Monthly Archives: June 2011

Lions, tigers and bears – oh, my!

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Asian Long-horned Beetle

As if the Ohio invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer wasn’t enough, the Asian Longhorned Beetle may be the next critter to endanger Ohio forests. As the name indicates, this destructive invasive is from east Asian countries and has apparently been hitch-hiking across the U.S. in shipping crates and pallets. Already, eradication efforts are underway in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York and it appears to have been successfully eradicated in Chicago. While the Emerald Ash Borer’s tree-du-jour are ash trees, the ALB grows, reproduces in, and kills deciduous hardwood trees such as ALL types of maples (sugar, silver, red, Norway and box elder), birches, horse chestnuts, poplars, willows, elms, ashes (Those poor ash trees can’t cut a break!) AND even our buckeyes!

On June 9, an alert landowner noticed three damaged maple trees on his property a few miles from the Village of Bethel in Tate Township, Clermont County, east of Cincinnati, OH. On Friday, June 17, 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) confirmed that an Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) (ALB) infestation was found. Consequently, Ohio Governor Kasich signed an Executive Order restricting the movement of hardwood logs, firewood, stumps, roots, and branches out of Tate Township. This is the first ALB infestation found in Ohio. USDA APHIS has responded with personnel on the scene to assess the extent of the infestation and to develop and implement a management plan.

ALB exit hole

Let me introduce you to this new pest: ALB have bodies about an inch long, are shiny black and have bright white spots. Each adult has a pair of curved, black-and-white striped antennae that are even longer than the body. Adults emerge from trees during May, June and July. They feed on plant shoots for a few days and then mate. After mating, females chew roughly oval pits in the bark of host trees, where they lay eggs. When the eggs hatch, the white grub-like larvae bore into the wood. Larvae mature inside the tree until they become adults and chew round, 3/8 inch (nearly dime-sized) exit holes in trunks and branches, from which they emerge. This life cycle produces new adults every year, rather than every 2-4 years like most other longhorned beetles. The ALB can fly hundreds of feet, perhaps farther when assisted by the wind.

What can you do if you think you’ve found one of these? Obviously, you would want to capture a specimen to be sure. A special toll-free telephone number has been established by the ODA for Ohioans to report suspected ALB infestations or suspiciously large black and white beetles with really long black-and-white striped antennae. The number is: 855-252-6450. The USDA APHIS has several YouTube videos that may also help in your CSI work. Check them out HERE.

Sales alert

Ever’s Country Gardens, a fifth generation family-owned and operated grower north of Lebanon, OH, has all of their annuals and perennials on sale for 50% off. Trees and shrubs are 25% off. They are located just north of the St. Rt. 48 bypass at: 1815 U.S. 42 north, Lebanon, OH, 45036. Phone: 513-932-3914.

I found figs

I was down at Jungle Jim’s International Food Market in Fairfield, OH yesterday and they had hundreds (yes, hundreds) of brown Turkey figs for sale in about a 2 gallon pots. They were about three feet tall and many had figs. The prices were $24.99, down from $29.99. If you have never visited Jungle Jim’s – it’s a hoot. I came home with foods from Greece, Macedonia, Italy and closer to home: Durango, Colorado. The fresh peaches from South Carolina are scrumptious!

On the road and back

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Design by Joni Duncan

Which comes first? Growing beautiful plants and flowers and then learning to create floral designs or creating floral designs and then learning to grow beautiful plants and flowers? Whatever the case, lovers of either avenue of gardening found a heaven on Earth last weekend in Boston, MA, where the World Association of Floral Arrangers (WAFA) held their World Flower Show. The event featured hundreds of exhibitors from 30 member countries. The show is held once every three years and, until this year, had never been held in the U.S. The 2014 show will be in Dublin, Ireland.

Honorary (not judged) entry from Kenya. Design is about 6 feet tall.

The Ohio Association of Garden Clubs (OAGC) took the opportunity to travel by bus to Boston to visit this incredible event. One of OAGC’s members, Joni Duncan of Beavercreek, OH, was an exhibitor. Her entry was in one of the 30 classes (with a maximum of 20 entries in each class) and featured commissioned glass pieces by Dayton glass artist Jim Kahle. Though she was not one of the top three in her class of 20, she did a fantastic job and said that learned much from the experience. Kudos!

Miniature design about 5" tall.

If you would like to see hundreds more photos that I took at the flower show and our trip, go HERE.

Good deal

Chris Carpenter of Beyond the Greenhouse in Springboro has a surplus of 4.5″ annuals (many are Proven Winners) that she is selling for only $2 beginning tomorrow, June 23 through Saturday, June 25. Additionally, 4″ pots of blue or white Wave petunias will be $1. Location of sale is 821 W. Spring Valley Rd. in Centerville (near W. Spring Valley and Paragon Rd.) Hours are 9 am to 4 pm on Thursday and Friday and from 9 am to noon on Saturday.

Garden Tour for the Cure

There will be a special 8-home garden tour in the Brookville/Clayton area to benefit Breast Cancer Research this Saturday, June 25 from 10 am to 4 pm. Tour tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at the Design Crew Salon (442 Wolf Creek Pike, Brookville) or at any of the participating gardens. Contact Mary Thomas at 937-397-4599 for more information.

