Managing Insect, Diseases, and Animal Pests

How should I treat the yellow dots on my Turtlehead plant?

Question: There are yellow dots on the leaves of my Turtlehead plant. I sprayed neem oil solution but not sure if that will prevent more from spreading. Should I prune infected leaves? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional I’m sorry to say I don’t immediately recognize these spots, nor did a quick bit of […]

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Were the black speckles on my mint plants rust?

Question: I had a mint plant that was spreading and I noticed that all of it seemed to have black speckles on it. I think it might be rust? So I pulled up what I could, bagged it and threw it away. Could it have been something else? Should I be concerned?  Answer: Jonathan Foster, […]

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Why are the pine needles turning yellow and dropping in my area?

Question: Many of my pine trees and many others in the area have turned unusually yellow and are dropping huge amounts of needles. I don’t remember ever seeing it this bad. Is this something I need to be concerned about? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional There are numerous reasons why a white pine […]

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Why are the leaves on my lilac wilting?

Question: My usually healthy lilac has been wilting. It flowered as usual, but the wilting is getting worse. Do you have any ideas what would cause this and how to treat it? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional I’m sorry to hear your lilac is under the weather. Unfortunately, there are a number of […]

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Is there a remedy to the damaged leaves on my tomatillo?

Question: I’m trying to figure out what is going on with the leaves of my tomatillos. They were started from seeds inside a friend’s home and leaves started looking damaged about two weeks before they were given to me to transplant. Is it a fungus, or blight? It doesn’t seem to be bugs. Regular tomatoes […]

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What is eating the leaves on my apple trees?

Question: Something is eating the apple trees. They have bloomed, but the leaves are being attacked. Can you help determine what is eating them/how to get them to stop? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional There are numerous pests that can chew on apple leaves, and without other identifying clues it’s tough to say. […]

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What animal is eating my perennials?

Question: I have a pest(s) that not only eating my tulips bulbs but other perennials. They even have eaten one of my tomato plants recently. I also noticed that whatever is in my back yard its “stripping” the bark from my cedar trees and has made a giant nest on the top of one of […]

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What happened to my tree to make it turn orange in a week?

Question: I have a pine tree that I planted 20 years ago. What would make it die and turn orange in a weeks time? Everyone says salt from the roads but why don’t the other trees in the area turn that quickly? Or at all? It was beautiful and lush on Mother’s Day. I had […]

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