MESSENGER
Earth-Wise Horticultural, Inc. updated their business hours.
Congrats to our own Cory McGrath, who recently graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Environmental Horticulture. We look forward to seeing him back at Earth-Wise in the spring.
On September 29, the CO Emerald Ash Borer Response Team announced that a stingless parasitic wasp will be released in Boulder to aid in the Emerald Ash Borer control efforts. The female wasps lay eggs in the larva, which upon hatching, consume the larva and disrupt the life cycle. Check out http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/ag_Plants/CBON/1251646251641 for more info.
COLORADO.GOV
Department of Agriculture - Plants - Emerald Ash Borer
Eriophyid mites are microscopic mites that feed on a wide range of plants. There are many different species of eriophyid mites in Colorado and the plant injury they cause varies greatly. In many cases, the damage is aesthetic and poses no threat to the health of host plants. However, we have seen an increasing number of cottonwoods with significant damage. Leaves on affected trees are distorted into galls and limbs die back throughout the crown. Eriophyid mites can be difficult to control, but fall applications of horticultural oil and systemic trunk injections are options for trees that are badly infested.
Gouty pitch midge, an insect that we used to rarely see, has become more common in recent years. This insect feeds on the twigs of pines, particularly ponderosa pines, and causes the needles and twigs to die and then droop. In addition to being unsightly, tree growth can be stunted and repeated attacks can kill young trees. Gouty pitch midge can be treated with a systemic soil injection.
Browning/shedding of interior needles on evergreens is normal in the fall.