Friday, February 11, 2011

Dayton "Dirt" - February 11, 2011

Even though we still have a way to go with winter in Ohio, in a few days the average temperature will begin to rise at least according to the long time weatherman, Dick Goddard on the Cleveland news cast.

The daffodils and crocus are already peaking above the ground to add to Ohio’s spectacular display of spring.

The nursery seminars continue with Cynthia Druckenbrod’s program on attracting butterflies to the garden. I think all of us know the usual fare for attracting butterflies such as the Buddleias (butterfly bush) and Asclepsis (butterfly weed) but our guest will greatly expand your knowledge in the butterfly field.

If you remember from your high school days, butterflies belong to the insect order, Lepidopthera that has the four life stages of the egg, larva, pupa and finally the adult. In this scenario, the larvae stage of the adults we admire so much can strip the leaves from some of our most cherished garden plants!

One Lepidopthera insect species that is not so pretty is that of thrips that can attack a wide variety of flowering plants.

In the greenhouse, thrips can be difficult to control as they’re quite small and tend to hide in flowers hidden away from the reach of insecticide sprays or other predatory insects. This is one genus of Lepidopthera we can do without!

Have your questions ready as our guest speaker has the answers. See you at the seminar on Saturday, February 12th at 11 a.m.

Tom

No comments: