This is the 27th 2008 edition of the Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (BYGL).  BYGL is developed from a Tuesday morning conference call of Extension Educators, Specialists, and other contributors in Ohio.

BYGL is available via email, contact Cheryl Fischnich This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   to subscribe.  Additional Factsheet information on any of these articles may be found through the OSU fact sheet database http://plantfacts.osu.edu/ .

BYGL is a service of OSU Extension and is aided by major support from the ONLA (Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association) http://onla.org/ ; http://buckeyegardening.com/ to the OSU Extension Nursery, Landscape and Turf Team (ENLTT).  Any materials in this newsletter may be reproduced for educational purposes providing the source is credited.

BYGL is available online at: http://bygl.osu.edu, a web site sponsored by the Ohio State University Department of Horticulture and Crop Sciences (HCS) as part of the "Horticulture in Virtual Perspective."  The online version of BYGL has images associated with the articles and links to additional information.

Following are the participants in the September 30th conference call:  Pam Bennett (Clark); Barb Bloetscher (C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic (CWEPPDC)); Joe Boggs (Hamilton/Piketon); Jim Chatfield (OSU Extension at Wooster/Hort and Crop Science); Julie Crook (Hamilton) Erik Draper (Geauga); Dave Dyke (Hamilton); David Goerig (Mahoning); Tim Malinich (Lorain); Joe Rimelspach (Plant Pathology); Curtis Young (Allen); and Randy Zondag (Lake).

In This Issue:

1. WEATHERWATCH
2. HORT SHORTS:  Plants of the Week [Woody - Common Witchazel - (Hamamelis viriginia); Perennial - Garden Mums (Dendrathmum spp.); Annual - Morning Glory (Ipomea tricolor); Weed - Pennsylvania Smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum); National Ash Tree Seed Collection Initiative; More Mushroom Madness.
3. BUGBYTES:  Banded Ash Borer; Hopper Horror Show; Hello, Hello?  Telephone Pole Beetle;  Not-So Minute Problem; and Clusters of Crane flies.
4. DISEASE DIGEST:  Moist Chamber.
5. INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:  Don't Guess, Monitor.
6. COMING ATTRACTIONS:  Pumpkin Power; Vermilion's Annual Woollybear Festival; Buckeye-Bluegrass BYGLive!; and Why Trees Matter Forum. 
7. BYGLOSOPHY.

The following weather information summarizes year-to-date data collected at various OARDC Weather Stations spanning the dates of January 1 - September 30, 2008, with the exception of the soil temperatures which are readings from Wednesday, October 1 at 6:00 p.m.

 For more information, see:

• OARDC Weather Stations
• U.S. Drought Monitor

* WOODY ORNAMENTAL OF THE WEEK.  COMMON WITCHHAZEL - (Hamamelis virginiana).  Approaching first bloom across Ohio at this time is the common witchhazel.  This small tree and/or large shrub grows to 25' in height throughout its native habitat within the eastern hardwood forest of North America.  The flowers have four dainty, strap-like, crumpled, petals that are fragrant and yellow in color.  Common witchhazel will remain in full bloom from early October up to December, depending on weather conditions.  This plant is plenty hardy for our area.  It produces a good yellow fall foliage color that complements itself as it continues to bloom.  It prefers moist, shady areas and is somewhat tolerant of city conditions.  Hamamelis virginiana is also valued for its unique branching habits.

* PERENNIAL PLANT OF THE WEEK.  GARDEN MUMS (Dendrathmum spp) - One of the backbones of the fall gardens, hybrid mums are providing a display of color in gardens at this time.  Mums come in a variety of colors as well as flower shapes and sizes.  They can be used in beds and containers, growing best in full sun and well-drained soil.  Once mums finish blooming in the fall, leave them alone; however, don't forget to continue to water them in order to help establish the root system.  Remember, they are a living plant and even though the top looks dead, the roots continue to grow.  Mulch the plants after the ground freezes and  cut them back to the ground in the spring.  Despite all the good care that they might receive in the fall, not all cultivars are reliably hardy in Ohio; however, they do a great job of filling in holes in the fall garden.

