Test PB Collection: FTE

One of the most anticipated springtime displays in my yard is a flowering crabapple (Malus floribunda), also known as a Japanese crabapple. We had a beautiful flowering crabapple in our yard when I was growing up and I knew that I wanted to plant one in my own garden someday.

Earl Holtz, former UC Cooperative Extension dairy advisor in Sonoma County, died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 87.

If you see western subterranean termites swarming in the spring, from now through June, save the specimens for University of California Urban Integrated Pest Management (IPM) advisor and urban entomologist Andrew Sutherland.

With apologies to grammarians everywhere, the mulch/bee dilemma is a question I often receive. Many bee gardeners know that 70 percent of California native bees nest underground, and that access to bare soil is needed for nest building.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation and California Department of Food and Agriculture launched a new work group to accelerate the systemwide adoption of safer, sustainable pest control practices. Three UC ANR academics have been appointed to the work group.

Gardeners who follow conventional wisdom and nursery recommendations to mix organic amendments into the soil when planting new trees or perennials in their landscapes are making a mistake, according to UC Cooperative Extension environmental horticulture experts.

Gophers are well-known and certainly unwelcome pests in landscapes, gardens, lawns, and athletic turf. More correctly called pocket gophers, these rodents mostly remain hidden underground in tunnels and feed on plants from below, sometimes pulling whole plants into their tunnels.

Gophers, ground squirrels, and meadow voles are among the most important pests in California alfalfa fields. Training in vertebrate pest management and control is being held, starting tomorrow for the next few days in virtual webinars.

medias contact: whartonc@unr.

by Dianne Weyna Having a lot of time on my hands, I've decided to change part of my front yard to a native garden. I want to use less water, encourage pollinators and attract and feed more birds. I began by clearing the center of my garden by taking out a lilac bush and a large rose bush.