Most urban sites have some amount of mineral soil in place when the time comes to install plant material, yet these soils are often assumed – erroneously – to be unsuitable. Historically there have been two approaches to this…
Plants have a cellular pH of about 6.8. Coincidentally most plants like to grow in soil at about that same soil reaction. In much of the arid southwest our soils are neutral in pH (7) to slightly alkaline (7.5-8) and…
As a kid, you might have dreamed of someday becoming a police detective, private investigator or even an archeologist exploring why dinosaurs perished from the earth. Life leads us on various paths, but some of us are fortunate enough to…
The South American palm weevil (SAPW), Rhynchophorus palmarum, was discovered in a canary island date palm (Phoenix canariensis) in San Ysidro, southern San Diego County in March of 2016. Since then, nearly 150 additional canary island date palms have been…
Establishing a healthy stand of turf grass is a good start to keeping insects and weeds from becoming a problem in your home yard. However, even the most manicured and healthiest yards can have infestations of weeds and insects that…
By Kai Umeda There is increasing interest by golf course superintendents and residential/commercial landscapers to consider native grasses and/or new multi-use groundcovers that require less water and management inputs when replacing turfgrass. Golf courses are reducing turf in non-play areas…
By Judith Phillips Gardening is an extreme sport in the arid Southwest, a place of remarkable variety in native species and ecological niches. While not all native plants transition well to gardens, the most beautiful, resilient and adaptable natives are…
By Sean Nealon Two invasive species of tumbleweed have hybridized to create a new species of tumbleweed that University of California, Riverside researchers found has dramatically expanded its geographic range in California in just a decade. The UC Riverside researchers…
By John Ball The chainsaw is one of the most indispensable tools in modern tree work. About three-fourths of the sales volume in the average tree care company is made from pruning and removals — and this work is not…
By David M. Kopec, Ph.D. As the days get longer, it’s time to think about spring transition. Research in the last 15 years shows that the cultural management practices of 30 years ago do not work (like they used to).Vertical…
