Consumer Horticulture
Digging Deeper - Gardening Resources
- Gardening in Michigan website
- Michigan Fresh
- MSU Soil Test Kit
- Local weather information for Kalamazoo area provided by Enviro-Weather
- Michigan State University Master Gardener Program & classes
Be alert for these invasive pests and deadly diseases:
- Japanese knotweed, or Mexican bamboo, is attractive but extremely invasive.knotweed_BCP_372280_7.pdf
- Giant hogweed is rarely found in Michigan
- Information on vegetable diseases such as Late Blight from Dr. Mary Hausbeck's lab at MSU
- Late Blight monitoring map
- Spotted wing drosophila, a small vinegar fly with the potential to damage many fruit crops.
- Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, causing feeding damage in high value specialty crops including tomatoes, sweet peppers, raspberries, apples, peaches, pears and cherries as well as damage in corn and soybeans.
- Thousand Cankers Disease, which primarily affects black walnut trees.
- Emerald Ash Borer is an exotic beetle that was first spotted in southeastern Michigan in 2002 and has since spread through the Midwest. It is deadly to untreated ash trees.
- Asian Longhorned Beetle, a serious pest of hardwood trees.
Please report sightings of these invasive pests to the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network.
Other pests you may encounter:
Diseases and insects affecting evergreen trees:
- Common problems affecting the health of evergreen trees.
- Needlecast diseases can infect most evergreen trees.
Still have a gardening question? Contact the Master Gardener Helpline at (269) 384-8056, msue.mghelp@msu.edu, or at 888-678-3464 for answers.