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Click on the following links to see the Garden Calendars for each month:
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BOLOs (Be On The Lookout)....
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Month-by-month lists of common plant diseases, pests, and other problems you may encounter in North Carolina yards and gardens. Straight from our PDIC (Plant Disease & Insect Clinic) entomologists and pathologists!
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Upcoming Dates:
- August 3-9th : National Farmers Market Week (NFMW)
- August 7th @ 5:30p - 4H Garden Club Meeting
- August 11th @ 7pm : Alexander County Beekeepers Meeting
- August 13th - Turfgrass Field Day @ Lake Wheeler Turfgrass Research Lab - Raleigh
- August 14th - Mtn. Horticulture Research Station Field Day @ Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center - Mills River
- August 16th @ 8a-12p - Alexander Co. Farmers Market (Taylorsville) - Ask Your Horticulture Agent & Native Plant Sale Info
- August 19th - EMGV Meeting
- August 21st @ 4-7p: Alexander Co. Farmers Market (Bethlehem) - Ask Your Horticulture Agent & Native Plant Sale Info
- August 23rd - Wild Herbs and Foraging Workshop @ Hiddenite Center
- August 28th @ 6-8p - Pesticide Recertification (V:2)
- September 1st - Labor Day (Alexander County offices closed)
- September 3rd - Commercial Pesticide Recertification (:2)
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We will be having our Native Plant sale again this fall so be sure to get your order in ASAP! All plants will be coming from our friends at Carolina Native Nursery in Burnsville, NC and are all native plants to NC!
You may ask, “Why should I plant natives?” or “I have enough to manage with my lawn alone, why add something else to my plate?” Native plants are amazing for you and for the natural world around you. Because these plants are native to our area and have evolved to be adaptive to our soils and climate, they are actually a lot easier to care for in the landscape. Most native plants require “no babying”, using less water and fertilizers than many ornamentals, not to mention they are BEAUTIFUL!
Because our way of life is urbanized now more than ever, we have a lot of fragmented land. This means that in some places, land has been broken up where it was once continuous and full of native plants to support wildlife.
The remaining isolated areas are sometimes not enough to support the wildlife left in them. In our own landscapes, we have transformed the land we have into a monoculture of turf, concrete, and exotic plants, repelling pollinators, beneficial insects, and wildlife. Adding a few natives back into your landscape instead of overusing ornamentals or exotics helps to preserve the complex web of biological diversity, which we call “nature”. They improve the health and help to restore ecosystems by providing food and shelter for pollinators, beneficial insects, birds, & mammals. Native plants also offer great nesting sites for birds, and act as larval hosts for many of our butterflies and moths!
It has been shown that this type of action also creates a “snowball effect”. This means that when you install natives in your flower beds and you get excited about seeing all the beneficial insects, birds, or butterflies, you begin to tell your friends & family. Then they add some native plants to their landscapes and so on. What you do for your ecosystem has an impact!
Tips for adding native plants in your landscape:
- Diversify your landscape with: evergreens for winter cover & berries, plants with seeds, fruits, and nectar for food, grasses for shelter and seeds, and host plants for insects with larval stages.
- Plan to have some visual interest in every season – this can be tough in the winter sometimes, but dried seed heads from coneflowers, plants with winter berries, or even grasses are beautiful in the winter!
- Don’t plant too close to windows (because birds will accidentally hit them).
- Mimic nature by planting in gentle sweeping curves, irregular shapes, clusters, and layers.
- Plant so that your plants have room to grow! (Read that again!)
- Expect & be OKAY with some foliage missing! – you can’t have beautiful butterflies without the caterpillars!
Come out and support your local extension office and your ecosystem this September by purchasing some native plants! If you have any questions about ordering, please contact Cari Mitchell, Horticulture Agent, at 828-632-4451.
“Because life is fueled by the energy captured from the sun by plants, it will be the plants that we use in our gardens that determine what nature will be like 10, 20, and 50 years from now.” – Doug Tallamy, American entomologist, ecologist, and conservationist
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Hiring Certified Arborists & Being Proactive with Tree Management
Trees are valuable assets in the landscape, requiring specialized care to maintain their health and beauty. Poor tree care can be costly and harmful, while proper care enhances tree longevity, beauty, and value. Storms that damage trees are very common in NC, whether this be from severe thunderstorms, ice, high winds, or tornados. Downed trees and branches can be hazardous to people, property and they can disrupt our daily lives. Minimizing the risk of weak trees and the potential for this kind of damage is important.
