Maryland Grows
Essential Oils for Mosquito Control
Mosquito season is here, and many people turn to essential oils for mosquito control as a way of avoiding synthetic insecticides, but this is often met with a mixture of success.
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is an aggressive daytime feeder commonly found in urban and suburban areas. Photo by Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered essential oils to be minimum risk pesticides, so there is no testing being done on their effectiveness before they go to market, which allows for a wide range of products to be sold that may not work. While there is a growing interest in the use of essential oils as possible methods for controlling mosquitoes, most of these studies are focusing on how essential oils can be used when applied to the skin or fabric as a repellent rather than as a yard barrier spray. Garlic oil, Lemongrass oil, and Citronella oil are commonly used essential oils in barrier sprays, but there is little to no research on them showing their effectiveness on mosquitoes in the United States.
Greenlaurel: Bring birds and butterflies to your backyard with native plants
This article has been republished from Baltimore Fishbowl with permission from author Laurel Peltier, and features quotes from the HGIC’s native plant expert Sara Tangren.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Crossing your fingers that lots of butterflies, birds, and bees will visit your outdoor space this summer? Integrating native plants into your backyard is the secret to building habitats for these pollinators. Plus, natives are affordable and just as beautiful as the usual garden plant suspects.
Long before European settlers brought their perfect lawns and Asian flora and fauna to North America, native plants and our local bugs, birds and animals evolved together as an ecosystem, depending on each other for survival and reproduction.
Over time, as we’ve replaced our yards and farmlands with lawns and alien plants from other continents, we’ve suppressed the native habitats that our local creatures live and feast on.
“Our sense of the ‘ideal’ garden has changed over time from natural landscapes that are less structured with less contrast dominated by wildflowers, to more controlled and tidier gardens with bolder colors,” said Sara Tangren, an agent associate for the University of Maryland Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources, where she teaches about native plants and sustainable landscaping.
Q&A: What’s Wrong With My Pachysandra?
Q: We have a steep hill that is covered with mature Japanese Pachysandra that is dying. It is under a large tulip tree. This groundcover was healthy for more than twenty years. During the last couple of years the leaves have turned yellow then the tips turn brown and curl up. The plant then dies. What is going on and how can we correct this problem?
The Importance of Being Labeled
A plant label at the Derwood Demo Garden, showing scientific and common names, and potential culinary uses
Have any of these happened to you? (They have to me.)
- You sow some Very Important Seeds in a flat or container, and don’t mark them in any way, because they are Very Important and of course you will never forget what they are. Next day: what were those?
- You transfer some seedlings into larger pots, put the pots into a tray, and decide that it’s only necessary to mark the row since the seedlings are all the same variety (the next row is another variety, also marked). Something happens: a shift in the fabric of the universe, a decision about how the pots fit under the lights, a cat. You no longer know which pots are which.
- You sow some seeds directly in your garden, and because you’ve seen other people do it, you stick the empty seed packet on a stake at the end of the row. It is a dark and stormy night. The seed packet blows away.
- You transplant seedlings into your garden and put the proper labels next to each plant. Sun and rain do their work; one day, you look at the label and it is blank. Which tomato is which? Help!
- Your flower beds become full of those little plastic sticks which look lonely and sad in the wintertime. Small children, animals, and Mother Nature move them around at will.
Let’s talk about labeling!
Monthly Tips for May
Lawn
Always mow cool season grasses, like tall fescue and bluegrass, at a height of 3 inches. Mowing the lawn too close weakens the grass and permits many weeds to invade your lawn.- Keep your mower blades sharp to prevent turf damage. Dry white or tan colored grass blade tips are an indication that the mower blade is dull. Dull mower blades tear turf grass and can lead to disease problems.
- Leave grass clippings where they lay. Grasscycling eliminates bagging labor and costs, adds organic matter and nitrogen to your soil and does not contribute to thatch build-up.
Climate-Smart Garden and Lawn Techniques
Our own Dr. Sara Via, Professor and Climate Extension Specialist here at UMD has been featured in a pair of brief audio programs and articles produced by Yale Climate Connections.
Plant for Pollinators: 9 Ways to Attract and Help Pollinators in Your Garden and Yard
Pollinators of all types – insects, birds, and bats – are in decline due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and diseases. Insects – including Maryland’s 400 species of native bees – provide valuable pollination and a food source for wildlife. Insect pollination is essential for the production of about one-third of our food crops. And some pollinators, such as butterflies and hummingbirds, are simply a delight to see!
You can make a difference for pollinators by incorporating these practices in your garden or yard.
We help Maryland residents grow! Learn timely tips to manage your lawn, ornamental plants, and food gardens, with advice from University of Maryland experts and certified horticulturists.
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