University of Illinois Extension
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Seed starting is a great way to scratch the gardening itch we often get during late winter. In addition to getting a head start on the growing season, there are a number of additional benefits to starting your own seeds. Starting seeds to make your own transplants can be cheaper than going…
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URBANA, Ill. — By definition, a forest is a large area of land covered with trees and understory growth. Traditionally, these parcels of land are often imagined as plant-dense woodlands with a diverse mix of species layered from tall trees down to mosses on the woodland floor. These plants are growing where seeds landed or…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Don’t you wish you knew then what you know now? Speaking from experience, when I first began studying plants, people would ask me lots of gardening or landscaping questions. Did I as a first-year student know the answer? No. Did I pretend to? Yes. It must be human nature as a young…
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With the turn of the new year, it seems to be a tradition to declare it the year of ‘fill in the blank’. So far I’ve learned 2023 is the year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese Zodiac, Pantone named Viva Magenta color of the year, Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush’ is the perennial plant…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Some memories stick out. Around the second or third grade, my teacher wheeled the television cart into the classroom which to an eight-year-old was cause for celebration. Was it going to be a movie or some type of educational show? We didn’t care. TV in school was a novelty and exciting, even…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The new year provides us an opportunity to start anew, often in the form of New Year’s resolutions. It might be starting a vegetable garden, growing more flowers for pollinators, composting, mowing less, or scouting your garden. Consider making a resolution/goal or two for the garden. Below are some of our gardening…
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I once heard a succinct description of natural process as “everything points towards winter.” As a Midwesterner not so fond of cold, my immediate response to this synopsis was denial but with time, I’ve come to adore this mentality. Annual plants know they have one growing season to complete their life cycle, racing to reproduce…
Read Full Article MILAN, Ill. — Plants have played a major role in human development for as long as people have inhabited the earth. Human interaction with plants has been and continues to be a complex relationship. Many species have provided critical resources for sustaining life, while others threaten human harm if encountered or used without caution. The…
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MACOMB, Ill. — As we enter the debate on gas-powered versus electric outdoor tools, it truly is based upon the user, their needs and the scale of their landscape. If you’re weighing options for future yard tools, here are some considerations: Electric tools are quieter. After spending most of my life listening to the rumble…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — With the arrival of winter-like weather, many of us will be firing up the fireplace. When bringing wood inside for the fire, we can sometimes bring some unexpected hitchhikers. Many insects and other critters will use firewood (or wood in general) as a food source or a place to overwinter. Fortunately, for…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Did you know you can grow the most popular drink in the world in Illinois? If you’re wondering how to harvest Pepsi or Coke from a tree, I’m sorry, you have the wrong drink. Second to water, tea reigns supreme as the world’s favorite drink. It has been for centuries. We get…
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MILAN, Ill. — While traveling through the Midwest on leaf peeping adventures, modern day explorers may find a rather nondescript tree with unique, distinct fruit. A medium-sized tree adorned with large, round, chartreuse colored fruit can be easily identified as Maclura pomifera, or Osage orange. Although ordinary in appearance for most of the year, and…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Praying mantids are a common site in the fall, and we often encounter their egg cases (ootheca) this time of year too. Did you know three species of praying mantids can be found in Illinois? While praying mantids are a welcome sight to some, others are concerned about the presence of the…
Read Full Article MILAN, Ill. — As the growing season draws to an end, temperatures cool, woody plants prepare for dormancy and we enjoy the last blooms of the season. For many of us, autumn also means sniffles and sneezes caused by seasonal allergies. Seasonal allergies are a reaction to airborne pollen entering the body and being misidentified…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — As we transition from summer to fall and the temperatures start cooling off, many of us will be spending time outdoors getting our landscapes ready for winter. While enjoying our time outdoors, we often encounter various insets we may not see or notice earlier in the growing season. One such insect is…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Growing up and working in my parent’s garden, I often remember the early spring when the tree buds are opening, the grass is greening up, and birds are singing. Suddenly, the roar of our massive Honda tiller broke through the serene spring day as it chewed and turned the earth and spewed…
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MACOMB, Ill. — A parent fed up with their child’s persistent use of technology (internet, video games, tablet, you name it) has decided to pull the plug on their sedentary habits. They strip the devices from their child’s hands and throw them outside and say “Go play!” The child looks around. Before them lays their…
Read Full Article NAUVOO, Ill. — University of Illinois Extension will offer a rainscaping demonstration from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21 at the corner of Hyde and Hotchkiss in historic Nauvoo. A group photo will be taken at approximately 7 p.m. Twenty-five community members and leaders who have participated in the rainscaping workshop series will be planting a…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Have you read some of the headlines lately concerning monarch butterflies? “Monarch Butterflies are Thriving!” “Monarch Butterflies are Endangered!” Both headlines (or something similar) recently saturated newsfeeds for Americans. Considering these stories came out about two weeks apart, what is a person to think? Are monarch butterflies OK? Are they in peril?…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — As we draw nearer to fall, it’s time to start thinking about bringing houseplants back indoors for the winter. Many houseplants are native to tropical an subtropical climates and, while they may do great outdoors during the summer, cannot tolerate our cold temperatures. When the thermometer starts to consistently get below 55…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Spider mites are a common pest on many types of plants. The most commonly encountered species is the two-spotted spider mite. While we often think of them attacking houseplants, particularly during the winter months, they can also be a problem on fruits, vegetables and landscape plants, particularly during hot, dry weather. What…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Each year, I try to write a couple of articles about lawns. Each time I’ve written one of these, I have assumed you, the reader, care about your lawn. Turns out, there are a lot of people who have lawns, that don’t care about having a perfectly manicured turf. You just want to know…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Many years ago, when the emerald ash borer had just arrived in northern Illinois, a colleague came across a flatbed trailer loaded with cut ash trees at a gas station. At that time, Illinois counties confirmed with EAB had a quarantine that restricted moving ash wood outside of the county. Most Extension…
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MACOMB, Ill. — The summer of 2012 saw my first year as an Extension horticulture educator. It also was one of the driest years on record. Illinois saw massive shortages of rainfall that year, complete with water restrictions, loss of crops and the demise of many ornamental landscapes. It was a summer that will be…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — A variety of insects will feed on squash. One of the more troublesome is the squash vine borer. If you’ve grown squash and had a runner or two start wilting, there’s a good chance you’ve had an encounter with squash vine borer. Squash vine borers will feed on both summer and winter…
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