Awaiting to be seen

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Gray Tree Frog

A friend’s facebook status recently said, “…beauty awaits when you are ready, only to be missed when you’re not.” True. So true. Such is the case as my splotchy, amphibious friend pictured here. Mind you, I’m rarely out of bed before 7 am. None the less, this was my reward for doing some last minute pre-vacation gardening at 6:30 am. Even before having my morning coffee! The cute Gray Tree Frog was perched in the crease of a daylily leaf and apparently thought he was hidden. Ohio’s gray tree frogs are masters at changing colors and may be found in many shades of gray or even browns and greens. It is a bit unusual that this one strayed so far from source of water. I’ve never seen one in my yard before so I’m even more grateful to have met this little guy. You can listen to and read more about Ohio’s tree frogs HERE.

House Finches

Another such find was this not-so-hidden nest of House Finches. The nest was built in plain sight in a wreath hanging on a front door. They fledged the next day. House finches are not native to the Eastern United States. It is reported that in 1940 they were captured illegally in California by New York pet dealers and fearing prosecution, the birds were released on Long Island.

There’s an app for that

Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed books with facts and photos. Our family’s World Book Encyclopedias were well used by the time I left home. I grew up with the Golden Book field guides and continue collecting field guides of all sorts. Apparently I’m showing my age here because I often prefer holding the ‘written word’ in my hand rather than heading to the computer. That being said, it is interesting to see some of the exciting new trends in nature identification resources.

Thanks to my son, I have discovered that there is a Smartphone app to help identify trees. Simply by photographing a leaf, the app called Leafsnap instantly searches a growing library of leaf images amassed by the Smithsonian Institution. In seconds it returns a likely species identification, high-resolution photographs and information on the tree’s flowers, fruit, seeds and bark. Users make the final identification and share their findings with the app’s growing database to help map the population of trees one mobile phone at a time.

Leafsnap debuted in May, covering all the trees in New York’s Central Park and Washington’s Rock Creek Park. The iPhone and iPad app has been downloaded more than 150,000 times in the first month, and its creators expect it to continue to grow as it expands to Android phones. By this summer, it will include all the trees of the Northeast and eventually will cover all the trees of North America. I’m thinking this is one more thing to help rationalize the purchase of an iPad. 🙂

Gettin’ a little figgy with it

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Brown Turkey Fig

You can put what I currently know about figs in a thimble. Growing up eating the less expensive generic Fig Newtons, I pretty much thought all figs came in graham covered slabs. I couldn’t have identified one in its natural form to save my life. Well, now I have a reason to immerse myself in fig research because I’m going to be a fig mamma. I picked up my $8 four-foot tall Brown Turkey fig plant while on my North/South Carolina in April (much to Keith’s chagrin) and it has about 20 little bitty figs. Does anyone have any culture input they can give me for growing one in Ohio?

Go local

One of the great things about summer is the opportunity to buy products that are locally grown or produced. Here in the Centerville area the Centerville Farmers Market just opened at its new 2011 location: Centerville Shopping Center (northeast corner of South Main St./Spring Valley Rd.) Open from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm on each Thursday through mid-October, there is plenty of parking to be found. Post a comment to include other area farmers markets you have discovered.

Native Plant Conference offering 1 day registration price

The July 8-10 Midwest Native Plant Society is now offering a 1-day (Saturday only) registration price of $90 for its annual native plant conference at Bergamo. It is not listed on the site’s home page so you’ll have to click on the registration link for this discount. I attended the first one and had no idea that this was a national event. If you have any interest in learning more about growing native plants, this is the place to be.

Periodic Cicadas again? Already?

Viner Angie in Bellbrook reported hearing some periodic cicadas singing again. Having quite the deluge of cicadas in 2004, she probably wasn’t looking forward to another influx. Ironically, I had heard one yesterday as well over by Normandy Park in Centerville. Without looking into its beady little eyes and getting a positive ID, I’m not sure which species we heard. You can learn more about brood XIX at this link and even make a report if you’ve identified them in your neck of the woods.

Nature pics from the yard

Mourning Cloak butterfly

My attempt to attract and keep the orioles to the yard failed. Here, you see my attempt to attract them: a grapefruit half that had grape jelly in the cup. It is mounted on top of the shepherd’s hook of my birdfeeder. Ironically, in its spoiled state, it attracted the mourning cloak butterfly who likes to sip on rotting fruit or scat. When its wings open it is about 3-4″ wide.

This next picture is not for the squeemish. Viewer beware. It is a picture of a spider on the inside of my kitchen window who was having breakfast on a Crane Fly. If you can stand it, click on the photo to make it larger. The spider was on the inside of the screen. The fly was on the outside. How weird is that? Not all spiders resort to spinning webs to catch their food. Many, as this example demonstrates, catch their victims on the prowl. I love the cute (yes, I said cute) jumping spiders. Up close, they look like a sort of an oogly teddy bear…….sort of. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife has a wonderful field guide for Spiders of Ohio though with this back lighting, I can’t tell which spider this is.

Breakfast at Vickster's