By Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer

In late June and early July we will be witnessing the annual invasion of the Japanese Beetle on many of our favourite landscape plantings including Hollyhocks, Dahlias, Hibiscus, Roses, Grapes, and Raspberries.

   Adult beetles skeletonize foliage.

   Many of us have tried the various means available to curb this yearly destruction like pheromone traps, Nematode lawn inoculation, hand picking, and concoctive sprays. But still, we get substantive damage.

   Interestingly enough, some plants such as Geranium, Castor Bean, and the flowers of Bottlebrush Buckeye, will cause paralysis and death of these beetles when eaten.

Maybe it’s Time We Look at Whole New Approach

Why not slowly invest in a landscape makeover? One with Japanese Beetle resistant plants!

   Trees such as Red Maple, Red Oak, Hickory, and Redbud could replace the susceptible Japanese Maple, Norway Maple, Pin Oak, Linden, and Mountain Ash.

   Why not consider growing more Evergreens such as Holly, Yew, Boxwood, and Aborvitae instead of the prone Virginia Creeper, Apple and Plum family of trees, and Birches.

   You also may want to contemplate planting perennials such as Coral-Bells, Hostas, Pachysandra, Sedum and Foxglove as opposed to the Japanese Beetle standard menu fare of Evening Primrose, Hydrangea, Clematis, Potentilla, and Zinnia.

   Yes, we do have some preventative measures at our disposal to battle the Japanese Beetle (find how to use beneficial nematodes in our fall chore blog) but due to the nature of this pest, it will inevitably win the war. If we continue to grow the some 400+ preferred host plants in our landscape, providing an adequate food source for this invasive pest rather than replacing them with resistant species, surely this pest will make gardening a chore instead of the pleasure it should be.

We hope this article will aid in the prevention of Japanese Beetles in your garden space! For more information – and Japanese Beetle resistant plants – visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre! 🪲

By: Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer

Bearing in mind that a lawn is a very unnatural situation in that we are trying to sustain a large area with very little plant diversity (monoculture), in the eye of the homeowner, lawns may remain an important part of the domestic landscape! As well as in very necessary areas like tile beds, paths, roadsides, and recreational areas, lawns provide a background that enhances the overall effect of the home and the various gardens and landscape features.

   From nematodes to dog pee spots, the following tips will help you to maintain a healthy lawn naturally.

Mowing

Of all the cultural practices, mowing exerts the greatest influence on growth, development, and ease of management. By keeping the grass blade height between 6 & 8 cm (2.5 to 3 inches) high you'll be able to produce a more competitive lawn against young and germinating weeds.

Grass Species Selection

Seed mixtures with Titanium Tall Fescue have shown to be more drought, disease, and insect resistant than many other lawn grasses such as the traditional Kentucky bluegrasses. Tall fescue roots penetrate deeper into the soil providing better regrowth and wear tolerance, making it ideal for heavy foot traffic areas and recreational areas.

Carried by Eising Garden Centre

Time of Sowing

The best time to establish a lawn from seed is late summer and early fall (mid-August to mid-September) in southern Ontario. During this period, soil moisture and temperature conditions are optimal for germination and establishment. There is also less competition from germinating weeds in the fall. Make sure that seeding is done early in the fall so that the grass is well established before winter. The plants are then well rooted and more drought- and heat-tolerant the following summer.

Seed the shady areas in the fall for best results. Trees will have shed their leaves by then, so plenty of light is available for the new growth. The grass also gets off to an early start in the spring before the trees leaf out.

Spring seeding should be done as soon as the ground can be worked. Slow, irregular germination may result if the seed is sown when the soil is too cold and damp. (Soil Temp. around 15oC is ideal and there is also strong competition from germinating weeds during the spring. When practical, wait until weed seeds germinate, work the land to kill them and then sow the grass seed. ) If you choose to plant your new lawn in the spring, begin just as soon as the soil is dry enough to work, preferably mid-April to mid-May. This will give your new grass time to get well established before the hot, dry weather sets in.

