow up to 24" in width. Flower colors are quite vivid and are various shades of violet, blue, red, pink, magenta, yellow, orange, bronze, and white. For more information, see: Missouri Botanical Garden Kemper Center for Home Gardening fact sheet on Calibrachoa *PERENNIAL - BLANKETFLOWER (Gaillardia x grandiflora). This genus of bright, hot-colored flowering plants is beginning to bloom in central Ohio. Blanketflowers tend to be short-lived in gardens (2- 4) years; however, they are great plants for tough locations. They withstand hot sun and dry soils and have a long bloom season, sometimes lasting the entire summer. Heights, habits, and blooms vary depending upon the cultivar. 'Fanfare' has trumpet-shaped petals in yellow and red on a 1' tall plant, 'Summer's Kiss' grows to 18" tall with gold and yellow flowers, and 'Goblin' is a rounded mound of 8-12" with red petals touched in yellow at the tips. For more information, see: Missouri Botanical Garden Kemper Center for Home Gardening fact sheet on Gaillardia *WOODY - JAPANESE TREE LILAC (Syringa reticulata). With creamy-white flowers in densely branched spikes, the Japanese tree lilac may be grown as a large shrub or small tree, reaching a height of about 20-30' with a 15' spread. This tree can be seen flowering all over the state in late spring to early summer with flowers lasting approximately 2 weeks. The compact size of this tree, make it an excellent choice for street use where power lines are present above. With no significant pest and disease problems and adaptability to a wide variety of soils, also makes it a great choice as an accent in the landscape. http://bygl.osu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=896:bygl-june-3-2010&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=74[4/7/11 10:01:31 AM] BYGL June 3, 2010 For more information, see: Ohio State University Plant Facts Factsheet *VEGETABLE - SNOW AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS (Pisum sativum var.saccharatum). These edible-pod peas are being harvested in many Ohio gardens now. Prime eating stage for snow peas is when the pods are flat, thin, and with the bulge of a tiny seed barely visible. Sugar snap pods are plump like regular peas, but still sweet and tender. Either can be grown to maturity and shelled like regular peas. They both are wonderful eaten fresh off the vine or stir-fried. Both require support in order for the vines to thrive. Common cultivars of snow peas include Mammoth Melting Sugar, Dwarf Grey Sugar, and Oregon Sugar Pod. Sugar snap pea cultivars include Sugar Daddy, Sugar Snap, and Sugar Ann (dwarf). Peas are a cool-season crop and can be planted early in the spring and again in August for a fall crop. For more information, see: OSUE FactSheet on Growing Peas and Snap Beans in the Home Garden *WEED - YELLOW NUTSEDGE (Cyperus esculentus). Yellow nutsedge is a troublesome, difficult to control weed often found in turf areas. Also known as nutgrass or swampgrass, yellow nutsedge is not a broadleaf weed or a grassy weed, but is a sedge. Yellow nutsedge stems are erect, triangular-shaped and yellow-green in color. The leaves are also yellow-green, wide bladed with a thick mid- vein and a very waxy covering. Yellow nutsedge produce tubers, which are incorrectly called nuts or nutlets, thus the origin of its common name. These tubers are produced on rhizomes that grow as deep as 8-14" below the soil surface. The above ground foliage does not survive winters but as the soil warms up in the spring, germination of the tubers and seed produced last season will produce new nutsedge plants. Yellow nutsedge thrives under warm wet conditions and can often be found in low, damp areas of lawns. Some of the factors that might lead to increased populations of yellow nutsedge are: improper mowing, nutrient deficiencies, insect damage, and/or drought stress. Unlike most turf weeds, yellow nutsedge is not controlled with applications of a traditional weed control product because it is part of the sedge family. Therefore, specific herbicides are needed to achieve control. Several different alternative strategies can be employed such as hand-pulling, homeowner herbicide treatment, or choosing a professional to manage the weed. When hand-pulling it is important that entire plants including root systems are removed. This approach is effective only if performed on a regular basis. It is important to follow the directions listed on product label if choosing to treat. Applications should ideally be initiated in the late spring/early summer when the nutsedge is young, actively growing, and is most sensitive to herbicidal control. Repeat applications will be needed. Once this weed matures, control is difficult regardless of the treatment. Repeat infestations in subsequent years should be anticipated. For more information, see: Yellow Nutsedge In Home Lawns http://bygl.osu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=896:bygl-june-3-2010&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=74[4/7/11 10:01:31 AM] BYGL June 3, 2010 3. HORT SHORTS. A. GROWING DEGREE DAYS (GDD). GDD is a measure of the daily maximum and minimum temperature and directly relates to growth and development of plants and insects. The GDD of any zip code location in Ohio is estimated using the GDD of ten OARDC weather stations and available on the web at: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/gdd/ . The range of GDD accumulations in Ohio from north to south is 607 to 959. Following is a report of GDD for several locations around Ohio as of June 2, 2010: Painesville, 607; Cleveland, 642; Toledo, 777; Canfield, 686; Findlay, 795; Wooster, 737; Coshocton, 821; Columbus, 913; Springfield, 880; Dayton, 884; Cincinnati, 911; Ironton, 924; Portsmouth, 928; and Piketon, 959.