What Is Aster Yellows Disease?
“It looks like this purple coneflower is growing babies out of the seedpod. What is going on?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Tom Nealon of Tillsonburg, Ohio.
Horticultural expert Melinda Myers: Aster yellows caused this bizarre growth. The disease causes distorted growth and discoloration of flower petals. The aster leafhopper spreads aster yellows disease. When this insect feeds on an infected plant, it ingests the disease organism and then injects it into the next plant it feeds on. Your plants will survive but will serve as a source of infection for other nearby plants. Remove infected plants as soon as you find them to reduce the spread.
Did You Know? Aster leafhoppers are thin, wedge-shaped and dull light green. Look for six white spots on the top of the head.
Grow prairie coneflower in hot, sunny spots.
Aster Yellows Treatment
“There’s something growing out of the tops of my brown-eyed Susans. What could it be?” asks Stephen Ziring of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
Melinda: This distorted growth is caused by aster yellows. This disease attacks over 300 species of plants, including rudbeckias, coneflowers, marigolds, carrots and potatoes.
Aster leafhoppers carry the bacteria-like organisms that cause this disease. The leafhopper feeds on an infected plant and ingests some of the organism, which it injects into the next plant it visits. Remove any infected materials. Controlling leafhoppers is difficult as they’re continually on the move, and spraying insecticides can harm beneficial insects that help manage pests.
Learn how to treat black spot and rose rosette disease.
“Why did an additional row of green petals grow around this bloom? Another flower on the same stem was normal,” ask John and Judy Haynicz of Monroeville, New Jersey.
Melinda: Aster yellows likely caused this bizarre growth. The aster yellow leafhopper carries the phytoplasma disease organism from infected plants to healthy specimens. Infected plants often survive, but they serve as a source for future infections. Remove infected plants as soon as you find them.
Disease-Resistant Beacon Impatiens adds color to shade.
More Coneflower Growing Problems
“I’ve been having difficulty growing coneflowers and zinnias. Any advice you can give me on how to make them thrive in my garden?” asks Sierra Conine of El Dorado, Kansas.
Melinda: Start by reviewing your growing conditions. Both of these plants prefer full sun and will tolerate dry soils once established. If you find that your conditions are appropriate, the problem could be disease.
Both these plants are susceptible to a disease called aster yellows, which is transferred from infected plants to healthy ones by the aster yellow leafhopper. The disease can stunt the plants and distort and discolor the flowers. Remove infected plants as soon as you see them to prevent the disease from spreading to healthy plants.
Next, learn how to get rid of powdery mildew.
Prairie Coneflower Care
- Common name: Prairie coneflower
- Botanical name: Ratibida columnifera
- Light: Full sun
- Soil: Well-draining
- Watering: Drought-tolerant
- Height: 1 to 3 feet tall
- Zones: 4 to 9
- Attracts: Bees, butterflies, birds
You’re probably familiar with purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), but you may not know prairie coneflower. These native plants are in the aster plant family. The colorful yellow and red wildflowers are adaptable and easy to grow from seed. Plant them in full sun for the best flowering. They rarely need supplemental water and dislike wet and heavy clay soils.
This plant is also sometimes known as Mexican hat because of the central disc that protrudes prominently up like a sombrero. However, the common name prairie coneflower is preferred to prevent the spread of cultural stereotypes.
Grow coneflowers to attract butterflies and birds.
Prairie Coneflower Benefits
These long-blooming, drought-tolerant flowers are basically carefree. They also offer plenty of wildlife benefits. Pollinators love the nectar and birds like goldfinches gobble up the seeds. Deer usually steer clear. Pair them with other sun-loving prairie plants such as black-eyed Susan and blanket flower.
Individual plants are short-lived. But they do reseed prolifically, so you’ll have new plants each year. Trim them back in fall if you want to reduce their spread.
Check out the top 10 stunning summer flowers that bloom nonstop.
More Heat-Tolerant Pollinator Plants
“Which plants thrive in dry conditions and attract birds and butterflies?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Cara Washburn of McAllen, Texas.
Horticultural expert Melinda Myers says, “Look to native plants that tolerate your climate and bring in wildlife. Black-eyed Susan, bluebonnets, blanket flower, Indian paintbrush, golden tickseed, mealycup sage, prairie coneflower, prairie verbena, Texas lantana and yaupon holly are just a few plants that survive in hot, sunny conditions.
For even more options or to see if a specific plant will grow in your yard, contact your local university extension office. They will have first-hand knowledge of your area.”
