Tips from the Yard: Holidays, Pets, and Toxic Plants

As the holidays approach let’s review pet safety with plants in this Tip from the Yard.  Plants you have in your home may be safe for your pets or they may not be.  If the pet is accustomed to them toxicity this may not be an issue but new holiday plants could be different story.  Let’s check out some known toxic holiday plants and review a few of the more common year-round house plants.

Christmas Plants:

Holly:  leaves and berries are toxic to cats and dogs.  Common symptoms are blood in the mouth, excessive drooling, and digestive issues.

Christmas Cactus: are not toxic but can cause diarrhea in cats and dogs.

Poinsettias: this is the big misconception, or not.  Some articles say it is mildly toxic some articles say it is not. The confusion is based on the plants family and known issues with other plants in the family.  It would be safe to assume the sticky sap can cause diarrhea and vomiting cats and dogs. Check with your veterinarian to confirm. Continue reading Tips from the Yard: Holidays, Pets, and Toxic Plants →

Don’t Forget About the Spotted Lanternfly

Even with summer in the rearview mirror and cold temperatures settling in, there are still signs of Spotted Lanternflies in Lorain County.

Many people in Northeast Ohio have likely heard of and now have seen the Spotted Lanternfly but in case some folks haven’t I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about this newer, invasive species.

The Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive species of planthopper. They are originally from the more Southeast parts of Asia, primarily China and Vietnam. Likely a hitchhiker on imported goods, it was first found in 2014. It eventually reached Ohio by 2020 and was first reported in Lorain in 2022. The Spotted Lanternfly’s primary host plant, Tree of Heaven, is another invasive species from a similar region of Asia. While that is the primary host plant, they feed on various other woody plants including grapes, hops, fruit trees, and other hardwood trees, vines, and shrubs. They feed on these plants using a piercing, sucking mouthparts called a proboscis to feed on plant sap. This feeding has the potential to cause plant stress that can impact the overall health of a plant over time. Grapes are considered to be one of the more vulnerable crops to Spotted Lanternfly feeding. Continue reading Don’t Forget About the Spotted Lanternfly →

Tips from the Yard: Meet the Mason Bee

Mason Bee, BugGuide

Yes it may be out of season but let’s discuss Mason Bees in this Tip from the Yard.  Mason bees like bee houses.  Maybe you will want to try a house close to your fruit trees next spring.

Mason bees are a solitary bee.  They do not live in a hive or form a colony, they do not have workers, they do not produce honey.  They do not pollinate all summer.  They are native non-stinging bees common thorough out the United States.  There are 140 species in North America.  They can visit more flowers than honey bees per minute. Continue reading Tips from the Yard: Meet the Mason Bee →

Tips from the Yard: Discouraging Unwanted Wildlife

Often times we like to encourage birds to our yards.  In this Tip from the Yard, let’s look at wildlife we would like to not have in our yards.  How are the deer, rabbits, and groundhogs discouraged from visiting our yards?

Let’s agree that the above 4-legged creatures will never be gone completely from suburban yards.  These animals have the ability to adapt to the environment and proliferate in our cities.  Location is always an issue.  Homes located in woodland areas, near parks, forest preserves, lakes, ponds and utility right of ways will have a larger animal population.  Older neighborhoods with established vegetation may have established populations of wildlife.  New developments may not have the old growth vegetation but they may have displaced animals looking for a home.  Don’t give up, let’s look at three techniques to reduce the desirability of our yards. Continue reading Tips from the Yard: Discouraging Unwanted Wildlife →

Tips from the Yard: Discussing Fall Tasks, Part 2

The seasons are changing; the summer vegetable garden has come to an end.  This Tip from the Yard will cover the items needed to successfully put the veggie garden to bed.  Side note, it’s fine to leave the late season/winter low hoops and cold frames just where they are.  Enjoy those veggies as long as possible.

1st item: record thoughts and evaluation of the garden.  Include a rough drawing of where different plants were planted to ensuring crop rotation is followed with next year’s garden.

2nd item:  If not done each time plants have completed the producing process remove all vegetation from the garden.  Yes, veggie debris should be removed.  Pathogens can easily over winter and affect next year’s crops.

Any diseased vegetation should never be composted.  Any weeds gone to seed should never be composted. Continue reading Tips from the Yard: Discussing Fall Tasks, Part 2 →