Posts Tagged: LIVE
Ever Seen an Aphid Giving Birth?
You know those dratted aphids, those little pests that suck the very lifeblood out of your prized...
A close-up of an aphid giving birth in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Another close-up of an aphid giving birth in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A lady beetle, aka ladybug, chowing down on an aphid, while another "waits its turn." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The larvae of lady beetles also feast on aphids. This larva is getting its share. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Treescaping.
By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Recently, someone asked me...
Tree shade. (pinterest.com)
Coast live oak. Plan plenty of space for growth. (canopy.com)
Valley oak. Also needs plenty of space to grow to maturity. (pinterest.com)
California sycamore. This is a young one. (pinterest.com)
White mulberry. This is a fruitless variety. (pinterest.com)
American red maple. As you can see, this is a big tree, too. (fast-growing-trees.com)
Redwood trees are not recommended as shade trees in Napa County because they require twice the amount of water as the other trees suggested in the article. (city-data.com)
LIVE: Planting Right with Plant Right Talk
UC Master Gardener Program and PlantRight have partnered for a LIVE Facebook and YouTube talk about invasive plants on Jan. 19at noon. Invasive plants harm the environment and cost California millions of dollars to monitor and manage each year. Almost half of invasive plants in the state get their start through the nursery trade, and many invasive plants are still legal to sell today. Educating people on the impact of invasive plants is just a small piece of removing them from the environment.
What is PlantRight?
PlantRight is a program that works together with the nursery industry, conservation, science, and government agencies to identify and help nurseries voluntarily phase out invasive plants. For each invasive on the list, PlantRight suggests safer, regionally appropriate alternative plants. PlantRight's goal is to teach everyone from landscapers to home gardeners how toplant “right”. Learn more about PlantRight at www.PlantRight.org. Stay up on the latest from PlantRight by following them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
UC Master Gardener Partnership
The partnership between the UC Master Gardener Program and PlantRight supports planting the right plant in the right place. The right plant in the right place leads to a healthier environment and healthier plants. Because of UC Master Gardener volunteer efforts, PlantRight can survey plant nurseries all over California. Armed with clipboards, cameras, and data sheets, specially trained volunteers collect and report to PlantRight. The information volunteers gather is vital to PlantRight for three main purposes:
- Tracking the sale of invasive plants currently on the plant list and retiring those that have been mostly phased out of retail.
- Helping PlantRight determine whether or not to add candidate plants to the plant list.
- Informing industry outreach strategy with information about sales in different regions and store types.
UC Master Gardener volunteers play a vital role in educating the public on right plant, right place, and helping PlantRight survey California's plant nurseries.
Planting Right with PlantRight, LIVE on Jan. 19
The UC Master Gardener Program is celebrating this great partnership by hosting a free LIVE talk titled Planting Right with PlanRight. No registration is required. The discussion will be live-streamed to Facebook and YouTube on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at noon. Guest speaker, Alex Stubblefield, PlantRight Project manager, will be educating us on invasive plants in California and offering plant alternatives as well as the importance of the annual plant survey.
LIVE talks are an authentic and interactive way to interact with our audience in real-time. Share the Facebook and YouTube Live opportunity with your friends on social media and tune in to the UC Master Gardener Program LIVE broadcast! In the comments section below, let us know what topics or questions you would like answered on Tuesday, Jan. 19, or ideas for future LIVE topics. The event will be recorded and available for later viewing for those who can't make it. Attention UC Master Gardener Volunteers: Whether you join LIVE or watch the recording, be sure to record your continuing education hours in the Volunteer Management System.
Ask your local UC Master Gardener
For more gardening help and local county resources, click here to Find a Program. You will be redirected to your local county website and contact information. UC Master Gardener volunteers, staff, and our extended community's health and safety is our number one priority. Many UC Cooperative Extension offices are offering only phone and virtual services but are here to help, be sure to check your local program for resources. Thank you for your understanding.