* ANNUAL PLANT OF THE WEEK.  MORNING GLORY (Ipomea tricolor) - This perennial (but tropical) plant is still looking wonderful in most Ohio gardens - until the frost hits, that is.  They are not hardy in Ohio but are extremely easy to grow from seeds each spring.  They are so easy to grow that they can become a bit annoying as they re-seed readily.  However, the beautiful colors and ease of growth makes them worth the effort of weeding out a few extras.  Plants bloom best in full sun but will grow a nice healthy vine in the shade.  Colors are in the blue, pink, red, and white ranges; some are multicolored with stripes or spots.  Since it is a vine, it looks better in the landscape if grown on some type of support.  This is where gardeners can get very creative and provide all types of structural support.  Dead trees, tree limbs suck in containers, tomato cages and more support this quick-growing vine.

* WEED OF THE WEEK.  PENNSYLVANIA SMARTWEED (Polygonum pensylvanicum).  Randy Zondag reported lots of weeds are producing lots of seeds right now.  Polygonum pensylvanicum is no exception.  Pennsylvania smartweed is a summer annual that is distributed throughout the United States.  This time of year in Ohio it is still producing blooms and seeds.  P. pensylvanica is a weed of horticultural and agricultural crops.  It can be found in landscapes as well, but rarely a problem in turfgrass.  This multi branched plant has leaves that are hairy on the upper surface and smooth on the lower surface.  The leaves are alternate and somewhat elliptic in shape with a pale purple blotch that is visible on each one. The stems of pennsylvania smartweed are a greenish, red in color.  Look for the bright pink to white spike-like cluster of flowers that drop seeds when disturbed.  The best programs for control of this plant and other summer annuals include preemergence herbicides.

The Rose Lake Plant Materials Center (PMC) is taking steps to see that the ash tree doesn't vanish forever and is looking for your help.  The PMC has initiated the National Ash Tree Seed Collection Initiative.  An agreement has been established to store ash tree seed at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado.  The U.S. Forest Service has agreed to x-ray the collected ash seed to determine sound seed for storage.  If the ash tree populations are completely decimated by the ash borer, the stored seeds can be used as the genetic base for work to re-establish ash trees for future generations.

The PMC is seeking volunteers to collect seed from ash trees throughout the U.S. in the growing regions of ash trees.  Additional information on the initiative, along with identifying and collecting ash seed, is contained on the website http://ashseed.org .  Posters, brochures, hand-outs, and power points are also linked to the site. 

For more information, see:

• Plant Materials Program & National Ash Tree Seed Collection Initiative

Two of the mushrooms commonly reported this past week were GIANT PUFFBALLS (Calvatia gigantea) and the DOG STINKHORN (Mutinus caninus).  The puffballs are known for their large size reaching diameters of over 12" in some areas.  They begin as round, white, small, firm growths pushing up from below the turf or mulch.  As they mature they turn dry and tan releasing clouds of spores when disturbed.  The stinkhorn, on the other hand, is orange or pink with a brown head.  It gives off an extremely foul odor and should not be handled without gloves or plastic bag.

As interesting as they are, mushrooms become a nuisance in landscapes.  Large colonies can seriously impact the quality of turf.  Homeowners are often concerned about risks to children or pets.  There are no fungicides available to control these microbes.  Control in the landscape involves manipulation of the food source or the mushrooms themselves.

*Remove individual mushrooms as they emerge.  They will, however, continue to be produced until conditions change or until their food source is exhausted.

*Remove the organic food source on which they are feeding.  This may be an old tree stump, buried construction material, thick layers of mulch or even accumulated thatch in turf.  In the case of thatch, core aerifying can speed up the decomposition process.

*Do not eat the mushrooms you find.  Loss of life and serious health problems occur every year to people who guessed wrong when identifying mushrooms.  Do not make a casual identification of mushrooms and do not recommend eating wild mushrooms; leave the identification to the experts.

For more information, see:

• Wild Mushrooms
• Dog Stinkhorn
• Giant Puffball

Cerembycid larvae are commonly referred to as "roundheaded borers," and banded ash borer larvae look like typical cerembycid larvae.  The segments towards the front of the fleshy, thin-skinned, yellowish-white larvae are larger in diameter than the rest of the segments.  This makes the larvae look like they have round heads and tapering bodies.  Banded ash borer larvae feed parallel with the grain of the sapwood, and they fill their tunnels with tightly packed sawdust-like frass.  Heavily infested logs and firewood may be honeycombed with frass-filled tunnels. 