Next, learn how to attract butterflies with late-blooming asters.
Grow Nectar-Rich Coneflowers to Attract Butterflies
The beautiful, daisy-like flowers of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) make it a must-have for any perennial bed. They make great cut flowers as well. However, coneflowers aren’t just pretty—they also attract butterflies and birds to your garden.
Coneflowers get their name from their ‘cone-shaped’ center. Like most of my favorite plants, coneflowers aren’t fussy. They aren’t particularly bothered by pests and do not require any fertilizer to produce masses of tall purple blooms. All they ask for is well-drained soil, a spot in the sun and regular watering. They are native to the United States and are easy to grow in zones 3 to 8. I have grown coneflowers in my zone 9 garden with success, as well.
Coneflowers are available in a variety of colors. In addition to the classic purple, you can find newer cultivars in white, yellow, orange, red and green colors. Stick with native coneflower for the most nectar value for pollinators. Pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) is a host plant for the silvery checkerspot butterfly.
What Types of Butterflies Like Coneflowers?
Coneflowers offer more than beauty. Their nectar-filled blooms are flat and wide, which make good landing pads for butterflies. Coneflower blooms attract all butterfly types, including fritillaries, monarchs, painted ladies and swallowtails, who feed on the sweet nectar.
“A few summers ago, I challenged myself to photograph all of the butterflies and moths in my yard. On the last day of summer, I spotted a new one for my collection—this pearl crescent (above). I love this shot because I captured the pollen sprinkled on the coneflower and the fine details of the butterfly’s antennae,” says Birds & Blooms reader Bev Danis of Ballwin, Missouri.
Birds Love Coneflower Seeds
Birds also enjoy coneflowers in the garden. Blue jays, cardinals and goldfinches enjoy eating the seeds from spent flowers. Don’t prune off the dead flowers in fall. Instead, let them stand throughout winter, where they will offer food to hungry birds. Once spring arrives, simply cut back your coneflowers to the ground. They will soon grow back to bloom in summer.
So, if your perennial garden has a few bare spots to fill, plant some coneflowers in your favorite color. Then enjoy the butterflies and birds that these flowers are sure to attract!
Also add the top 10 butterfly host plants to attract caterpillars.
Unless you’re a longtime rose gardener, you might not know much about different types of roses. Grandiflora, floribunda, miniature, rugosa—they’re probably all just roses to you. Two of the most common rose types with similar names can be particularly tricky to tell apart. Here’s how to tell the difference between a floribunda rose vs a grandiflora rose.
If you want to grow roses, here’s what you need to know.
What Is a Floribunda Rose?
Floribunda roses were first categorized as such in the early 20th century. Known for their abundant blooms and many petals, they were created by crossbreeding hybrid tea roses with polyantha roses. Gardeners prize them for their sensationally bright colors, which they’re able to maintain for the duration of a growing season.
Do roses need full sun or shade to grow best?
If you’re considering growing a floribunda rose, take note that these roses usually aren’t known for producing a strong scent. They are, however, more disease-resistant and easier to grow than hybrid tea roses.
In addition, for those in colder growing zones, floribunda roses might be best; they tend to fare better in cold weather than grandiflora roses.
Why do roses have thorns (and hips)?
What Is a Grandiflora Rose?
A grandiflora rose is actually a version of a floribunda rose. Grandiflora roses were created by combining hybrid roses with floribunda roses, which resulted in a rose with huge, stunning blooms and one flower at the end of each stem. Like floribunda roses, they boast notable disease resistance.
Learn how to treat black spot and rose rosette disease.
Key differences between these flowers include their heights and the way their blooms are structured. While floribunda roses usually only reach a maximum height of 3 to 4 feet, grandiflora roses grow up to 6 feet tall. Grandiflora roses feature large blooms on lengthy stems, which makes them ideal for florists and as a choice for your cutting garden. Floribunda roses, in contrast, have clusters of flowers.
Next, check out surprising facts about roses.
Stop Snakes From Eating Birds
“How can I stop snakes from eating baby birds and eggs in my yard, without harming the snakes?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Peggy Thompson of Granville, Illinois.
Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman write, “Eggs and baby birds are vulnerable to a variety of predators, including snakes. Rat snakes, corn snakes and others eat many mice but also climb trees to find bird nests.
When you set up a nest box, protect it by placing a baffle on the pole below the box, wide enough to prevent snakes and other predators from climbing. (Don’t put grease or oil on the pole, because birds can be harmed if it gets on their feathers.)
