Gardening is often thought of as a spring and summer pastime, but you don’t have to give up your gardening hobby just because winter is approaching. Continue working your green thumb this winter with an indoor container garden.
Continue readingLeave Your Fall Leaves for Pollinators and Wildlife
Think of fall in the eastern U.S. and fall foliage is likely to be high on the list of things that come to mind. People will drive for hundreds of miles to admire a forest ablaze in bright red, orange, and yellow leaves. More than one vacation, wedding, or other special event is planned each year with the hopes of hitting peak fall color in an area. Kids love tromping through the fallen leaves and making them crunch as loud as they can. And I’ve yet to meet anyone who enters the woods during the fall and proclaims how ugly the woods look with so many leaves on the ground.
Continue readingAmerican Mistletoe – A Holiday Plant Enjoyed by Pollinators and Wildlife
It’s hard to miss the basketball-sized clusters of green leaves decorating the bare upper branches of trees as they reach up to the winter sky. Those basketball-sized clusters of leaves are most often mistletoes. There are several different species of mistletoe in North America, and even more in other parts of the world. Some prefer conifers. Others prefer deciduous hardwoods. Probably the most common species that prefer hardwoods in the eastern half of the U.S. is the American mistletoe, also known as the oak mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum). This is the species I’m most familiar with and that decorates the trees on our farm and in the surrounding region.
Continue readingConserve the Canopy
Why trees?
Trees are often an overlooked asset in the home landscape. Many homeowners fail to realize that their trees can translate to real dollars when it comes to real estate value. Studies have shown that the presence of mature trees in a well-maintained home landscape increases property values by 7%, on average, over comparable properties without trees. This benefit extends beyond the property line.
Continue readingPreventing and Managing Fall Pests In Your Home
As temperatures go down this fall, you may notice more insects around your home. Insects often retreat indoors to escape the cooler temperatures as a part of their overwintering strategy.
Continue readingGreat Native Alternatives to Invasive Trees
On Wednesday, October 26, the Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays presents Great Native Alternatives to Invasive Trees with Dr. Ellen Crocker, UK Forestry Specialist. The webinar begins at 12:30 pm EST/ 11:30 am CST.
Register for the meeting here.
See what other webinars are coming this season here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-three/
View Season Two webinars here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-two/
View Season One webinars here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-one/
October is Garlic Planting Time
With ghosts, goblins, and vampires on the prowl in October, it’s the perfect time to plant your garlic for next spring. Garlic has long been viewed as a way to ward off vampires, according to European folklore. Whether that is fact or fiction, one thing is for sure, October is the time to plant garlic. Planting in the fall produces larger bulbs and more complex flavors. Garlic enhances food recipes and is seen as a traditional medicine in some cultures.
Continue readingTree Risk Assessment
On Wednesday, October 19, the Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays presents Tree Risk Assessment with Dr. Bill Fountain, retired UK Specialist. The webinar begins at 12:30 pm EST/ 11:30 am CST.
Register for the meeting here.
See what other webinars are coming this season here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-three/
View Season Two webinars here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-two/
View Season One webinars here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-one/
How to Help Your Trees Thrive
On Wednesday, October 12, the Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays presents How to Help Your Trees Thrive with Dave Leonard, ISA Certified Arborist. The webinar begins at 12:30 pm EST/ 11:30 am CST.
Register for the meeting here.
See what other webinars are coming this season here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-three/
View Season Two webinars here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-two/
View Season One webinars here: https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-one/
Soil Testing
Soil testing is a soil-management tool we use to determine the fertility of soil as well as the optimum lime and fertilizer requirements for crops. Fall is the best time of year to test your soil. Most nutrients take some time to break down and become available to the plant. If you give them all winter to break down, by the time you are ready to plant in the spring, the plants can better take up the nutrients.
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