News & Information Outreach

We are now in the midst of winter with its often foggy and dreary days. Many trees are bare, most insects are dormant, and numerous bird species have flown south, so our gardens can seem gray, bare, and quiet.  However, some birds spend winters here, so there are still some bright spots.Here are a few…

 Her cup runneth over.Only a select group of people win the Franklin's Bumble Bee coffee cup, and UC Davis alumna  Lesley Hamamoto of Sacramento recently received hers for being named the  winner of the 2026 Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest, sponsored by the…

Blog by Nancy Forrest One plant that grows in abundance in my yard is the Calla (Zantedeschia aethiopica). This morning, after the rain, I noticed the first bloom and beginning of the Calla plants “patch” that comes up every year in my side yard. The Calla is from the Zantedeschia genus and belongs to…

 News flash/update: Professor Louie Yang, a community ecologist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will be the speaker at the Pacific Coast Entomological Society (PCES) meeting at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 24 in Room 122 of Briggs Hall, University of California, Davis.Yang, whose…

 If you're interested in joining the Pacific Coast Entomological Society (PCES), the first meeting of the year will be Saturday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. in Room 122 of Briggs Hall, University of California, Davis. Following the meeting, the group will gather at the Bohart Museum of Entomology to learn…

Blog by Lisa Rico This last summer, I befriended a praying mantis. Confession, they were not my favorite. Besides being a bit freaky looking, they eat things I don’t want them to eat. For example, I had one that lived in my artichoke plant and would literally “hang out” near the flower, just waiting for…

You might be surprised to learn that a few of your favorite ornamental plants are invasive to California and can “escape” your yard causing big problems in the wild. When plants escape landscape and garden boundaries, it is often due to seed distribution or aggressive roots. An invasive plant species can…

This article describes the CDBAB proposal request process.

Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated varieties which were either introduced commercially before 1940, or grown from seeds that have been passed down at least 50 years through several generations of a family, religious, ethnic, or tribal group, without the plants crossing with another variety of the same…

 It's an early sign of spring on the University of California, Davis, when a solo Japanese apricot tree, located north central of Wickson Hall, bursts into full bloom.A plaque reads "Japanese Apricot, Prune mume dawn, planted in honor of Dr. William Tufts, March 7, 1963 by the Landscape Horticulture…

Spring is just around the corner! With the increase in daylight hours and gradually warming days, our fruit trees will respond by going into bud break, leaf set, and full flower. The orchard is lovely this time of year but there is the potential lurking for a devastating disease to infect those trees. That…

By David Shubin ISA Certified Arborist and UC Master Gardener of Napa County.As a garden consultant, I get a lot of calls at this time of year to advise on pruning fruit trees and roses.  When I’m asked to look at struggling roses, the symptoms are often familiar: lower leaves yellowing and dropping;…

 You won't want to miss this UC Davis seminar on arthropods in landscapes by Stacy Philpott, professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz.Philpott will speak on "Social, Local, and Landscape Drivers of Arthropod Diversity, Traits, and Networks in Urban Agroecosystems" at a seminar hosted by the…

Darren Haver will serve in the role of interim Associate Vice President for Research and Cooperative Extension.

 New MG training starts16 weeks of intense learningThey are our future