Unfortunately, there’s no good way to keep predators away from nests in natural situations, such as in shrubs or trees. But native predators such as snakes are a part of nature, and birds that lose their first brood often will make another attempt in a safer location.
“When mounting birdhouses, I add baffles to eliminate predators like snakes and raccoons. I don’t want any brokenhearted mammas!” says reader Mary Rutherford of Pineville, North Carolina.
Backyard Tip: The majority of snakes are totally harmless to people and are important backyard predators. Practice tolerance for them in your yard, and you’ll foster a healthy ecosystem.
Keep your yard safe from hummingbird predators.
Do Birds Eat Snakes?
Great horned owls aren’t too picky about what they eat and their diet is expansive. According to the Kaufmans, these big owls capture a wide variety of prey, from insects and snakes to groundhogs and skunks.
These two great horned owls (above) in Palm Harbor, Florida, were protecting their owlet from a snake that was slithering up a huge live oak. A truly once in a lifetime experience. Their eyes never left the owlet or the snake,” says Judith Cernak.
One of the most remarkable southwestern species, the greater roadrunner, eats just about anything it can catch. Roadrunners are famous for eating snakes (even rattlesnakes!) and lizards, but they also go after insects, spiders, scorpions, mice and even small birds.
Sky hunters: what foods do hawks eat?
Plant a Pizza Garden Full of Fresh Ingredients
Pizzas come in all shapes, colors and flavors! But the basics are usually the same: crust, sauce, cheese and toppings. As a gardener, you can grow many of the ingredients for your sauce and toppings right outside your back (or front) door. Here’s how to grow the best pizza garden.
Story courtesy of All-America Selections. Find more creative gardening tips at ngb.org.
Check out the top 10 plants to grow for a cocktail, mocktail or tea garden.
Pizza Sauce
Roma Tomato
Great pizza sauce starts with delicious Roma tomatoes. Early Resilience is a rounded Roma with a deep red interior color, uniform maturity and good-quality flesh for cooking, which is great for a pizza sauce. This variety produces determinate, bushy plants that are resistant to blossom end rot, giving you a large yield and less fruit loss.
Psst—don’t make these common tomato garden mistakes.
Oregano
Cleopatra oregano’s foliage makes this herb one worth appreciating for both its ornamental value and flavor. Unlike most Greek and Italian oreganos, it has a mildly spicy, pepperminty flavor. Use it in Mediterranean dishes, soups and sauces. This compact, trailing plant develops a high yield of leaves that are flavorful as a dried spice when fresh isn’t an option.
Here’s how to harvest, dry, and store your herbs.
Onion
Super Star is an improved white sweet onion recommended for all spring gardens in North America. Most onions require either long days with more than 12 hours of sunlight or short days to bulb. But Super Star is widely adaptable. Resistant to pink root, these onions are exceptional when eaten raw, in salads or cooked in sauces.
Check out the top 10 vegetables that grow well in shade.
Pizza Toppings
Sweet Peppers
Dragonfly plants yield beautiful purple peppers for your pizza garden. The peppers transform from green into purple fruits that are delicious at any stage of maturity. With their above-average, robust flavor, they’ll add plenty of color and taste to your pizza.
A vivid yellow snacking pepper with four lobes like a larger bell pepper, Just Sweet is ideal for smaller pizzas. The 3-inch fruits are deliciously sweet with thick walls, and the plants have been bred to have a strong, bushy habit.
Sweetie Pie is a mini bell pepper that’s easy to grow, with an excellent fruit set even under hot and humid conditions. It’ll also adapt well to a container or small garden. Fruits are thick-walled, sweet and flavorful, and can be harvested when they’re green or red. Eat them fresh, grilled, stir-fried or baked on a pizza.
Check out the more of the best peppers to grow in your veggie garden.
Hot Peppers
For a cayenne pepper with extra-large fruit, try Wildcat. The 8-inch peppers have a smoky flavor and peppery sweetness with a mild pungency of 500 to 1,500 Scoville heat units, which means they’re in the mild range of the heat scale.
Mighty, strong and hot, Quickfire peppers deliver plenty of hot Thai-type fruits of 40,000 Scoville units. The compact, sturdy plant is ideal for your pizza garden and container gardening. Buffy has a good yield of juicy, thick-walled green to red fruits at 500,000 Scoville units on strong, upright plants.
