So how can you manage plants like ivy, bamboo, and poison oak?
A new version of Pest Notes: Woody Weed Invaders, authored by UC Davis plant scientists Joseph DiTomaso and Guy Kyser, is now available online and in print. Use this guide to find answers to the thorny problem of managing undesirable woody plants.
The short video explains that the sticky substance on your leaves is honeydew, a sugary substance excreted by aphids, psyllids and a few other plant pests. Ants harvest this substance to feed their colony and guard these pests from beneficial predators and parasites that can help lower pest populations.
The video demonstrates how easy it is to use a sticky barrier to prevent ants from accessing your trees and shrubs to reach their food source. Sticky barriers are a useful type of physical control, that, when used with other integrated pest management methods, can help keep plants pest free.
For information on ant management, visit the Ants resources page at http://ipm.ucanr.edu/ants
UC IPM has over 35 other helpful home and garden videos, visit http://ipm.ucanr.edu/IPMPROJECT/videolibrary-ur.html to watch more.
- Author: Gerry L Hernandez
Abutilon
FLOWERING MAPLE
Malvaceae
EVERGREEN AND DECIDIOUS SHRUBS
I was visiting one of my favorite nursery a few days ago and I had to stop and admire all the Abutilons that were blooming in many colors, from dark red to light yellow. I have grown one hybrid in my zone 9 yard for over 5 years now and it's always a bright spot in the winter garden. I have it where it gets some protection from the hottest afternoon sun.
They can get large 8 to 10' and can get a little rangy if you don't keep them pruned back each year. But growth habits vary widely by variety, so do your home work and you will be happy with this shrub for many years to come.
Features:
Attractive evergreen foliage.
Blooms come in many colors and look like bells or lanterns.
They like moderate to regular water.
Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies.
Prune back hard in the spring for bushier plants.
Plant in Partial shade in hot areas.
Sherry Maltby
- Author: Betty Victor
My lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) shrub is planted near a window and has a very strong lemon scent when you brush by it or when the wind blows (here in Fairfield, which is most of the time.) If the window is open the lemon scent comes into the room.
The shrub is pruned to about 6 feet , I try to keep it to 5-6 feet tall and about 2 feet wide, if I did not keep it at the height it would grow to about 8 feet. In lemon verbena’s native country of South America, it can grow to 15 feet tall. If you let them get too tall and wide they tend to get very messy looking. This shrub is planted where it gets only the late afternoon sun, but the Sunset Western Garden Book says they need full sun.
They do like a lot of water and good drainage to keep them looking their best. I have not seen any pest on my shrub, but they can be bothered by whitefly and spider mites. Spraying with an insecticidal soap will help with that problem.
In the spring and early summer, it has small white flowers on the end of the branches. Even after the flowers fade the left-over flower inflorescences are interesting to look at. This shrub goes dormant in the winter, and that is when it gets it heavy pruning. I take it down to about 2 feet above the ground, knowing it will come back stronger the next year, so far this 8 year old shrub has not failed that test.
I bring some of the branches, with the flowers, into the house put them in a vase with other flowers if I have them. If not, I just use the lemon verbena stems in the vase helps to release the lemon fragrance into the room. They will last about a week this way.
This is a very easy plant to propagate. Doing it in summer with a soft wood cutting and putting into potting soil, should bring new starts in about 2 months.
- Author: Erin Mahaney
I love my princess flower (Tibouchina urvilleana), which grows in front of my home office window. The shrub’s airy structure lets light in through the window, yet provides enough screening that I’m not distracted—well, not quite as much—by the activity in the back yard. Its branches provide a convenient resting place for hummingbirds and finches (which is definitely distracting!). The plant produces beautiful, large, purple flowers nearly non-stop. And when the blooms slow, the soft red-rimmed green leaves alone are pretty enough to carry the show.
Unfortunately, in recent years, my princess flower has grown spindly and lopsided. I’ve lightly pruned it in the past to prevent legginess, but this year, I finally reached the point where I would have to take drastic measures or replace the plant. A neighbor prunes her smaller shrub down to the bare wood each year and it comes back as a thick bush covered in blossoms each spring. So I decided to experiment and radically prune the plant before making a decision about removing it entirely.
In February of this year, I grabbed the pruning saw, took a deep breath and started pruning the princess flower down to bare wood. By May, I had just about given up any hope of seeing signs of life, when leaves finally appeared. In September, the plant had grown . . . lopsided again. (And no, that side doesn’t get more sun.) Attached are photos from those months.
While it was a grand experiment in pruning, the results weren’t what I hoped. Although I toyed with the idea of another hard pruning this winter, instead I think I will replace the plant with another princess flower. Another neighbor recently planted princess flower standards—maybe I’ll try one of those!