Fall is often a better time to start your lawn, from mid-August to the end of September. Your seedbed is less likely to dry out at this time of year, and the grass should be well established before winter.

Watering

Your typical lawn needs about 2.5 cm (one inch) of water per week through either rain or irrigation. If irrigating, water in the morning as more will be absorbed as opposed to being lost to evaporation in the sun and the warmer temperatures later in the day.

Fertilization

Lawns require relatively large amounts of nitrogen-based fertilizers which should be applied several times during the growing season. Since lawn clippings are high in nutrients, especially nitrogen, much of your initial nitrogen fertilizer investment may be recycled back into your lawn! A fertilizer with a nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio of 4:1:2 (e.g., 20-5-10) is normally the best in most situations. It should be noted though, that a soil nutrient test can accurately determine the actual needs of your lawn including lime if the pH is too low.

(Lawn Liming Rate: 20-50 lbs/1000 ft2)

Carried by Eising Garden Centre

Corn Gluten

An application of this product early in the spring and then later on in the summer will inhibit the growth of weeds from germinating seeds especially the annual problem, crabgrass. Established weeds though have to be dug out by hand.

Dog Pee Spots

There is a misconception that the pH level of your dog’s pee is leaving those unsightly spots in your lawn, when it is in fact the high concentration of nitrogen and salts being introduced into the soil. To prevent this, should you see your four-legged friend raising its leg or popping a squat, give that spot a good watering to dilute the minerals. In addition to this, ensuring your dog is well hydrated will help to water down their urine. However, your lawn may already have several severe yellow and bald patches. You may opt to resod or reseed the area, but the soil is what’s affected. Before giving up altogether and adding a scree to the affected area, Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre offers a fertilizer to help balance and remedy your dog pee spots!

Carried by Eising Garden Centre

Thatch Control

Thatch is a layer of dead leaves, stems and roots that intermingle with the living plants above the soil surface. A one-inch layer of thatch is desirable as it has a cushioning effect against compaction and an insulating effect in cold weather. De-thatching a lawn is an extreme measure that may be considered if the drainage is poor. Lawn aeration may be required as well as the lawn and the soil below must establish a drainage pattern.

Nematodes - Aid Against Japanese Beetles and More!

If the Japanese Beetle has been destroying certain plants in your landscape plantings or their grubs have been feeding on the roots of your lawn, causing unsightly brown patches maybe it's time to use Mother Nature's secret weapon: Beneficial Nematodes.

   Beneficial Nematodes are a natural way to control Japanese Beetle grubs and over some 200 species other pest insects in your lawn while having no detrimental effect on Ladybugs, Earthworms, and other helpful beneficial insects.

   Nematodes are naturally occurring microscopic worms of the soil and are used to control soil pest insects in their larvae or grub stages while not posing any health or environmental risks to humans or animals. The beneficial Nematodes enter the JB larva via mouth, anus, or respiratory openings and begins to feed. This causes specific bacteria to emerge from the intestinal tract of the Nematode, spreading inside the insect and multiply very rapidly; the bacteria convert host tissue into products which can easily be taken up by the Nematodes, ceasing the soil dwelling pest insect within a few days. Beneficial Nematodes are effective against not only the larval or grub stage of Japanese Beetles, but the Northern Masked Chafer, European Chafer, Rose Chafer, Crane Fly larvae (Leather Jackets), Oriental Beetles, and June Beetles.

   The nematode product you purchase should contain two genera: Steinernema and Heterorhabditis for better grub control.

   Beneficial Nematodes are very easy to use. Mix with water and spray on the lawn with a water-can, irrigation system, or a hose-end sprayer. Most homeowners spray at a rate of 10 million nematodes per 600 square feet on grub damaged lawns. After an application, keep the soil moist during the first two weeks for the nematodes to get established.

