By the end of the growing season, many of our annual plants in the garden are gorgeous to overgrowing! It is hard to watch these prized flowers die after the first frost. Fortunately, some annuals can be propagated from cuttings and brought indoors during the winter. This is a great way to extend their beauty […]
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The Purdue Plant Doctor website at purdueplantdoctor.com navigates like a smartphone app and can help growers identify and manage insect pests and diseases of trees, shrubs, and flowers. It will also help growers recognize “good bugs,” those beneficial insects that prey on harmful insect pests or serve as valuable pollinators. Helpful instructional videos provide supplemental
August is National Tree Check Month: Are your trees safe and secure? When was the last time you really looked at your trees? It’s all too easy to just enjoy their cool shade and the sound of their leaves, but if you don’t know what to look for you could miss deadly diseases or dastardly demons
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People often select plants first for their beauty and second for their functionality in the garden. Frequently, we don’t know or don’t consider a plant’s behavior when we’re selecting them. Almost by definition, a species that is an effective ground cover will have a spreading habit. But does that make the species aggressive or invasive?
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Purdue’s Tomato Doctor app helps gardeners identify, diagnose and manage insect, disease, and environmental problems on their tomatoes. The app contains almost 500 high quality images to help users throughout North America diagnose their most common (and uncommon) tomato problems. Features: Identify tomato problems by matching photos of almost 500 images. Diagnoses can be made
La Porte’s 25th Annual Sunflower Fair will be downtown, on Saturday September 21st, from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Our Master Gardener Association hosts the annual Sunflower Growing Contest, with awards for Tallest Stem, Most Blooms and Largest Head. Is your sunflower a winner? Bring your sunflower to the Master Gardener booth, along with the
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They’re back! After hitching their initial ride on imported ornamental plants in 1916, Japanese beetles decided North America isn’t such a bad place to live and have made a presence year after year since. Today, these pests can be a serious nuisance to gardeners and farmers throughout North America feeding on over 300 different species
The Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS) has opened their annual photo contest to the public, ages 11 and above. The contest offers an opportunity to showcase the talents of local photographers and build up a collection of excellent images to support the education and outreach efforts of INPS. The deadline for 2024 submissions is August 31.
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The 2024 Master Gardener Hotline is available to help the public with home gardening questions. The hotline is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CDT, from April 8th through September 27th. The Garden Hotline phone number is 219-324-9407. Michigan City area residents can call the local number 219-874-5611, Ext. 201
Do you know that Indiana has many public gardens throughout the state? Summer is the perfect time to visit one of these gardens. The link below takes you to garden list, including maps and directions. Indiana Gardens to Visit
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