Q: Should I remove these fungi or are they beneficial to wildlife?
Fruiting body of a wood-decay fungus (Ganoderma) growing in a lawn.
A: This is a type of Ganoderma or a shelf fungus. They are wood decay fungi. You likely have some wood under the turf that they are feeding on. We do not recommend consuming them. If you don’t have any curious pets or children, you can leave them to fulfil their ecological role!
Q: Should I weed this plant or is it beneficial to wildlife?
American burnweed going to seed. The whitish-silvery hairs attached to the seeds help them disperse through the air.
A: Burnweed is a native summer annual in the aster family. It grows fast, produces abundant seeds, and can easily spread into garden beds and unmanaged areas of your yard. Various insects will eat this plant, and pollinators, especially wasps, visit the blooms, but it is not a critically important host plant for native insect species.
A lush American burnweed plant in early summer. Photo credit: J. Traunfeld
By Emily Porter, Horticulturist, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center. Emily answers Ask Extension questions and helps manage HGIC’s Facebook and Instagram.
Have a plant or insect question? The University of Maryland Extension has answers! Send your questions and photos to Ask Extension. Our horticulturists are available to answer your questions online, year-round.
What do oaks (Quercus species), serviceberries (Amelanchier species), willows (Salix species), blueberry shrubs (Vaccinium species), ironweeds (Vernonia species), asters (many genera), and goldenrods (Solidago and Euthamia species); no, they do not cause seasonal allergies for most people) have in common? The National Wildlife Federation lists them as keystone plant groups of Eastern Temperate Forests, all native plants! Keystone plants provide a strong foundation for gardens— similar to how a keystone provides the final piece to an arch that helps distribute the weight evenly and allows the arch to hold.
“Native plant” is a term for vegetation that occurs naturally in a particular ecoregion. These plants have adapted and evolved to their native area, support diverse insect and wildlife species, and are key components of healthy ecosystems. Once established, they can thrive in Maryland’s climate with minimal maintenance.
Reasons to incorporate native plants into your landscape:
Beauty- flowers and foliage have interesting shapes, colors,and textures.
Soil Health- many native plants have deep root systems that help prevent erosion and do not require expensive and labor-intensive soil preparation.
Wildlife support- they provide important food sources for wildlife, including pollen, nectar, and insects that feed on them. Many specialist insects require specific plant species in order to feed or lay their eggs. A great example is Maryland’s state butterfly- the Baltimore Checkerspot- and its host plant white turtlehead (Chelone glabra). Prioritize keystone plants to build a strong foundation to support biodiversity in your landscape.
Lower maintenance- if properly planned, planted, and maintained, native plants require fewer inputs and attention. Occasional watering might be needed (regular watering during establishment is essential).
A longhorn bee (considered a specialist) on New York ironweed. Photo Credit: Boyer & McDowell
The “right plant in the right place” approach is equally important for native and non-native plants. In order for plants to thrive with the least amount of human help, we need to match their growing needs with the right location in our landscape, and when possible, the same ecoregion and habitat. Match the plants’ overall height with your goals for your site to save time and energy on pruning.
You can find your plant’s preferred growing conditions on the plant care tag or the back of the seed packet as well as in the resources at the end of the article. Match your growing location information to the plant care tag information below for successful plant establishment.
The USDA Cold Hardiness zone map ( planthardiness.ars.usda.gov) provides useful guidance. Enter zip code to figure out what zone you live in.
Match the available sunlight for your landscape with plant needs.
Full sun is 6+ hours of direct sunlight– but that doesn’t have to be continuous sun all day. It can be 3 hours of morning sun and 3 hours of afternoon sun for a total of at least 6 hours.
Part sun is 4-6 hours of direct sun.
Part shade is 2-4 hours of sun.
Shade is less than 2 hours of sun.
Natural soil moisture levels will influence how well a plant can grow. Site management strategies, like diverting storm water, can change soil dryness or wetness.
Native plants are not “pest-resistant.” They have evolved with local insects and wildlife. Birds, foxes, caterpillars, butterflies, and other insects feed on natives, so expect and celebrate these relationships. Many native plants will need protection from deer after planting until they are well-established.
Allegheny Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), one of the earliest spring-flowering trees. Photo credit: Boyer & McDowell
Guidelines for purchasing native:
Always look for the scientific name, genus, and species, not just the common name. For example, “sunflower” is a general name that could refer to many different plants– Mexican sunflower, pale-leaved sunflower, woodland sunflower, and many more. It is better to use the scientific name, Helianthus annuus, to avoid confusion.
