- Author: Lauren Fordyce
Follow these general tips for the month of March to prevent pests in the garden and landscape. To view more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist on the UC IPM website.
- Look for aphids and their natural enemies such as predaceous bugs, lacewings, lady beetles, and syrphid flies. On small plants, spray a strong stream of water or apply insecticidal oils or insecticidal soaps to kill them.
- Fertilize caneberries, citrus, deciduous fruit trees, palms, and heavily-flowering shrubs with slow-release products.
- Monitor for the crawler stage of scale insects and apply horticultural oil if scales are abundant.
- Remove weeds as soon as they pop up in the garden or landscape.
- Apply organic mulches where thin or soil is bare under trees and shrubs to prevent weeds and regulate soil moisture and temperature. Keep mulch back from trunks and at a depth of 2 to 4 inches, depending on the mulch type.
- Prevent mosquitoes by eliminating standing water in gutters, drain pipes, flowerpots, etc. Place Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis in birdbaths and ponds to selectively kill mosquito larvae.
- If olive psyllid was a problem in past years, use an appropriate insecticide when the first generation of psyllids appear.
- Whitewash tree trunks to deter borers and prevent sunburn. Apply to young trees or older bark on susceptible trees newly exposed to sunlight.
- Keep an eye out for codling moth adults on apple and pear. Bag fruit and promptly remove infested or dropped fruit.
- Apply blossom sprays to prevent new fire blight infections. Look for oozing and dead limbs on pome plants such as apple, crabapple, pear, and pyracantha as soon as spring growth begins.
- Check for signs of powdery mildew on apple, crape myrtle, grape, rose, and stone fruits. Take preventative measures, like pruning, to provide better air circulation between plants.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
Follow these general tips for the month of February to prevent pest in the garden and landscape. To view more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checkliston the UC IPM website.
- Protect sensitive plants from freezing and frost damage.
- Check grapes for pests like powdery mildew, Eutypa dieback, Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, and others.
- Paint or varnish and seal wood to deter carpenter bees. If intolerable, treat tunnels during early spring.
- Prevent mosquitoes by eliminating standing water in gutters, drain pipes, flowerpots, etc. Place Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis in birdbaths and ponds to selectively kill mosquito larvae.
- Apply a preventive spray for peach leaf curl once or more during late fall through bud break in spring if leaf curl has been a problem on nectarine or peach.
- Prune evergreen, summer-flowering shrubs.
- Manage weeds using nonchemical methods such as cultivation, handweeding, or mowing. Control young weeds as soon as they pop up.
- Whitewash tree trunks to deter borers and prevent sunburn. Apply to young trees or older bark on susceptible trees newly exposed to sunlight.
- Apply organic mulches where thin or soil is bare under trees and shrubs to prevent weeds and regulate soil moisture and temperature. Keep mulch back from trunks and at a depth of 2 to 4 inches, depending on the mulch type.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
Did you know that UC IPM has an online tool that provides month-by-month pest prevention and management tips? It's called the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist! You can select your region of California to view activities to do in the landscape each month. You can also subscribe to receive an email at the beginning of each month for your designated region.
Follow these general tips for the month of January. To view more tips specific to your region, visit the checklist on the UC IPM website.
- Monitor for damage and pests such as brown rot, snails, and Asian citrus psyllid on citrus plants.
- Clean up mummies and old fruit and nuts around trees to avoid harboring pests. Remove fallen leaves from beneath deciduous fruit trees and roses.
- Protect sensitive plants from freezing and frost damage.
- Adjust irrigation schedules according to the weather and plants' changing need for water. Reduce irrigation frequency or turn off systems if rainfall is adequate. Irrigate deeply but infrequently if the winter is dry.
- Prevent mosquitoes by eliminating standing water in gutters, drain pipes, flowerpots, etc. Place Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis in birdbaths and ponds to selectively kill mosquito larvae.
- Apply a preventive spray for peach leaf curl once or more during late fall through bud break in spring if leaf curl has been a problem on nectarine or peach.
