Figuring out what's wrong with your plant takes a little detective work. Plants can look unhealthy for a number of reasons, including diseases, pest insects, or even environmental conditions like sunburn, too much water, not enough water, wind damage, and other issues. Start by examining the plant closely for anything out of place. Knowing what the plant should look like will help you determine if there's a problem. Because some pests attack only specific plants, identifying the type of plant, including the variety or cultivar, narrows down disease possibilities.

Diseases caused by a plant pathogen, like a fungus, will look and act differently than something caused by...

With the recent time change along with a change in temperatures, landscaping practices for pests need some adjusting too. We're sharing a few recommended tasks to help prevent insect pests, diseases, and environmental disorders in landscapes. Looking for additional tips? You can subscribe to our Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist for monthly landscaping reminders delivered straight to your email inbox.

Frost Protection

Cold injury can occur when temperatures decline rapidly after warm weather, killing bark, buds, flowers and...

Winter is an ideal time to prune deciduous fruit and shade trees, since the trees are dormant and you can more easily see the tree canopy. In many cases, pruning can also help prevent or control certain insect and disease problems.

For help with pruning, visit the UC IPM web page called Pruning fruit and shade trees and shrubs.This page provides links to plant-specific pruning information for fruit trees, nut trees, landscape trees, and others. You can also find links to diseases and environmental disorders that commonly affect fruit and shade trees, as well as additional information on the topics of landscape management and videos on...

This time of year, deciduous trees go dormant, and evergreen trees such as pine are more visible in the landscape. Pine trees, like other plants, can suffer from attack by pests, whether on your property or in our forested areas in California.

Pine trees do best when planted in well-drained soil in full sun, and most species need little water once established. Trees can ward off attacks by many insects and diseases if taken care of properly.

Several diseases can affect pine trees, such as rusts, blight, and root rot. Disease symptoms vary, but may include discoloration of leaves or needles, cankers, galls, and ooze.

Pine trees are susceptible to damage by over 20 different kinds of insects, including aphids,...