Buy from your local ecoregion when possible; locally grown is even better! An ecoregion is an area with similar ecosystems— flora, fauna, climate, soil, geology, and land use history. For example, Garrett County is in the Mountain Region of MD.
Cultivars are generally not recommended— get the straight species for best ecosystem value. However, a native cultivar is better than a non-native, invasive plant species. More information about cultivars can be found on the Cultivars of Native Plant webpage.
Homeowners can help play a critical role in creating connections of native plant populations for wildlife corridors and conservation areas — every plant helps with the mission to restore and increase biodiversity.
What can homeowners do to help?
Remember the shoulder seasons— provide pollen and nectar sources for early spring and late fall in your landscape.
Add native evergreens to help offset the months when so many deciduous trees and herbaceous plants are dormant.
Six years ago, I visited Burpee’s Fordhook Farm in Pennsylvania as part of the International Master Gardener Conference. We toured their trial garden, and one of the crops I noted was a direct-sow tomato plant. This is an exciting innovation to vegetable gardeners, because it means not having to start seeds indoors and raise your tomato plants under lights until it’s time to transplant them outdoors. You could just plant the seeds directly in the ground and still harvest your tomatoes at the same time as conventionally grown ones. I decided I had to try this when the seeds were available.
Well, it’s 2025, and the seeds have appeared in Burpee’s catalog, so I bought some. Here’s the lineup: two tomatoes and three peppers. I got seed for the Rain Drops tomato, a cherry (claims 70 days to maturity from sowing), and the Sow Sweet snacking pepper (60 days). Here’s how growing them went for me and what I thought of the results. (Note: this is nothing like a real field trial, but rather one small-scale gardener’s experience in one year.)
Post-Labor Day, you may be packing up your beach gear and saying an unofficial goodbye to summer, but at least one of the season’s staples is sure to stick around—mosquitoes. With the hottest days of the year behind us, and pleasant autumn temperatures ahead, you may find yourself spending even more time outdoors with mosquitoes than before.
Adult female mosquitoes can generally continue their activities—flying, feeding, laying eggs—in temperatures above 50˚F. The average September temperature here in Maryland over the past five years (2020–2024) was 70.4˚F. You could even continue to be bitten into October, as the recent five-year average temperature was 59.6˚F. It may not be until November, which had an average temperature of 49.1˚F over the past five years, that you will be rid of mosquitoes for the season.
There are many popular methods to repel mosquitoes, often marketed by stores or trending online, that claim to be supported by science, but that don’t really work. Many of these involve plants, and may be especially tempting for gardeners. Before you succumb to the hype, let’s take a look at some common mosquito repellent myths.
Aromatic plants
There are thousands of articles for gardeners that advise planting basil, beebalm, catnip, fennel, garlic, geraniums, lavender, lemon balm, lemongrass, marigolds, mint, rosemary, sage, and more to keep your yard mosquito-free. The idea is that, because mosquitoes use olfactory cues to find you, a heavily perfumed garden will mask your scent and prevent mosquitoes from detecting your presence. Yet, I have been bitten while watering my lemon balm, which is between my catnip and mint.
This myth persists based on assertions that these plants have been proven to repel mosquitoes—but there is a huge caveat. Scientific studies of the repellency of these plants test essential oils applied directly to the skin, not human proximity to a whole plant. Essential oils, the compounds that give the plant its scent, are extracted through pressing, boiling, distilling, filtering, and/or using solvents on the leaves, and are therefore more potent than the scent of a whole, untouched leaf on a live plant. I have searched and have yet to find a single scientific study that tests the efficacy of plants at repelling mosquitoes simply by growing nearby. Personal experience tells me the scent is not strong enough to mask my presence, especially since mosquitoes use additional cues like carbon dioxide exhalation, heat, and movement.
Essential oils
Many plant essential oils do demonstrate repellency when applied directly to human skin, but not as effectively as EPA-approved repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus (which is actually not an essential oil, but an extract that has been refined and enriched for its active ingredient). This is because mosquitoes have multiple chemical receptors that they use to find you, and essential oils block fewer of those receptors and for a shorter amount of time than DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. For example, one study found that participants using DEET did not get a single mosquito bite for six hours, while the complete protection time (no bites) of citronella oil was only 10.5 minutes and that of fennel oil was 8.4 minutes. Though the essential oils continued to show some repellency for a couple hours (fewer bites than using no repellent at all), you have to ask yourself if your goal is to be bitten less, or to not be bitten at all. Be warned that repellents containing only essential oils are not regulated the same way by the EPA, and manufacturers may tout the incomplete protection time on the bottles. One study that tested some commercially available repellents containing cedar, citronella, lemongrass, geranium, and peppermint essential oils found that the complete protection times were all below 20 minutes.
