Looking over some garden hedges recently, I discovered a type of gall on all six of the identical shrubs. The gall growths were hard, irregularly shaped, and about two inches in diameter. I looked over the area that the galls were attached to, and noticed that the galls were mostly growing in areas that had been pruned within the last one or two years, a sign that pointed to a bacterial gall instead of an insect gall.  I snapped the gall off of the plant to have a closer look.

There are many types of gall with several specific causes, but they can generally be broken down into two categories: disease caused, and insect caused.  Insect caused galls come in all shapes and sizes, both soft tissue growths, fuzzy growths, and firm growths. All of them hold either the eggs or larvae of a specific type of wasp or mite inside, and can contain hollow areas inside the gall where the creature lives and feeds.  Insect caused galls may look strange and detract from the outward appearance of a plant, but they do not damage plants. Disease galls do damage a plant, and are initially caused by a bacterium that lives in the soil, although they are commonly spread from plant to plant by pruning, or grafting, when hedge shears have come into contact with an infected plant. The true damage caused by a bacterial gall is actually in and around the gall growth, where the unchecked growth of cell tissue distorts, or chokes off the flow of water and nutrients through the plant.

How To Discern Between Insect And Disease Caused Galls:

With the above pictured gall, I investigated the cause of the growth visually from the exterior appearance, and by dissecting the growth, to check for hollow areas inside the gall that would be a sign of insects.  I found that the gall was solid throughout, with layers of disorganized tissue, and concluded that the gall was in fact Crown Gall, a bacterial infection. If you find a gall on one of your plants you will need to do these two things to determine the root cause. Identifying the shape of a gall is important, the shape and appearance of a gall can most often tell you what the root cause is. If you are unsure, or just curious, you can then dissect the gall to check the inside for insect life.

Diagnosing The Problem And Finding A Solution:

The gall effecting the shrub photographed above was determined to be Crown Gall. Crown Gall is a firm, crusty growth, that most commonly effects types of Euonymous, Roses, and fruit trees.  It is caused by a bacterial infection that occurs in some soil, causing the plants cells to divided radically, and tumor like, forming continually growing lumps, that are irregular in shape.

The most commonly given advice regarding Crown Gall calls for the removal and bagging of infected shrubs, including some of the soil from around the plant.  These methods often request that either disease resistant shrubs are planted in place of the old ones, or that the area is allowed to remain fallow for up to 2 years (planted with grass), to eradicate the disease from the soil. The other alternative, for those who want to try and save their plant first, is to trim off any gall growths, and to coat the fresh cut with tree surgeons paint, or there are experimental methods being researched involving hot water, and others involving tree surgery, disinfection, and direct heat application.

There is no market cure for the treatment of this disease, and the easiest way to prevent the spread of it is simply through the entire removal of the problem shrub.  In either circumstance, any tools that come into contact with the infected plant should be cleaned with rubbing alcohol, to prevent further infection in other garden plants.

My Thoughts: In this circumstance, the homeowner was willing to try experimental treatments, so we will proceed down that road to see what results we can encourage.  If any of the experimental methods of control work I will post about them at a later date.

Your Thoughts:  Have you had trouble with this type of gall? Have you removed the infected plant all together, or have you tried other methods of control?  Have you had any luck with alternative methods of Crown Gall control?

Can plants get sunburn? The answer is yes! Most plants are not susceptible to sun damage, but many common home and office plants can suffer from sunburn because they are specifically suited to shadier locations – a leading reason they have earned a place in artificially lit environments.

Pictured here are a few leaves on a Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum) plant, that was accidentally left outdoors on a sunny ledge during an office cleaning spree. The plant was brought back indoors two days after it was set outside, and was already showing signs of burn damage.

How can you tell if leaf damage is sun related?

1. The most immediate symptom displayed by a sun damaged plant is muted leaf color, and an overall greyish tone to the previously green plant.
2. There will be an obvious difference in color between the leaves exposed to more light on the top of the plant, and the leaves deeper into the interior of the plant, which have been kept shaded. Yellowing will occur in the leaves that follows straight lines, such as above, denoting the areas of the plant that have been shaded by overlapping leaves. Unlike fertilizer burn, and plants suffering from a lack of water, which display irregular yellowing patterns (developing at the tips of the leaves), this yellowing does not turn into brown leaves that curl, or dry up.
3. Burned leaves remain on the plant looking off color, or yellowed slightly, without falling off. Often the color of the burned area will soften to a transparent hue, where you will be able to see through the leaf, or the leaf will develop irregular bumps on the yellowing area that will look much like a reaction to sun-poisoning in people.

What to do with sun-damaged plants:

1. Place the plant in an area away from direct sunlight, drafts, and excessive heat.
2. Water the plant to keep the soil moist, but not wet.
3. Monitor the amount of leaves damaged by the sun, and remove burned leaves by pruning back.  I generally prune off the leaves in groups over a gradual period of time (several days to weeks), to give a plant that may have a serious case of sunburn a chance to send out new leaves to take over the photosynthesizing, since a badly damaged plant may need most of it’s leaves eventually trimmed off. Trimming all the damaged leaves at once could place the plant into additional shock.

Remember, any shade loving plant can suffer from sunburn, it’s what you do with the plant afterward that will assure the plant’s full recovery.  Err on the side of caution with office plants, when exposing them to direct sunlight, and you may be able to prevent problems like this from ever occurring with your green office companions.

Your thoughts: Have you had plants with sun damage? What tips and tricks have you tried to bring them back to health? Please share any ideas you have with everyone!

