Articles
Gardening Articles
Research-based horticulture information to help keep your plants and gardens thriving.
Extending the Garden Season
Cold frames and hot beds, hoop houses, cloches, and floating row covers allow gardeners to grow plants earlier in spring and later in fall. Get ideas that will work for you in this factsheet.
Dodder
Dodders are parasitic plants that can affect a variety of plants, including vegetables, herbaceous and woody plants, and even weeds. Learn what dodders look like and what to do if you find them in this factsheet.
Fruit Flies in the Home
Phil Pellitteri, UW Insect Diagnostic Lab Revised: 4/27/2004 Item number: XHT1102 What people commonly call fruit flies are flies from the genus Drosophila. Also known as pumice or vinegar flies, they range in size from 1∕16 to 1∕8 inch long, and are light to dark brown in color. Some of the common species of fruit […]
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle
Multicolored Asian lady beetles are a nusiance when clustered in large numbers on buildings in fall. While beneficial as a predator of pests in the landscape, they can also damage fruits. Learn more here.
Rain Barrels
What is a rain barrel? A rain barrel can be any large container designed to collect rain water. Typically, rain barrels are placed at the bottom of downspouts in order to collect rain as it runs off of a roof. For every inch of rain that falls on 1,000 square feet of roof, about 600 […]
Dead Man’s Fingers
Dead man’s fingers is the name of a mushroom-like fungal growth that can be found at the base of dead or dying trees and shrubs, as well as wood objects. Learn about this distinctive fungus in this factsheet.
Cicada Killer Wasps
Cicada killer wasps are common in the southern part of Wisconsin. These non-aggressive wasps feed on cicadas. Learn more in this factsheet.
Four-Lined Plant Bug
Four-linied plant bug attacks a wide variety of herbaceous and woody plants. Learn to identify and manage this pest in this factsheet.
Leafminers (vegetables)
Karen Delahaut, UW-Madison, Fresh Market Vegetable Program Revised: 1/5/2005 Item number: XHT1044 Leafminers are insects that feed on the tissue between the upper and lower epidermal layers of leaves. Leafminers can be serious problem on vegetables that are harvested for their foliage (e.g., spinach or chard). Leafminers can be the larval stages of flies, moths, […]
Pear Slug (Pear Sawfly)
Pear slugs are not true slugs, but are larva of the pear sawfly. They damge many kinds of ornamental and fruit trees. This factsheet describes appearance, damage and control.
Periodical Cicadas
Every 17 years, Wisconsin experiences a massive emergence of periodical cicadas. These insects are generally harmless, but can be quite loud. Adult females can cause some damage to young plants through their egg-laying activities. Learn about the life cycle of cicadas and their management in this factsheet.
Black Vine Weevil
Both the adult and larva of the black vine weevil feed on over 100 species of woody and herbaceous plant roots. Learn to identify and manage black vine weevil in this factsheet.