Citronella candles
Speaking of citronella, candles promising to repel mosquitoes rely on the same premise as above: the citronella smell will mask your own. This means the same limitations apply: not all of the mosquitoes’ chemical receptors will be blocked, and cues such as carbon dioxide, heat, and movement will still be available. Perhaps that is why one study found that citronella candles had no effect on mosquito attraction to human test subjects.
So, how to enjoy your time outdoors as the weather cools down? Scientifically-backed methods include wearing loose clothing and/or thicker fabrics that cover your arms, legs, and feet, so that mosquitoes can’t reach your skin; applying EPA-approved repellents; and sitting in the path of a fan, as mosquitoes are not very strong fliers and will be blown off-course by the moving air. The American Mosquito Control Association also recommends mosquito coils and Therma-cell devices that release a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide into the air, which can offer a radius of protection so long as it’s not windy; don’t use these in conjunction with a fan, or you will blow your protection away. Ideally, you will pair these repelling tactics with source reduction to prevent large populations of mosquitoes from sharing your outdoor space in the first place.
By Sarah Rothman, Postdoctoral Fellow and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland. Read more by Sarah.
Soldier beetle on the bloom of a golden aster. Photo: Miri Talabac
Q:There are many insects visiting my pollinator garden that look like yellow-orange versions of a firefly. Some of the petals are missing on those flowers. How do I keep them from chewing my plants?
A: These beetles are innocent bystanders and are not the cause of damage, even though that’s where you see them most. These are soldier beetles, and although beetles have chewing mouthparts, soldier beetles are primarily pollinators as adults and predators as larvae.
The pollen and nectar in the blooms of plants in the aster, carrot, and milkweed families are favored, and where you’ll often find them, dining solo or mating. Adults can also eat soft-bodied insects, which include aphids and caterpillars.
Occasionally, you may find a soldier beetle clinging to a flower head by its jaws and dangling with wings spread, dead. This is a work of an entomopathogenic (insect-infecting) fungus, an example of how natural factors impact insect populations, both for species we consider pests and those we consider beneficial.
Soldier beetle larvae hatch from eggs laid in the soil and feed on the eggs and larvae of other insects they encounter. Their prey can include grasshoppers and caterpillars, and these garden helpers are great for suppressing pests like cutworms, corn earworms, and cucumber beetles. The larvae overwinter underground. To provide hunting grounds and shelter from the weather, do not remove the protective blanket of leaf litter and avoid tilling the soil.
Velvety soldier beetle larvae eat many ground and plant-dwelling pests.
If flower petals go missing, another culprit is to blame – probably a chewing insect like Japanese Beetles or Asiatic Garden Beetles, but in some cases, a slug or snail. (Deer and rabbits tend to eat the entire flower head, so their damage tends to be more extensive than just nibbling around the edges.)
Missing its petals doesn’t necessarily ruin a flower’s wildlife value. Tolerate the damage if you can, or find a chemical-free way to discourage feeding. For example, flowers grown for cutting (like dahlias or mums) could be enclosed individually in small mesh bags before they open fully to exclude pests. However, that would deny pollinators access, too.
By Miri Talabac, Horticulturist, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center. Miri writes the Garden Q&A for The Baltimore Sun and Washington Gardener Magazine. Read more by Miri.
Have a plant or insect question? The University of Maryland Extension has answers! Send your questions and photos to Ask Extension. Our horticulturists are available to answer your questions online, year-round.
If you thought growing tropical plants like ginger couldn’t be successful in Maryland, think again! Ginger (Zingiber officinale) can be grown throughout the state, including Garrett County! Although it takes a long season to grow, starting it indoors and moving it outside will allow you to have a plentiful supply of ginger to use in savory dishes, baked goods, sweets, and beverages!
Ginger is a tropical plant that requires warmth, humidity, and a growing season of 8 to 10 months. Since winters are too cold and ginger dies below 50°F., it needs to be treated as an annual, and gardeners have even successfully overwintered the plant indoors.
