Safe Alternative for Removing Weeds in Colorado Lawns by Carol King

Want to control weeds in your landscape but hesitate using herbicides?  There are ways to control weeds without harming your children and pets.  This video with Carol O'Meara, Extension Agent from Boulder County and Dr. Tony Koski, CSU Extension Turf Specialist, gives us some safe, alternative methods for ridding our lawns of weeds.

Summer Vacation for Houseplants; Tips for Moving Them Outside by Rebecca Anderson

Oxalis Plant photo by Rebecca Anderson

Many houseplants will get a boost from being outdoors during the warm summer months. Increased sunlight exposure will let them recover from the low light levels inside most homes. Since most houseplant originate from tropical areas, they should not be moved outdoors until night time temperatures are above 55 degrees. Place them in an area with partial shade and good wind protection. Ideal locations would include a covered porch or under a tree. After a few days, sun-loving plants such as jade (Crassula ovata), poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) and hibiscus (Hibiscus sp.) can be moved to a full-sun location. Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera sp.), umbrella trees (Schefflera arboticola) and citrus plants prefer to stay in the shade. Exposing a houseplant to excessive sun before it has been hardened off will cause photo oxidization, or a yellowing of the leaves. This process is the plant version of a sunburn. 

Low Water Stresses Urban Trees

Hot Wings Tatarian Maple, photo courtesy Denver Post

Information excerpted from: Lack of Water is Key Stressor for Urban Trees, North Carolina State University. Click on the link for the article in its entirety.

A recent study found that urban trees can survive increased heat and insect pests fairly well - unless they are thirsty. Insufficient water not only harms trees, but allows other problems to have an outsized effect on trees in urban environments.

Gardening Power to the People: Insect Hotels Pt. 2: More Details (Video)

Here is part two for making your very own insect hotel. Here's a link to part one: https://youtu.be/0w1V6c3nsN4

Japanese Beetle Facts and Resources

Japanese beetle on roses, photo courtesy Whitney Cranshaw, CSU

For close to a century, the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) has been one of the most seriously damaging insect pests of both turfgrass and landscape plants over a broad area of the eastern US. Recently, there have become a few permanent, reproducing populations in some communities along the Front Range of Colorado. 

For the Love of Flowers by Carrie Garczynski

Photo courtesy Carrie Garczynski

Who doesn’t love flowers?! Especially now in spring! The first sign that Mother Nature is dancing in the streets…errr...gardens, parks, flower beds, and tiny little crevices that will grow a seed. Here in Colorado we have many kinds of spring flowers: tulips, iris, daffodil, hyacinth, pansies, snapdragon, and alyssum, to name a few. And the great part is that you can help Mother Nature out a bit by planting your own colorful party. (Of course, keeping in mind, our wonderful critters – large and small – also love our flowers, and you may have to safeguard your plantings with fences, etc.).

Plant Tags Can Educate Garden Shoppers by Paula Hamm

Photo by Donna Duffy

It’s that time of the year when many of us have the impulse to rush to our favorite garden center.  When you go, take a good look at the plant tags.  Take the time to examine them and learn about the specific requirements of the plants they accompany.  Using symbols and pictures, growers pack many facts and details to help you successfully grow and nurture your plants.

Thigmomorphogenesis: May Word of the Month

Wind direction from the right creates an asymmetric hedge, photo courtesy The Garden Professors

Excerpted from: Your new word for the day – thigmomorphogenesis, Linda Chalker-Scott, The Garden Professors

 Thigmomorphogenesis: this is a great word for those who enjoy figuring out word meanings by deciphering the (usually) Greek or Latin roots. (This exercise also helps you figure out how to pronounce it.) We have “thigmo-” which means touch, “-morpho-” which means appearance, and “-genesis” which means beginning. String them all together and you get the phenomenon seen when plants respond to mechanical stimulation by changing their growth pattern and hence the way they look.

You can easily see examples of thigmomorphogenesis in everyday life. Look at a line of hedge plants where the plants on the end are more susceptible to wind movement and brushing by people, animals or vehicles. They are always shorter, aren’t they? Plants subjected to chronic thigmomorphogenic forces are generally shorter than their neighbors and thicker in girth.