   In Ontario, there are two windows of opportunity to apply Beneficial Nematodes to be effective against the JB grub stage.

   The first application should be in May as the soil warms up and then again at the end of August or the first two weeks of September as the JB are hatching into their first larval stage.

   We hope these tips help to ensure your healthiest lawn! For more information – and lawncare products - visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre! 🌾

By: Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer with tips from Mary K, Zach C, Sandy M, and Jeanine LT!

Now is the time to prep our outdoor landscapes for the coming cold weather and the ensuing spring! Perhaps your autumn is calmer than your spring, and this is the best time to clean up and begin new projects. The following are some simple but effective tips to get your yard winter-ready - so your spring will be a little more pleasant for you!

Planting

When warm weather still allows it, plant trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs to allow them to establish for budding and blooming next spring.

Pond Care

Mary, our perennials gal, suggests not removing any water from your pond but instead aerating it all winter. She skims out the leaves to maintain the balance of the nitrogen cycle in the water and suggests waiting to do a big pond clean out in the spring, as that’s when the water’s culture can bounce back easier.

Fertilizing

After top growth of your landscape plants ceases, reduce your annual fertilizer application by up to half of the requirement. Autumn is a major root growth period for woody and herbaceous perennials; roots will grow and absorb nutrients whenever soil temperatures remain above 5 °C but can be over fertilized quickly in these cooling temperatures.

Produce gardens could benefit at this time from a top layer of compost that will break down during the winter so it isn't too 'hot' for spring planting.

Leaf Litter

Here’s our pitch on the ‘leave it – don’t leave it’ debate: It DEPENDS.

   Ideally, we should leave litter leaf on the ground for our pollinator friends and endangered species like fireflies to hide out in the winter. But, there are appropriate situations in which to remove leaf litter.

• When they’re covering your bulbs and tender perennials, remove SOME. Leaf litter acts as a ground insulant, which can amplify our temperamental zone 6b temperatures. This freezing and thawing can often confuse and kill early spring bulbs and tender perennials.

• Zach, our trees and shrubs guy, suggests that if a tree shedding leaves has been diagnosed with pests and fungi, remove the leaf matter to reduce the spread to other plants. Diseased matter should always be removed in a quarantined fashion and taken to a landfill or burned.

☝️Please note: Unless diseased, compost your leaves, they contain vital nutrients specific to the plants they came from!

Lawncare

With autumn mowing practices you have the opportunity for the addition of much needed organic matter for your lawn, which is also an excellent source of slow release nutrients. Keep mower blades sharp since leaves can be tougher than grass. Raise the mower height up and mow leaves when they are lightly wet (e.g., morning dew). This will keep the leaves from blowing all over and will prevent the mower from getting bogged down in wet leaves.

See more on general lawncare in Dave's Lawncare 101 post.

Clean Up

Now is a good time to wash your tools with soap and water to prevent diseases spreading from plant to plant.

  ☝️Mary's tip is to spray garden tools with PAM before use, so the dirt slides right off them!

Pruning Perennials

Mary, our perennials gal, suggests leaving things until frost to cut back. This way they're easier to compost. Make sure to leave seedheads (i.e., coneflowers and black-eyed Susans) for wildlife, and things like hydrangeas for winter interest.

☝️Make sure if things are cut back, to leave them sticking up enough you can still find them in the spring!

Dividing and Moving Perennials

Moving or dividing perennials in the autumn is a great way to reduce your work next spring. The cool, moist weather is an ideal time for perennial roots to become well established.

👍The rule of green thumb for moving perennials: If the plant blooms between early spring and late June, then early fall division/moving is ideal. If the plant blooms after late June, then early spring division is ideal (except for Peonies which should only moved or divided in the fall, Poppies in August, Irises in July & Lilies in the Fall).