To start growing ginger, make sure you are choosing the correct ginger, culinary ginger rhizomes. They can be purchased from a nursery or grocery store. However, some ginger can be treated with a growth inhibitor at the grocery store. When purchasing the rhizomes, look for nodules along the rhizome where the root is actively trying to grow shoots.
After purchasing the correct ginger, sprout the rhizomes indoors in late winter or early spring. This time period is around 6-8 weeks before the last frost. However, I have found that starting earlier and using a grow light will allow the plant to mature faster. To sprout the rhizomes, soak them overnight in a shallow tray and then place them in a shallow tray or pot with loose, well-draining soil in a warm (70-80°F.) area. Using a warming mat helps speed up the propagation process. Once the ginger has sprouted, transplant it into a large container, at least 12 inches deep. Ginger rhizomes grow horizontally, so the width of the pot is more important than the depth. Using 5-10 gallon grow bags has been very successful in my garden throughout the years I have grown it!
Visible eyes sprouted after several weeks. These will now move into a deeper container under a grow light. Photo credit: Sarah Llewellyn Shoots started in late winter, growing with help from a grow light until warmer weather arrives. Photo credit: Sarah Llewellyn
Once all threats of frost have passed, slowly acclimate the ginger to outdoor conditions. The ginger can remain in the pot, allowing for a longer season because you can move the plant indoors in the fall on cooler days. You can also plant directly in the soil. However, using pots or grow bags does make harvesting the rhizomes much easier at the end of the season.
Throughout the season, keep the soil moist but not soggy and fertilize with a balanced fertilizer (contains roughly equal percentages of nitrogen, Phosphorus, and potassium) monthly. Ginger grows slowly, but you will be able to see leafy growth throughout the summer. It will likely not have a long enough season to flower, but the plant will still produce usable rhizomes. Ginger can be kept at room temperature for a few days, or it can be kept in the refrigerator unpeeled for a month or more. It can be frozen whole, sliced, or minced for long-term storage. It can also be dehydrated for extended storage.
Ginger at season’s end, attempting to grow flowers as it dies off due to cold weather in late October. Photo credit: Sarah Llewellyn
Harvest usually occurs in the fall before frost, typically in late October in Allegany Co. To harvest, use a garden fork to gently lift the plant to separate the rhizomes. If the plant is in a pot, turn it over to remove the whole plant and spray off excess soil. Plants can be overwintered inside, but will become dormant. During dormancy, keep the soil moist and maintain temperatures around 70 degrees. During this dormant period, the plant may lose its leaves, or you can cut them back to the soil level. Growth should resume in early spring when you move the plant back outside after the last frost. Ginger harvested from the garden in late October. These were grown in a 5-gallon grow bag. Photo credit: Sarah Llewellyn
Overall, ginger is a long-season crop, but it can be grown throughout the state with early-season sprouting and can also be prolonged in a greenhouse or brought inside. So, the only thing left is to decide what recipe you will want to use with your fresh ginger!
By Sarah Llewellyn, Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Allegany County, University of Maryland Extension.
Q: I found a group of caterpillars on my blueberry plants. Some branches were completely stripped of leaves. I have several plants around my yard such as milkweed so hope to ID these before taking action to eradicate.
Yellownecked caterpillars feeding on a blueberry bush. Photo credit: Ask Extension
A: These are Yellownecked caterpillars, a native species that can feed on azalea and various other host plants. They won’t cause severe damage to the plant, even if it’s defoliated, by chewing leaves this late into the growing season. However, if you want to remove them, just pluck them off by hand or knock them into a container of soapy water to kill them. (Or, just knock them off into a dry container and toss them elsewhere for birds and other animals to eat. Yellownecked caterpillars are preyed upon by various insects and other animals, so some will be eaten before they mature.
No pesticide is needed in this case, but if they cause problems in a future year, young, smaller caterpillars can be treated with Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki), a derivative of naturally- occurring soil bacteria that kills caterpillars without harming other insects. Older caterpillars are not as vulnerable to Btk, so if you miss that life stage and only find them when they’re larger (as pictured here), they can be managed with a spinosad application instead. Spinosad is a relatively low-risk insecticide derived from a soil microorganism and approved for use in organic farming. Follow all product label directions for use, and ensure the chosen product can be used on edible plants.
By Miri Talabac, Horticulturist, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center. Miri writes the Garden Q&A for The Baltimore Sun and Washington Gardener Magazine. Read more by Miri.
Have a plant or insect question? The University of Maryland Extension has answers! Send your questions and photos to Ask Extension. Our horticulturists are available to answer your questions online, year-round.
