Plant Health Care Outlook
The trend of the past 10 years in residential landscapes has been increasing pressure from insect pests, diseases, and vertebrates. We fully expect that this will continue in 2023 and that the plant health care outlook for the next year will include the following conditions.
Increase of insect pest number and variety that will affect more ornamental plants
A wet spr…
Burkholder Plant Health Care Year in Review
2022 was the second full year in the field for Burkholder Plant Health Care. Having a year of local-property data and experience enabled us to measure our successes and adjust our program to address any shortcomings from 2021. As a certified arborist and the manager of Burkholder Plant Health Care, I am taking this opportunity to share with you our plant health care year in…
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes have long been considered summertime pests. You know that mosquitoes are annoying with their high-pitched buzzing on hot summer nights, and that their bites lead to itchy skin. Did you know that these insects pose health risks to animals and people? Mosquitoes are actually a major risk to human and animal health. Mosquito borne diseases are spread through …
Crape Myrtle Bark Scale, a New Pest in Pennsylvania Landscapes
In May of 2021, we began seeing darkened stems and black moldy growth on crape myrtles in Chester County, carrying over from an insect infestation in the fall of 2020. To recognize that these symptoms were not caused by crape myrtle aphids (common), samples were collected and submitted to the Insect Diagnostic Laboratory at Penn State. These samples revealed the firs…
