All Things Landscape Workshop coming soon, registration required

Joe Boggs, Ohio State University Extension Educator in Hamilton County and one of the first to discover boxtree moth (BTM) in the Warren County area, will be a featured speaker. Joe has extensive knowledge of this pest and is involved in a statewide working group focused on it.

Learn about the life cycle, where we are finding it, and what to do with your boxwoods if you find it. Boxtree moth is now in Montgomery, Warren, and portions of Hamilton County. If you have boxwoods and live in the Miami Valley you might want to attend.

Carrie Brown from OSUE Fairfield County will present “When Plants Bite Back.” Carrie does a great job talking about some of our invasive species such as poison hemlock, water parsnip, and several others that are showing up in our landscape beds. Learn how to identify them as well as how to manage them.

Jen Andon, also with OSUE will present on lawn and household insects. Lawn pests include grubs, cinch bugs, bluegrass billbugs, while household insects include ants, termites and other challenging household pests.

I will be giving an overview of the boxwood problems of last year in preparation for Joe’s talk on BTM. I will also be “Demystifying Hydrangeas” with my presentation. We will cover the various types of hydrangeas as well as care and maintenance, including when to prune.

The cost for the day is $50 and includes lunch. The event will be at Grace Lutheran Church in Springfield (1801 St. Paris Pike). Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. and the sessions are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Pre-registration is necessary, and registration is limited so register early. To go directly to online registration, go to http://go.osu.edu/allthingslandscape24. For more details, go to go.osu.edu/clarkgardenworkshops.

I hope to see you there. We can also talk a little bit about the recent drought and thoughts about challenges we might see next season.

And speaking of drought, I mentioned that I would address evergreens and the drought this week. Keep in mind that evergreens hold their water and sugars in their needles. They can look decent for a while during a drought.

Don’t let this catch you off guard. They may look good now and through the winter, but if they have severe drought damage, you will see them begin to decline next season.

We have had some rain, but is it significant enough to saturate the entire root system of a large spruce or pine tree? We will know more next season. For the newly planted evergreens, I hope you were able to soak them at least once during these last six to eight weeks.