Arborists can be full-service or consulting. Full-service arborists handle tasks like pruning, fertilizing, pest management, disease diagnosis, tree removal, and stump grinding. Consulting arborists provide advice on tree health, appraisals, and treatment recommendations but do not perform physical work.
Be cautious of door-to-door solicitors, especially after storms. Ensure the company is properly identified and certified, as storm damage often involves high-risk situations. Never rush into deals or pay upfront.
To proactively care for your trees, consider these tips:
- Assess the risk of damage by evaluating trees on your property or street for existing issues that could worsen during a storm
- Ensure proper planting and staking of trees
- Choose the right tree for the right location
- Maintain good pruning practices for both young and mature trees
- Apply proper mulching techniques
By taking these steps, you can help ensure your trees remain healthy, safe, and beautiful.
Here are some great resources for tree owners!!
NCSU Trees Portal - Great videos and a Collective of Information on (Tree ID, Planting, Pruning, & Management)
Here are some tips on Hiring a Tree Care Professional
Find an Arborist
Tree Owner’s Manual: From Planting to Early Maintenance - Learn How to Do it Correctly
Pruning for Proper Structure
Who Is Responsible for the Trees? A Citizen Guide to Trees in the Community
Storms can hit trees hard in NC. Be proactive in your tree care.
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Conduct your own Tree RIsk Assessment or Hire an Arborist to conduct one for you.
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Common Disease & Pest Issues of Oak Trees in North Carolina
Over the past few years, our office has received many questions about why oak trees are declining or dying. Tree health is rarely the result of a single cause—it’s usually a combination of environmental stresses and biological threats working together over time.
Below are some of the most common issues we see in our area.
Abiotic Factors (Non-Living Causes)
North Carolina weather is famously unpredictable. One year may bring months of heavy rain, the next extreme drought—and sometimes both in the same season. Oaks, like most trees, are built for stability, not sudden swings in environmental conditions.
Flooding and prolonged standing water can suffocate roots, weakening the tree’s support system. If drought follows the next year, that same stressed tree will be even less able to cope. In our region, heavy clay soils often make the problem worse—holding water too tightly in wet years, yet becoming rock-hard and moisture-poor in dry spells.
These stress cycles may take years to show symptoms. A tree might appear healthy until suddenly dropping leaves in midsummer or showing canopy dieback. By the time symptoms appear, the damage may have been set in motion long before.
Other abiotic stressors include:
- Soil compaction from construction or heavy equipment near the root zone—even damage from a decade ago can still affect trees today.
- Improper pruning practices, especially repeated “topping” or flush cuts that fail to heal properly.
- Changes in drainage caused by sidewalks, driveways, or new building additions.
Biotic Factors (Living Causes)
When oaks are already stressed, they become more susceptible to pests and diseases. These problems don’t always cause death directly, but they can accelerate decline and reduce vigor.
Common symptoms include leaf deformation, necrosis, premature leaf drop, canopy dieback, and visible fungal growth.
Diseases of Oaks in Our Area (Click to learn more on each disease)
Oak Leaf Blister
Bacterial Leaf Scorch
Anthracnose
Tubakia / Actinopelte Leaf Spot
Powery Mildew
Oak Wilt
Sooty Mold
Biscogniauxia (Hypoxylon) Canker
Armillaria Root Rot
Phytophthora Root Rot
Bacterial Wet Wood / Slime Flux
Oak Decline
Insect Pests of Oaks (Click to learn more about insects affecting oaks)
Foliage-Feeding Caterpillars
Galls & Gall Wasps
Scale Insects
Wood-Boring Insects
The Bottom Line
Oaks are remarkably resilient, but not invincible. Decline is often the result of many years of accumulated stress—most of it happening out of sight, beneath the soil or within the canopy—long before symptoms become visible. Early detection, proper maintenance, and preventing avoidable stress are the best tools for keeping these iconic trees healthy.
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NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension.
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