If you love gardening and cooking, you should try baking botanical focaccia.
Colorful Tomatoes
Now you can experience the sweet, mild flavor of an orange heirloom tomato only 75 days from transplant with hybrid Chef’s Choice Orange. Its disease resistance is an added bonus. This pick has a bright, almost neon, internal color, and superior flesh taste and texture.
Pink Delicious is an early maturing tomato with a balanced sweet and acidic flavor. The fruit has an heirloom look, flavor and texture, and the plant is easy to grow because of its hybrid disease resistance and improved germination. If you’re wanting a uniquely colored tomato to top your pizza with, look no further than Chef’s Choice Green. The tomato produces beautiful green fruits with subtle yellow stripes. Enjoy the citruslike flavor and a perfect tomato texture.
Check out the ultimate guide to growing (and eating) zucchini.
Basil
Dolce Fresca basil has sweet, tender leaves that maintain an attractive, compact shape. The plant thrives in containers, borders or as a focal point in the garden. Select this basil if you need a drought-tolerant, hardy plant, are searching for a new and better basil or want great Mediterranean taste on your pizza.
Follow these tips to grow your best basil ever.
It’s no secret that backyard birders dislike finding hawks near their feeders. After all, it’s not like the hawks are there for the seed! Crows aren’t regularly winning backyard birder popularity contests either, but after reading this, some might want to re-think their stance on the all-black, highly intelligent birds. Our experts answered the question: Why do crows chase hawks, and is that behavior typical?
Learn all about American crows and fish crows.
Here’s Why Crows Chase Hawks
Birds & Blooms reader Jan Haddrill asks, “Two crows chased a small red-shouldered hawk through my backyard. Is this common?”
Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman: We might expect hawks to be the kings of the air, but other birds regularly harass them. This behavior is called mobbing. Various birds often approach hawks, making alarm calls and even daring to peck at them. No one has come up with a complete explanation for why they do this. It may serve to draw attention to these predators so they can’t take smaller birds by surprise. In the case of crows, which are intelligent and curious birds, it may be partly a tough-guy way of having fun!
Psst—it’s tricky to identify crows vs ravens, but these key details ensure you’ll never get them mixed up again.
During the breeding season, songbirds such as eastern kingbirds and red-winged blackbirds will flutter up to confront hawks that fly too close to their nests. The hawks mostly ignore the efforts of such small birds. Crows, on the other hand, are big enough that they can actually gang up on hawks and chase them away.
“Mobbing” behaviors might run in the brainy corvid family — Steller’s jays and blue jays do it, too.
Why Do Crows Chase Owls?
“Why would crows chase an owl? I have seen four or five crows flying after and around a barred owl, cawing and squawking, on several occasions,”
asks Mary Leffler of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
Kenn and Kimberly: Many kinds of birds will harass owls that they discover in the daytime, in a behavior called “mobbing.” Even chickadees will mob little screech-owls. Crows focus on bigger targets like barred owls or great horned owls, and they will also chase hawks and eagles.
If you’ve started to change your mind about crows, check out these pictures that will make you appreciate black birds.
Rose Chafer Beetle Control
“Do you have any tips for controlling rose chafers?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Mary Ann Marcusen of Wausaukee, Wisconsin.
Horticultural expert Melinda Myers says, “It’s often difficult to control problem pests like the rose chafer without harming the beneficial insects you want to attract to your garden. Handpicking is the safest option, but often impractical. Some gardeners use a small handheld vacuum to speed things up.
Try covering your plants or erecting a fence of cheesecloth around the plants before the insects begin feeding. Fences a few inches higher than the plants tend to discourage rose chafer feeding. Remove the cheesecloth when the rose chafers have finished their lifecycle.
Pyrethrin, a plant derived insecticide, is labeled for controlling this pest. Several applications will be needed. As always, read and follow label directions for best control and to minimize the negative impact on the environment.
Learn how to treat black spot and rose rosette disease.
Rose Chafer Larvae
Larvae of the rose chafer beetles, Japanese beetles and other beetles are fleshy, gray-white, wormlike creatures known as grubs. They measure about 1 inch (3 cm) long, with six legs and brown heads. Grubs curl into a circle when disturbed. They live in the soil, feeding on grass and weed roots.
Do roses need full sun or shade to grow best?
Control Japanese Beetle Grubs With Milky Spore
If you have a problem with grubs eating your grass and plants, chances are you also have a problem with Japanese beetles. You can solve both problems by just killing the grubs so that they don’t develop into beetles.
