Planting and caring for trees, shrubs and landscape plantings will make your yard attractive.

General requirements and care

• How to plant trees and shrubs
• Maintenance on trees and shrubs
• Common problems associated with trees and shrubs
• Tree Owner’s Manual for the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S.
• Statewide table for frost-free dates for planting decisions
• Managing shoreline property to protect water quality

Selecting trees and shrubs

• Smart tree tip sheets– smart tree selections for communities and landowners
• Choosing smart trees and shrubs for Michigan landscapes
• Drought-tolerant plants save water, money and time
• Crabapple selection guide
• eXtension resource on tree and shrub selection
• Wildfire-resistant landscape plants for Michigan
• Deer-resistant plants for homeowners

Native plants and beneficial insects

• Video on selecting native or well-adapted plants to simplify meeting the plant’s needs
• Native plants can be a smart choice for Michigan landscapes
• Visit nativeplants.msu.edu for fact sheets about specific plants and to learn about their ecosystem services.
• Identifying natural enemies that offer you biological control

Pest management

• Identifying weeds in the landscape
• Scouting for pests in herbaceous perennials
• Scouting for pests in woody landscape plants
• Biology and management of balsam twig aphid
• Biology and management of beech bark disease
• Biology and management of pine needle scale
• Brown marmorated stink bugs: Information for Michigan residents on a new home invader
• Control of pine root collar weevil 
• Diagnosing shoot-boring insects of pine
• Identification and management of European pine sawfly
• Identification and management of fall webworm
• Identification and management of orange-striped oakworm
• Lichens (fact sheet)
• Phomopsis canker of spruce
• Pine needle midge
• Broad mites
• Cytospora canker (for trees)
• Fertilizing trees and shrubs
• Maple tarspot
• Pine wilt disease (nematodes)
• Sphaeropsis blight (pines)
• Tree and shrub planting guidelines
• Managing pests in the landscape.
• Using organic fertilizers - tip sheet from Purdue University
• Reading a pesticide label

Emerald ash borer

• Emerald ash borer: Biology and control options
• Alternatives to ash trees – smart tree selections for communities and landowners
• Distinguishing ash from other common trees
• Don’t be fooled by look-alikes!
• Ash tree identification
• Recommended alternatives to ash trees for Michigan’s Lower Peninsula

Gypsy moth

• Calosoma sycophanta: a natural enemy of gypsy moth larvae
• Common oak defoliators in michigan (it’s not always gypsy moth!)
• Comparing gypsy moth to forest tent & eastern tent caterpillar
• Comprendiendo la conducta de los incendios forestales en MI
• Gypsy moth and your shade trees
• Natural enemies of gypsy moth: the good guy
• Pheromone traps & the gypsy moth

Conifer Corner

Dr. Bert Cregg of Michigan State University writes “Conifer Corner” regularly for “The Michigan Landscape” magazine, a bimonthly publication of the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA). You can visit MNLA’s consumer website at Plant Michigan Green. Dr. Cregg’s articles are listed by topic below.

• Common landscape conifers: Upright and Broad: The Blue Collar Conifers
• Narrow, upright conifers: On the Straight and Narrow
• Ornamental conifers: Weeping Wonders: Pendulous Conifers
• Pendulous conifers: Weeping Wonders: Pendulous Conifers
• Placing conifers in landscape: Top choices for Tough Places
• Weeping conifers: Weeping Wonders: Pendulous Conifers

Additional resources

• The Garden Professors blog from Washington State University Extension
• Gardens, lawns and landscapes from MSU Extension and our colleagues in other states
• Interactive Plant Manager is an online diagnostic database for woody ornamentals from Cornell University’s IPM Program