Banded ash borers infest dying or recently dead trees.  In fact, the beetle is most frequently viewed as a forest products pest since they often target fresh-cut logs to be used for lumber or firewood.  The beetle will not infest wood that has been dried or processed into home furnishings, or structural wood.  Beetles emerging from infested firewood in a home are only a nuisance pest.  The only connection between this beetle and EAB is that banded ash borers infest dying or recently killed trees.  It does not matter whether a tree is circling the drain because of EAB, or some other malady.

Common names of insects can be confusing.  Despite its common name, banded ash borer will also infest hickory, elm, hackberry, pecan, and occasionally white oak.  Adding to the confusion, the borer also shares part of its common name with another native ash borer, the BANDED ASH CLEARWING (Podosesia aureocincta), which is a moth.  Unfortunately, both insects are sometimes referred to as "banded ash borer."  The clearwing moth targets ash trees that are alive, but suffering from stress.

For more information, see:

• Michigan State Extension Bulletin
• Forest Pests Fact Sheet

Infected grasshoppers crawl to the tops of plants and die with their heads pointing upward and their legs wrapped tightly around the stalks of the plants.  The disease is commonly called a "summit disease" because of the grasshopper's weed-climbing behavior.  The cadavers remain attached to the plants for several days until their bodies, having been digested and consumed by the pathogen, dry out and fall apart.  As the grasshopper disintegrates, millions of resting spores are released into the environment. 

These spores fall to the ground were they remain on or under the soil.  When these spores germinate, in the present or the following year, they produce sticky spores that are ejected into the surrounding area to adhere to the exoskeleton of unsuspecting foraging grasshoppers.  The spores then germinate and penetrate the body of the new host, and the bizarre effects of the fungal infection repeats.  Summit disease is capable of causing high mortality in grasshopper populations.  Unfortunately, epizootics (outbreaks) are usually sporadic and localized.  Heavy infections generally occur late in the season after the heaviest grasshopper feeding damage has occurred.

For more information, see:

• Cornell University Biological Control Guide
• North Dakota State University Grasshopper Management Fact Sheet

Several unusual beetles found in a home and stuck to a glue board were received by the CWEPPDC.  Dr. Shetlar identified them as being in the Family Micromalthidae, known as the TELEPHONE-POLE BEETLES, Micromalthus debilus.  These tiny (0.06-0.08") beetles are brownish with elongate, flattened bodies and impressive mandibles, made for chewing wood.  The head is large with big eyes and beaded antennae which gradually increase in size.  The pronotum (thorax) tapers toward the elytra, which don't completely cover the end of the body.

The most unusual stage of this family is the larvae which undergo different stages and shapes as they develop.  Some larvae resemble a long horned beetle (Cerambycidae), others look like the larvae of a ground beetle (Carabidae), still others look like weevil larvae (Curculionidae).  The larvae that develop into "Cerambycid-like larvae" can either become an adult female beetle or a female-producing larva which gives birth to caraboid larvae.  The "Cerambycid-like larvae" can also develop into a male producer, which lay eggs that hatch into weevil-like larvae.  Not surprisingly, the classification of this family has been moved from one suborder to another several times.

The larvae feed on moist, decaying oak or chestnut logs in the rotting stage of decay.  They obtained their name as they have been observed in moist, creosote treated timber and poles.  Although seldom seen, the beetles are found in the eastern United States as well as western Canada, Cuba, Brazil, Hong Kong and South Africa.

For more information, see:

• BugGuide
• Information on the Telephone-pole Beetle

Often found in grain elevators and under grocery shelves, they feed on molds that grow on plaster or stale grain, and are often called plaster beetles.  They may also be found in newly constructed homes which have freshly installed plaster walls.  In most situations, once the source of attraction is removed and/or the relative humidity in a home has dropped to 40%, the incidence of these beetles diminishes.  Similarly, once the source of moisture (condensation or leak between hotel floors) is corrected, the beetles should disappear.

For more information, see:

• OSU Fact Sheet on Fungus Beetles
• BugGuide

Crane flies look like extra large mosquitoes.  Fortunately, they do not possess the mouth parts to bite or suck blood.  Most species of crane fly larvae feed on organic materials in the soil and thatch layer, especially in moist to wet areas in the yard.  There are some species that feed directly on living grass plants such as blades and crowns, that are of concern.  These are the European crane flies (Tipula palodusa), however they have not been identified as existing in Ohio at this time.

For more information, see:

• Crane Fly Pests of the Pacific Northwest
• Crane Fly Information from Cornell University