Although gardening outlets and big box stores are quick to sell fast-acting toxic chemicals to kill the grubs (and a lot of other less harmful insects), there is a perfectly fine natural remedy that will get rid of them for years to come. Milky spore causes Japanese beetle grubs to contract a disease that kills them. Other beneficial organisms are not harmed.
The only problem is that you have to be patient. Milky spore is slow acting. After you spread the granules on your lawn, it can take a year or more for the spore to become established in your soil. It may take several years of milky spore applications to accumulate enough bacteria to effectively control the Japanese beetle grubs. Milky spore is not an effective treatment for rose chafer grubs.
Avoid using other pesticides on the lawn and tolerate some grub damage during this time. Once the spore is established, it keeps working for a decade or more. Milky spore is not cheap. A bag of the granules runs about $40 to $50. But considering the length of the benefit, it’s a real bargain.
Next, find out what your rose bush is trying to tell you.
A popular form of evaluation for a situation in life is called the “rose, bud, and thorn” exercise. The thought process labels a positive highlight as a “rose,” a “bud” as an opportunity and a “thorn” as an obstacle to overcome. Clearly, thorns have a negative connotation. You’ve probably wondered why roses have thorns and take care to avoid them.
But in the garden, rose thorns serve a beneficial purpose—they help ensure success of the bush. Roses are the inspiration for poems, songs and stories, thanks to their petaled presence and intoxicating perfume. They are also symbolic and used in emblems, flags, badges, coats of arms and have special meaning by color. Garden experts estimate there are thousands of types of roses grown today. So maybe it’s time we appreciate rose thorns a bit more. Also find out what rose hips look like and when you can spot them.
Why Do Roses Have Thorns?
Plants have sharp, pointed thorns to deter herbivores, the animals that eat plants. The predominant function of thorns is to serve as protection for the rose bush and help guarantee its survival.
Scientists explain that roses have thorns as a natural defense. Thorns protect the leaves and flowers from being eaten by animals that are attracted to their enticing fragrance and taste.
This type of defense is known as a physical defense because the plant physically defends itself from harm. Curious animals like deer and rabbits get an unpleasant poke and learn to stay away. Thorns often curve downward to prevent animals from climbing up and eating the rose. Humans are also sometimes guilty of causing damage to roses.
Did you know: Botanists classify roses as having thorns and “prickles.” Thorns are a harder growth on the roses and prickles are softer but still sharp to the touch.
Do roses need full sun or shade to grow best?
What Happens If Thorns Are Removed From Roses?
Don’t be so quick to cut the thorns off of your long-stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. Roses with thorns still intact will last longer in a vase than those that have had the thorns removed. The water in a vase of roses without thorns will begin to turn cloudy faster because of the wounds made on the stem. The cuts may lead to contamination in the water and deterioration of the stem itself.
Discover surprising facts about roses.
Do All Roses Have Thorns?
Gardeners and flower lovers know that many varieties of roses must be handled carefully because of their thorns. But not all roses have thorns. Some varieties have very few thorns, and a few can be classified as completely thornless.
A thornless rose is a good choice for planting along walkways where people will be passing close by or in garden and patio areas where young children and pets will be active. They also make pruning easier and less painful.
Check out the top 10 prettiest hybrid tea roses to grow.
What Are Rose Hips?
Rose hips are the fruit, or seed pods, of the rose plant. They can appear as crimson red, orange, dark purple or black in color. They are the size of a pearl and ripen in late summer or fall. If you have roses in your garden, you can find their hips when you deadhead the bushes.
Removing spent flowers will encourage more active blooming growth (learn when to fertilize roses and peonies). But if you stop deadheading, your rose bush will naturally focus its energy on producing seed pods. All roses will produce hips at the end of summer and into the fall season. If the plants are left alone, you should find an abundance of rose hips emerge on your bushes.
Here’s how to prepare and prune roses for winter.
Identifying rose hips is fairly easy. Look for them along the canes. They can range in size from a small pearl to a cherry tomato.
Rose hips are edible. Their tart flavor tastes like crabapples with notes of floral sweetness. Rose hips are enjoyed in jams, syrups, spreads and teas, and are packed with vitamin C. Throughout history, they have also been used as a natural remedy for various health ailments. Berry-loving birds may eat them as well.
The next time you stroll the garden on a sunny afternoon, be sure to watch for thorns as you stop to smell the roses, and take notice of the rose hips as well.