Overwintering Trees

Zach and Sandy from trees and shrubs suggest a couple of things to help your favourite trees along this winter:

• To reduce winter injury in evergreens: Keep properly watered throughout the growing season and into the fall is another way to reduce winter injury. Decrease watering slightly in September to encourage hardening off, then water thoroughly in October until freeze-up.

• Cedars - Spray cedars with antidesiccant spray (available at Eising GC) or wrap in burlap (with stakes to create dead air space) so wind doesn't dry out and burn tips.

• Fruit trees - In late fall, spray fruit trees with sulfur-horticultural oil (available at Eising GC) for protection against fungi and pests overwintering in the bark.

• Ornamental trees - wrap the base of young trees to protect from chewing rodents. 

• Pruning trees - trees that prefer winter pruning rather than spring pruning are maples, oaks, birches, and elms, as well as with fruiting trees such as apples and pears. This ensures blight and pests will not affect the tree's open wounds.

If you missed the frosty deadline for transplanting trees, Sandy suggests insulating unplanted potted trees to help them best survive the coming winter. Here are some methods:

• Double-pot your tree with an insulative barrier (i.e., burlap, straw, mulch, etc.) stuffed between the two pots and securely cover the top with tarp to deflect moisture.

• Bury your potted tree in the ground, level with the top of the pot (don’t forget to dig it back up!) and mulch the area.

• Huddle all of your unplanted trees and plants together when using the above methods.

Mulching

Mulching is one of the simplest and most beneficial practices you can do for your garden. Just by simply placing a protective layer of material over the bare soil will benefit the soil as it decomposes providing the much-needed organic matter which improves root growth, the infiltration of water and the nutrient-holding capacity of the soil while reducing soil erosion.

   A good layer of mulch allows the soil to warm more slowly in the spring, so perennials aren't fooled into breaking dormancy too early, as you want the ground to stay cold until it really is spring!

☝️Make sure your mulch application won't stunt the growth of your plants come spring as discussed in our Transplant Troubleshooting blog post!

Japanese Beetle Prevention

Nematodes are microscopic worms that should be applied to lawns that have been ravaged by grubs especially of the Japanese Beetle. Nematodes have a short shelf life and must be refrigerated until they are applied. Normally, they are sprayed onto the lawn from mid-May to mid-June and then again (for best practice) from mid-August to mid-September.

Pots

To prevent freezing and cracking, Mary suggests emptying and turning your pots upside down. You can disinfect at this time too. 

Design Time!

Jeanine, from production, suggests writing down what worked best in your produce garden this year so you can implement it again in the spring.

With the trees and land being barren enough you can see its contour, now is a great time to plan ahead for spring landscaping! Don't forget Eising GC would love to offer help with your landscape designing!

We hope these tips help your landscape plants enjoy your winter abode as much as you do this season, for more information - and plants – visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre! 🍁

As devoted gardeners, we start developing a kinship with our plants early on. Especially if you’ve started from seed, most of us become a little emotionally invested in our plants as they develop and mature. So, when suddenly the plants you’ve painstakingly cared for fall under attack, it’s immediately personal.

Insects are some of the most frustrating pests of all. They can be hiding anywhere, there seems to be a limitless supply, and they cause so much damage so quickly. Among the worst offenders is the Japanese beetle, a pest that folks in Simcoe have been trying to eradicate — unsuccessfully — since the 1930s.

Why are Japanese Beetles a Problem?

Japanese beetles managed to hitchhike into Canada by stowing away in travellers’ luggage from East Asia. The first one found in Canada was in the vehicle of a car travelling by ferry to Nova Scotia from Maine in 1939, and since then, the population has erupted. Upon arriving here, the insect had no natural predators and quickly became such an issue for Canadian agriculture, the government soon began a public trapping program to control the spread of the beetles. Clearly, they never did catch them all.

Japanese beetles devour fruit, berries, and plant foliage at an alarming rate. The eat between the veins of plant leaves, leaving them looking like lace doilies. However, they also cause a lot of indirect damage. Their grubs are delicious to burrowing rodents. These rodents will stop at nothing to find and eat them, destroying your lawn and garden as they hunt.