- Prune deciduous trees and shrubs such as apple, crape myrtle, pear, rose, spirea, and stone fruits. Make cuts properly to encourage good form and structure. Remove dead, diseased, and borer-infested wood. Certain pests (e.g. shothole borer) and host plants such as apricot and cherry warrant summer pruning.
- Manage weeds using nonchemical methods such as cultivation and handweeding, or mowing. Control young weeds as soon as they pop up.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
With the cooler weather, gardening tasks may be slowing down some, but there are still plenty of things to do in the garden and landscape in the fall and winter months. Here are a few things to think about as you head into the next planting season. Follow the list to reduce future pest problems and have healthier plants.
Cleaning up
- Pull out annual plants that have reached the end of their growing season, such as tomatoes, squashes, and peppers.
- Remove and clean up old fruit and nuts in and under trees to avoid harboring pests and diseases.
- Remove fallen leaves from beneath deciduous fruit trees and roses.
- After cleaning up, add leaves dropped during fall to a compost pile. Turn and keep the compost pile moist.
- Apply organic mulch where thin or soil is bare beneath trees and shrubs. See our website for more information about mulching.
Pruning
- Prune deciduous trees and shrubs such as apple, crape myrtle, pear, rose, spirea, and stone fruits.
- Make cuts properly to encourage good form and structure.
- Remove dead, diseased, and borer-infested wood.
- Not all pests and host plants should be pruned in the fall. Certain pest-infested wood, such as damage from shothole borers, and plants such as apricot and cherry should be pruned during the summer.
Planting
- Fall is a good time to plant bare root deciduous trees, shrubs, and vines, such as caneberries, fruit and nut trees, grapes, and roses.
- Plant California natives now so they can establish before the summer.
- When you add new plants to your garden, select species and cultivars that are well-adapted to the local site.
Adjusting irrigation
- The weather has turned wetter and cooler, so adjust watering schedules since plants won't need as much water.
- Check your irrigation systems for leaks and broken emitters and do any maintenance.
- You might want to upgrade the irrigation system to improve its water efficiency.
- If it's not raining, water plants as needed to keep root zones moist, but not soggy.
- Prepare for rainfall by improving drainage. The goal is to prevent water ponding around trunks and foundations.
- Install downspout diverters to direct runoff into landscape soils, but avoid waterlogging of soil.
Monitoring for pests
- Look for Asian citrus psyllid on your citrus trees and if you find it in a new location, report it to your local county agricultural commissioner.
- Also monitor for damage and pests such as brown rot, leafminer, root rots, and snails on citrus trees.
- Check for leaf curl or shot hole on apricot, nectarine, peach, and plum trees.
Lawn care
- All types of lawns are actively growing during the fall months. Fertilizer applied at this time will help ensure that turfgrass is vigorous enough to outcompete weeds and resist other potential pest problems. Visit our website for more information about correct fertilization of established lawns, including when to fertilize in your region.
- Practice weed management for annual cool-season weeds. It's also not too early to consider management for weeds that emerge in springtime.
For more information, see the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist.
[Original article published in the Fall 2021 issue of the Home & Garden Pest Newsletter]
/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>- Author: Elaine Lander
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
Irrigation
Adjusting water schedules is an important part of integrated pest management. Different plants have different watering needs and too much or too little water can damage or kill plants. Reduce irrigation frequency or turn off automated systems if rainfall is adequate or irrigate deeply if the weather is dry. Learn more about irrigating fruit and shade trees and shrubs on our website.
Prune
Deciduous trees and shrubs such as apple, crape myrtle, pear, and peach need to be pruned to maintain their structure and health. Proper pruning can also help manage and prevent certain pests. Our website has plant-specific pruning information for a number of fruit, nut, and landscape trees. Be sure to remove dead, diseased, and borer-infested wood.
Sanitation
Now is the time to clean up old fruit and nuts under trees to avoid harboring pests. Removing fallen leaves from beneath fruit trees and roses will also help reduce insect and disease problems. This practice of sanitation is a key component of integrated pest management to prevent and reduce pests. See our website for additional sanitation tips in your landscapes and gardens.
We're looking for your feedback! Please consider taking a quick, anonymous survey to help us serve you better: https://bit.ly/2ZJJVEI
/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>