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.
- Box Tree Moth , a new invasive threat to boxwood.
- 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.
- Gypsy Moths, the caterpillars voraciously feed on the leaves of many 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.