The smell of geraniums reminds me of my parents house when I was growing up.  The summer was always rung in with potted Geraniums on the front porch, and winter found those same plants waiting out the cold temperatures inside my parents bathroom, perching beside the soaking tub.

One of the great things about geraniums is that fact that they are constant bloomers when they receive enough water, and are pruned on a regular basis.  Having compound flower heads with multiple blooms on them, spent flowers can be pinched off singularly as they age, to keep a few flowers visible.  When an entire stem of blooms begins to look sparse, or is past it’s peak, the best thing to do to encourage more blooms is to remove the entire flower stem. With Geraniums, no tools are needed to efficiently remove dying flowers, and the method I suggest will also eliminate the unsightly dead, or dying stem left from using Pruning Shears.

Every Geranium flower stem has a large elbow at the base of it where it joins the main stem of the plant, on occasion, a flower stem will have an “elbow” half way up a flower stem as well (this usually happens in plants that have grown very tall, to maximize their exposure to the sun).  These elbows snap off easily with little pressure, to neatly and efficiently prune the plant in a way that the Geranium can heal from quicker than from pruning with shears.  Pruning entire stems at once encourages more vigorous growth of the plant, and cuts back the time between blooming flower heads.

In my area in particular, Canadian Geese are a large seasonal problem.  With each goose producing a pound of poop a day, they can quickly wear out their welcome, and your lawn! I’ve seen several suggestions online, as to how to control a goose population, including swan decoys, lawn treatments, and planting options, but I want to share with you an idea that is cheaper, and that will produce far more consistent results!  On the job, I manage mowed pond areas, lushly planted habitat areas, areas with high pedestrian traffic, and those with none. I have tried versions of many things to humanely reduce and control the  goose population,  but for the homeowner who wants to discourage water birds in general from landing on your yard, and grazing there, here is a quick and cheap way to keep waterfowl out, without using chemicals, or repellents, and without planting shrubs that will distort your water view.

What to Do: Measure the perimeter around the body of water that borders your property, preferably 2-3 feet from the water line. Divide the perimeter number by five. This is the number of posts you will need to buy. The second calculation you need with the original perimeter number is for the length of rope you will need. To get this number, multiply the perimeter number by 2.

What to Buy:

• Purchase 3-4 foot stakes, or posts (metal, wood, bamboo, or pier pilings, depending on the look you want to achieve).
• Purchase commercial-grade rope, of white, or yellow color.  The thickness of the rope doesn’t matter, thin rope will work just as well.

How To Build Your Goose Fence:

• Place the stakes you purchased at five foot intervals, approximately 2-3 feet from the water line, in a row, hugging the shore line.
• Tap these stakes into the ground ideally leaving 30 inches to 3 and a half feet above the ground (depending on the height of the stake you purchased).  You do not need a tall fence to keep geese, or other water birds away.
• Tie the rope from post to post, leaving a generous swag bowing down in between each post (this is the key to making this fence work).  The rope must not touch the grass line, and should be about one foot off the ground at it’s lowest point.

Tips:

• This idea works best with regularly mowed areas, although it will work in more naturalized areas as well.
• White and yellow rope are easiest for waterfowl to see, as opposed to other colored rope that may blend in the water or grass.

Why This Works:

Geese love large ponds and lakefront property! The reason they happily target these areas is because they may associate close proximity to humans with a free food source, and (especially if the area is mowed), because in these areas it becomes easier for the geese to see predators a long way off, which gives them a feeling of safety.  What this little rope fence does is unsettle geese, who do not understand navigating over and under rope lines.  It plays into their fear as water birds, that they will not be able to reach the water in time, if they are running to avoid a predator.  Water birds absolutely know how slow and akward they are on land, and they know that it is on land that they are the most vulnerable to predation.

This method of goose repelling, will last you until the rope dries out (and needs to be replaced - every couple years), and will pay for itself rapidly in the time and money it saves you cleaning up goose poop, and buying and applying chemicals to deter the birds.

I personally recommend this method for homeowners above every other method.  This method works better than planting grasses, and shrubs as well, and here’s why:  Geese love open spaces to graze in, but lets remember what geese are looking for in a sleeping ground, and a nesting area.  For a goose looking for an area to rear her young, a planted area is best for protecting herself, or her mate while they incubate their young, hiding them from predators, and observation.  A planted area is also ideal for entire goose families to sleep, while feeling sheltered, and hidden.  Waterfowl can be creatures of habit, choosing a designated “home” area to frequent for the weeks before migration practice lessens their visits to your property.

I also recommend this method over Mute Swan decoys, or “tame” live Mute Swans (especially those that are used to close contact with humans).  In a heavily human populated area, there is a high probability that not only geese, but swans, and ducks are being fed by picnic goers, and joggers.  There is no Mute Swan in the world, plastic or otherwise, that will chase families with goslings away from free food for any long period of time.  I have personally seen Canadian Geese chase swans twice their size across entire lakes if the swan got too close to a group of goslings.  Since most goose control issues occur during the months of goose reproduction, this is not a method that I recommend relying on. Live Mute Swans can shorten the duration of Goose occupations, but a plastic swan will not deter geese reliably for any period of time.

NOTE: This rope fence method of goose control is not recommended for areas where tame waterfowl are being kept, or in areas where birds like ducks are welcome.  Water birds of all kinds will swim by this fence, but will not cross the perimeter.  Bird watchers are advised to use this method only when they are happy to accept a certain amount of distance between themselves and the subjects they are viewing.

Want some more tips to keep geese off your property?  Click here for more articles!

Your Thoughts: Having dealt with Goose issues for several years, here is what has worked for me.  If you have a great method of goose control that works around your home, please feel free to share!