Worst of all, they’re tough. Their shells keep them so well-shielded, any pesticide strong enough to kill them can do much worse damage to friendly organisms—including people!

Identifying Japanese Beetles

An important part of Japanese beetle control is knowing what you’re looking for. Japanese beetles are a species of scarab. The adults are easily identified by their metallic green shells and scarab-like oval shape. The grubs look like C-shaped worms with legs, and can be identified by their bottom sections which are shaped like a V. The adolescents look similar to the adults, but with cream-to-brown coloured bodies and more pronounced wings.

How to Control Japanese Beetles

As horrid as they are, you have to give Japanese beetles credit for being tough to beat. There are a few ways to keep them under control that have proven to be effective.

Japanese Beetle Traps

Japanese beetles do have one weakness: love. The only thing Japanese beetles are attracted to, other than food, are the sex pheromones of a prospective mate. Japanese beetle traps mimic these pheromones, attracting the beetles into an enclosure they cannot escape. These traps can be very effective at persuading the beetles to take a detour away from your garden and keep them there so they’re unable to reproduce. Some traps are also reusable.

An important thing to keep in mind about Japanese beetle traps is that they may end up attracting more beetles than before. To make sure they aren’t doing more harm than good, try to set up the traps farther away from your prized plants, near the edge of your property. Since they only hold around 10-15 bugs at a time, emptying the traps daily is necessary.

Nematodes for Japanese Beetle Control

 If the word ‘nematode’ makes you uneasy, don’t fear. There are some species of nematodes that can be parasitic to humans, but the ones you can purchase at garden centres have a different target: garden pests. These microscopic heroes sneak-attack your garden’s natural enemies — like grubs, gnats, rootworms, and beetles — from the inside. Once the nematode infects a host, like a Japanese beetle, the host normally dies within 24-48 hours. These beneficial nematodes are an effective and organic Japanese beetle control method and are much safer than pesticides. There are many different varieties of nematode available on the market, so make sure you purchase the heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematode, as this one is the best for beetle control.

Soapy Water

There are two ways to use soapy water as a method for killing Japanese beetles. First, you can fill a bucket with soap and water early in the morning, and shake the beetles into the bucket to drown them out. The earlier it is, the better, because like many of us, Japanese beetles are not morning people, and they tend to be extra sluggish. Giving your plants a quick shake should be enough for most of those beetles to fall off. Putting on some gardening gloves, hand-picking the remaining beetles, then tossing them into the bucket should also help the cause. 

Another method that helps prevent beetle damage is filling a spray bottle with a mixture of soapy water, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Spritz your plants all over with this unappetizing concoction, and not only will it deter Japanese beetles from munching on your plants, but it should also keep away the rabbits, squirrels and deer.

Plants that Japanese Beetles Can’t Stand

By including plants and flowers that are natural beetle repellents, you can double up on beetle defense without having to resort to much extra effort. These are some of the most effective beetle-repelling plants you can grow in Simcoe:

• Catnip
• Chives/Onions/Leeks
• Chrysanthemums
• White Geraniums
• Marigolds
• Tansy
• Rue
• Larkspur

Worst Case Scenario: Chemical Solutions

While we always recommend proceeding with caution before using harsh chemical solutions in your garden or landscape, sometimes you gotta pull out the bug guns when the beetle damage is out of control. Malathion, which returned to the Ontario market once the beetle problem became severe, can be quite effective in killing those tough-as-nails bugs. However, it’s very important to read the safety directions carefully to prevent injury to yourself or to your garden plants.

While it may be many years, if ever, before we can completely eradicate Japanese beetles, there are a few things we can do to naturally control their spread and the damage they do to the beautiful plants and trees of Simcoe. If you start noticing those lace-doily leaves on your plants, try one of these methods to save your precious plants!