Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Do you ever wonder what is causing your cherrylaurel to look like Swiss cheese? Clearly, it’s not because Anatole has been hanging around. More than likely the shothole symptoms you see are caused by one of several pathogens and abiotic stresses common to other species of Prunus.
Shothole symptoms in cherrylaurel. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL
If you are managing high value turf areas, like a golf course putting green, I hope you are watching the weather. By most accounts, we are in for some cold rain next week. High temperatures in the low 50s and a 90% chance of rain from Tuesday through Thursday are imminent. Crummy cycling weather, but perfect for pink snow mold!
Pink snow mold. Photo: Todd Clift, Country Club of Ithaca
Last week, we saw photographs of cherrylaurel that got pummeled by the winter. Of course, I proved my plant ignorance in the blog post by calling the photos of cherrylaurel, Prunus laurocerasus, mountain laurel, which is Kalmia latifolia. No doubt mountain laurel got hurt in the winter just the same as cherrylaurel did and no doubt I need a better editor!
Winter injured cherrylaurel. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL
Despite a winter that tormented us, most plants did pretty well in the snow. While there was plenty of mechanical damage from several heavy snow storms, the snow accumulation actually protected many plants. Snow cover helped to prevent winter desiccation, particularly in plants lucky enough to have been buried, like turfgrass. It also kept the ground in many locations from a hard freeze, which helped provide much needed moisture to the landscape. [Read more…]
Last week, the cats from John Deere had me up to the northern tier of NY for John Deere University and we had a blizzard! This week I was in Lake Placid with my friends at NYSTA and the morning temperature was something like -7°F. All I could think of was “How do I get winter speaking gigs in Florida instead of upstate NY?!”
A healthy, but winter dormant turf area.
Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL
Hold your horses, the Spring Equinox is not until March 20th and if the 10-day forecasts hold true, then we are in for another visit from old man winter before the seasons change.
Skip laurel buried in a snow bank. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL
