… What do a pharmacist named Eugene, a cargo ship, and a home garden have in common? They all helped introduce invasive species that affect the Chicago area today. … damage entire landscapes. Introduced as a food source, garlic mustard ( Alliaria petiolata ) is now invasive in woodlands in the Chicago area and beyond. Most of the plants and animals that people …
Type: Blog
… Q. As plants in my garden begin to green and produce new growth, I've noticed that some of my evergreens are very brown. Is this a disease? What should I do? A. The Chicago area experienced a very harsh winter this … ( Buxus ) plants were among the worst damaged this season. Dead stems should be pruned away in late spring. Determine if they are dead by gently scratching the stems. If green tissue shows, …
Type: Plant Info
… Purple Smoke false indigo ( Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’) is a chance hybrid seedling that produces smoky violet flowers on upright racemes up to 1 foot in length. The contrast between the flowers, the gray-green foliage, and the charcoal-colored … Garden, discovered this hybrid while evaluating a planting of Baptisia minor var. aberrans in 1996. Members of the genus Baptisia are commonly known as wild or false indigo due to their …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This cultivar of the common fig is known for being slightly more cold hardy and surviving outdoors in Chicago in protected enviornments. Green to brown fruit will ripen in summer but rarely again in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… science program of the Chicago Botanic Garden , make simple observations on a mobile app, in English or Spanish. In the fall, data on color changes and falling leaves provides telling information about plant … community engagement manager, will be there to show people how to use the Budburst app, which is available on iOS or Android . The event, which starts at 11 a.m., includes a guided walk …
Type: Blog
… Ring in the holidays with an idea that smart gardeners can appreciate: do-it-yourself wreaths made … The Garden’s own “Martha,” program horticulturist Nancy Clifton, made several of the wreaths in Krehbiel Gallery and offers up three basic ideas for a single-subject wreath. Forage … When working with a single material, look for uniformity of size and color. The idea is to show a subject off to its best advantage en masse. Direction Attach materials …
Type: Plant Info
… Johanna Hutchins was on a summer hike in Illinois when she rounded a bend, stopped, and stared at the rare sight before her. A wild … the floriculturist who oversees the Orchidarium at the Chicago Botanic Garden. “It stopped me in my tracks.” The irony? That kind of abundance in the wild is rare. More than half of the world’s orchid species could disappear within this century, as …
Type: Blog
… more efficient pollinators than honeybees when it comes to fruit trees? Honeybees carry pollen in sacks on their hind legs, which doesn’t always make it to the stigma of the flowers they visit (anthers are where the pollen grains are picked up; stigma is where they are deposited for successful pollination). Mason bees (Osmia lignaria) carry pollen … pollinate as many flowers as 100 honeybees. Mason bees pollinate a wide variety of flowers, in addition to fruit trees, with a particular emphasis on the rose family. They are generalists …
Type: Plant Info
… Q: Why doesn’t my lilac bloom in the spring? A: There are several possible reasons why your lilac fails to bloom. The most … are lack of adequate sunlight and improper pruning. Lilacs ( Syringa ) need to be planted in a location that receives at least six hours of strong, direct sun per day. They are very … as long as they are planted in well-drained soil. Another reason why your lilac may not bloom is because it is being pruned at the wrong time of the year. Lilacs bloom on the previous …
Type: Plant Info
… Description & Symptoms Hawthorns, Apples, Crabapples, Quince (deciduous, broadleaf host) Rust is a two-host fungal disease that moves between evergreen cedars or junipers and deciduous … apples, or quince. Orange, rusty-colored spots appear on the upper surface of leaves in mid- to early July in the Chicago area. Short orange tendrils emerge from the infected spot on the underside of the …
Type: Plant Info
