Virginia Green Grow Beyond Blog

Magnolia trees are often large, always beautiful trees acting as centerpieces to many gardens in southern lawns and across the US. Virginia Green helps you understand the needs and wants of these beautiful trees, from deciduous varieties such as the Saucer Magnolia to evergreen varieties like the Southern Magnolia.

As the weather warms up and your landscape starts to thrive, so do the pests – and few are as sneaky and stubborn as aphids. These tiny, sap-sucking insects can cause big problems for trees and shrubs across Virginia, especially as we head into late spring and summer. Here's what you need to know about identifying and controlling aphids before they take over your yard.

Fireblight is a destructive, highly infectious, widespread disease caused by the bacterium (Erwinia amylovora.) It is found on apples, pears and other members of the rose family which includes trees and shrubs in orchards, nurseries and landscape plantings. It is very difficult to control. Virginia Green recommends the cultural practices below.

Cold weather can be a silent enemy to your garden, often causing unseen damage to plants, trees, and shrubs. Many gardeners overlook this issue, only to find signs of harm in the spring. Wilting leaves and a sparse canopy might surprise you in an otherwise lush season, and you may notice defoliation weeks after a brief cold spell. The root cause? Water management within the plant.

Should you worry about heavy snow on trees and shrubs?

After a heavy snowfall, have you ever thought about removing heavy snow from the branches of your trees and shrubs? There are two thoughts about this question. We will discuss both of them here.

If you’ve noticed small green worms hanging from trees with silk threads or unusual holes in your tree leaves, you may be dealing with cankerworms (also called inchworms). These caterpillars feed heavily in spring and fall, and while their feeding periods are short, they can strip leaves from trees and weaken younger or stressed plants if left unchecked. Similar to armyworms, they burrow into the soil to pupate and re-emerge as adults; fall cankerworms emerge as adults in the same season while spring cankerworms overwinter and emerge the following spring. Unlike armyworms, which damage lawns, cankerworms specifically target trees and shrubs.