Author: Bert Cregg

Cold enough for ya?

Like many people we spent the past couple days digging out from the massive snowstorm that swept across a large swath of the country.  This was definitely a made-for-TV-weather event as national and local TV weatherfolks took up their positions and gave us breathless live-remotes of the “Blizzard of 2011”.

40 mph wind + 1 little crack = a barn full of snow.

Almost as predictable as video footage of snow-ploughs on the streets and locals snow-blowing sidewalks; climate change skeptics are using the recent round of winter weather as proof that global warming is a hoax and that there’s really nothing to worry about except the economics of ‘cap and trade’.  … Continue reading this article “Cold enough for ya?”

Insects and Fertilization

Linda got a few comments and questions on her post a couple of weeks ago on fertilization and insect resistance.  This is an issue I’ve been peripherally involved with over the years so I wanted to share a few thoughts.  First, the relationship between plant nutrition and insect resistance is extremely complex.  We often have difficulty predicting how a plant is going to respond to fertilization, let alone predict how an insect is going to respond to how the plant responded. … Continue reading this article “Insects and Fertilization”

Warning: This blog may be hazardous to your health

Following up on Jeff’s post last week regarding blue spruce.  Jeff noted, and several posters agreed, that even though blue spruce will eventually have a host of pest problems, for the first 10 years or so it’s a darn good looking landscape conifer.  Jeff went on to draw the analogy that choosing a blue spruce is like choosing sexy sports car or gas guzzler over a boring, high MPG sedan.  To a certain extent the libertarian in me agrees. … Continue reading this article “Warning: This blog may be hazardous to your health”

Landscape conifers: The Good, the Bad, and the Underused

This week is our annual Great Lakes Trade Expo, the main trade show and education venue for Michigan nursery and landscape industry. One of my talks was for the Arboriculture track on landscapes conifers. The theme this year was “The Good, the Bad, and the Underused.” Hey, you try giving a dozen talks a year for 10 years and see if you can come up with an original title!

 

The selections were based the following, admittedly subjective, criteria.… Continue reading this article “Landscape conifers: The Good, the Bad, and the Underused”

New Year’s Prediction: Invasive Fire Continues to Burn

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had restful and enjoyable holidays.  In addition to looking back over the year that just past, a common New Year’s tradition is to make predictions for the coming year.  Without going too far out on a limb, one of my predictions for the upcoming year is that the debate over invasive plants will continue to intensify, especially as it relates to Landscape Horticulture.  Along these lines, a couple of recent articles by Gregorio Gavier-Pizarro and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin and the USDA Forest Service caught my eye.… Continue reading this article “New Year’s Prediction: Invasive Fire Continues to Burn”

Happy Holidays!

Relaxing at the in-laws in Ohio for the long Christmas weekend.  Hope all of our blog readers are having a enjoyable holidays.  In other words, I hope you didn’t have to fly anywhere over this Christmas weekend!

I’ve been catching up on some reading including recent articles on invasive alien plants that should be of interest to our readers.  I’ll share some thoughts when I get back on schedule next week.  In the meantime there’s still another football game to watch this evening and another plate of my mother-in-law’s cookies that need some attention.… Continue reading this article “Happy Holidays!”

What fir?

OK, it’s the middle of December so I get to indulge my passion for Christmas trees.  One of the most interesting projects I’ve gotten to work on during my time at Michigan State is a study to look at alternative species of firs (Abies spp) for Christmas trees and well as for landscape conifers.  Firs are fascinating trees that are distributed throughout temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.  There are about 50 species, many of which are important for timber, landscaping or Christmas trees.… Continue reading this article “What fir?”

Saving your ash

My earlier post regarding plans to replace the monoculture of ash trees at the Gateway Arch Monument in St. Louis, MO with a monoculture of Lindens prompted a question about options for treating ash trees for emerald ash borer.  This is a complex topic so I wanted make sure I had time and space to respond completely.

 

First, the best and most current source of information regarding treatments for EAB is the Multi-state bulletin “Insecticide Options for Protecting Ash Trees from Emerald Ash Borer” which is available as a full-color .pdf… Continue reading this article “Saving your ash”

Maybe common sense isn’t so common after all

I noted in my Sept. 22, 2009 post on the threat posed to ash trees in the Midwest by the emerald ash borer (EAB), and included photos of the famous grove of 500 ash trees surrounding the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.  I was in St. Louis that summer for the ASHS meeting and saw that the National Park Service was planting trees from a variety of species around the monument.  I assumed at the time that the Park Service was preparing for the eventual loss of the ashes to EAB.  

… Continue reading this article “Maybe common sense isn’t so common after all”

Not your father’s extension service

We recently received a question on one of my old posts (Dec. 12, 2009) from a blog reader in Iran (yes, Iran) regarding agricultural extension and asking what’s new in how we disseminate science-based information.  There’s no doubt that things have evolved in agricultrual extension over the years.  There’s an old joke:  Guy walks into a county extension office and the agent is sitting behind his desk, crying.  The visitor asks, “What’s the matter?”   Agent replies, “My farmer died.”  … Continue reading this article “Not your father’s extension service”