The Good, the Bad and the Bugly
The good, the bad, and the bugly... Don't miss the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology...
The larvae of the alfalfa butterfly are major pests of alfalfa. This butterfly is sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Aphids suck the plant juices of alfalfa. This image shows aphids on a tropical milkweed stem and an immature lady beetle (ladybug). The larvae also eat aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The lady beetle, aka ladybug, is a beneficial insect. It can devour some 50 aphids a day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Problems with Oaks
Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk with your question about your oak tree. First off, let me say that I am sorry about your oak tree. It does not look very healthy in the picture you provided. While it is common for live oaks to shed significant leaves in the spring, it sounds like you are seeing a more general decline over years which is likely due to other causes. I also should note that our advice is based solely on the picture, as opposed to the arborist who come to your house and personally reviewed the tree on-site. Their advice is likely to be more accurate. You mentioned that they want to treat the tree yearly with a fungicide. Did they actually diagnose a fungal disease?
These would be my concerns for your oak based on the information you provided:
You mention that your neighbor's driveway was put in a few years ago. I presume that is the driveway either in front or behind the tree in the pictures. Regardless, both driveways appear to be under the drip line of the tree. The drip line of a tree is the outermost circumference of the leaf canopy. This is where, in rain, water will drip from the leaves of the tree onto the ground. Oak trees are very susceptible to damage from root compaction and grading. Any construction that has occurred under the tree could result in the death of important roots and the subsequent impending death of the tree. The death of the tree under these circumstances may not be fast, it might take years. Below is a link to a graph with an algorithm to determine if your oak tree may have Sudden Oak Death. Notably, it mentions that you need to consider physical damage first. Depending on when this driveway was installed, this may be the most likely cause of the trees decline. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pni7498-1c.html
- It is impossible to tell what kinds of plants were placed under the oak tree. The general rule for planting under oak trees is that plants should be quite a few feet from the trunk and that the understudy plants cannot require summer water. If these plants under the oak tree are being watered regularly, that can make the oak tree more susceptible to fungal diseases from the soil. Mature oak trees should not be watered during the summer at all. You should only water during the winter if there is insufficient rain (less than 20 inches/season).
- Lastly a fungal disease would be a possible cause for this kind of decline. There are a variety of fungal diseases that can affect oak trees, however, one of the most concerning is a fungal disease called Phytophthora ramorum. The common name for the disease it causes is Sudden Oak Death. This disease is typically spread from nearby infected California bay laurel trees, rhododendrons or camellias. The pathogen survives on the leaves of the bay laurel and is transmitted to nearby oaks by rain or wind. Once on the oak it infects the trunk and the tree can develop a canker where it bleeds a thick, sticky sap. There is a rapid browning (over 2-4 weeks) of the leaves, however, the tree has usually been infected for two years at that point. This disease is diagnosed by sampling the leaves of nearby host plants (usually a nearby bay laurel) or the bark. Bark sampling should be done by an expert. This disease does not have any cure. There is a fungicide (phosphonate, Agri-Fos) which is approved as a preventative treatment. This will not cure affected trees but will suppress disease progression in early cases. It is injected into the tree or sprayed on the trunk. While it appears you can purchase this product and apply it yourself, it requires special equipment to give the tree injections. You could spray the tree but would likely need special equipment to spray a tree of this size. Given those considerations, treatment is likely a job best left to the arborists. If you treat for fungal disease, and it is not a fungal disease, you may adversely affect the health of the soil under the tree. Fungicides are non-specific and using one may kill non-disease causing fungi that are normal components of soil. For this reason, it is best to get a diagnosis of this disease before starting expensive treatments. There is more information about this disease at the following link: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74151.html
I hope this information proves helpful to you as you make decisions about this tree. Below is a link to a very extensive guide to diseases of oak trees which you may want to look through. http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/pdf/psw_gtr197.pdf
Best of luck with your oak tree. Please contact the Help Desk again if you have more questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SES)
Note: Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog.