Growing Knowledge archive

Note: This article is part of the Growing Knowledge series in Digger magazine. This series is provided by Oregon State University in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture and in partnership with the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

Treating and tracking the intractable Rhodococcus

By Melodie Putnam — Posted September 2, 2018

Leafy gall disease is like an unnoticed leak: what starts out small can get worse and end up causing significant losses. Leafy gall is caused by the bacterium Rhodococcus, which afflicts annuals, herbaceous perennials, and woody broadleaf plants. The bacteria cause a ball-like mass of buds that only partially expand into stunted shoots. These shoots […]

Let it bee

By Andony Melathopoulos — Posted July 31, 2018

The Oregon Bee Project will help explore market opportunities for nurseries Oregon nursery operators play an important, but frequently overlooked, role in protecting pollinator health. They produce pollinator attractive plants that are destined to be planted in urban areas across the United States. These plants provide bees with pollen and nectar resources and contribute to […]

Ozone in the low zone

By Jay Pscheidt — Posted June 25, 2018

These oxygen molecules in the lower atmosphere, also known as smog, can damage growing plants During the summer, attention turns to air quality all over the western United States, as smoke from hot forest fires fills our valleys. Most of the smoke is made of small particulates that are not known to damage plants. At […]

The emerald ash borers are coming (eventually)!

By Sarah Greenleaf — Posted May 25, 2018

An impending threat to Oregon’s urban ecosystems If it’s not on your radar yet, it will be soon: The age of ash trees (Fraxinus, sp.) in the United States is winding down as the emerald ash borer (EAB) slowly follows a western route across the country, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. EAB […]

Optimum watering schedules for Oregon home lawns

By Alec Kowalewski — Posted April 30, 2018

By Conner Olsen and Alec Kowalewski In times of drought, outdoor water-use restrictions are most often focused on landscape water use, and implemented in terms of the number of days per week for which watering is allowed. This method, although effective at reducing water use, neglects to consider ideal irrigation frequency for maintaining the health […]

Flora at your fingertips

By Linda K. Hardison — Posted March 27, 2018

Revised, rebranded OregonFlora has new and expanded plant information Looking for an online resource with information about the native and naturalized plants of Oregon? The Oregon Flora Project’s newly expanded website, OregonFlora, will meet the need. Rich with details about more than 4,670 unique species of ferns, conifers, herbs, grasses, and trees, it presents information […]

Heroes and villains

By Jerry Weiland — Posted February 27, 2018

Research identifies harmful and beneficial microbes in nursery soil Four years ago, we received funding from the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative to study the interaction of soil-borne pathogens and environment on nursery plant health and disease control (Digger, July 2015). Since then, we have made significant progress in identifying the beneficial and pathogenic microbes […]

We study gardens: An update from OSU’s Garden Ecology Lab

By Gail Langellotto — Posted January 30, 2018

Gardens are unique and understudied systems that can have multi-faceted and positive impacts on the environment and public health. The positive impact of gardens is an important thing to consider when planning, installing and maintaining individual gardens as well as neighborhood-wide landscaping installations. It turns out that gardeners and landscapers manage and maintain a significant […]

Stink bugs dining at nurseries

By Victoria Skillman — Posted December 22, 2017

By Victoria Skillman and Jana Lee You probably have seen the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB for short) coming into your home or shed to find shelter from the winter cold. This pest arrived in the United States in 1996 and is now in 43 states. BMSB was first detected in Oregon in 2004 and […]

Fighting the resistance

By Lloyd Nackley — Posted December 6, 2017

Weeds can become herbicide-resistant, but there are strategies to counteract it Evidently we hate weeds. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that expenditures on herbicides consistently accounted for the largest portion of total world pesticide expenditures at approximately 45 percent, followed by insecticides, fungicides, and other pesticides. Amazingly, in 2012, U.S. expenditures accounted for […]