Eco-friendly Control Of Scale Insects On Houseplants

The Garden Mix
Make plans now to join Melinda on her famous Garden Walks at Boerner Botanical Gardens in 2013! Download the schedule here. Nationally renowned garden expert Melinda Myers helps everyday gardeners find success and ease in the garden through her Melinda’s Garden Moments radio segments. Melinda shares “must have” tips that hold the key to gardening success, learned through her more than 30 years of horticulture experience. Listeners from across the country find her gardener friendly, practical approach to gardening both refreshing and informative! On this page, Melinda shares some more extensive garden tips, which expand on the information provided in her one-minute radio segments. New tips are added throughout each month, providing timely step-by-step tips on what you need to do next in your garden! Visit Melinda’s website www.melindamyers.com for more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and answers to your questions.
Eco-friendly Control of Scale Insects on Houseplants by Melinda Myers , posted Feb 8 2013 3:13PM

Bumps on the leaves and stems of your houseplants may mean scale insects have moved in and are feeding on your houseplants. Scale insects suck plant juices, causing leaves to yellow, brown and become distorted. These pests secrete a clear sticky substance like other sucking insects, called honeydew. Large populations can eventually weaken and even kill some plants. You will need to be persistent to control these pests. Their hard shells are impervious to most pesticides. Start by gently scraping the hard shelled insects off the plants with an old toothbrush or your thumbnail. Check the upper and lower leaf surfaces and along the stems. This is a tedious job that you may want to do while watching your favorite TV show or movie. Then spray the plant with insecticidal soap to kill the immature insects that have not yet formed their hard pesticide-resistant shells. Repeat weekly. A bit more information: Mealy bugs are a type of soft bodied scale. Their white fuzzy covering protects it from pesticides. Use insecticidal soap to control the immature stage of mealy bugs and scale. For more details, click here. For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com Tags : Topics : Human Interest Social : Human Interest Back To Blog
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01/31/2013 3:14PM

Eco-friendly Control of Scale Insects on Houseplants

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When is it ok...
Over the weekend I went to a party and Miley Cyrus was there with her mom promoting her new album. I've seen Miley a million times on T.V. or in magazines but meeting her in person made me think...is it ever ok to tell someone they are too skinny? Miley is very nice but my first reaction was "Wow she is way to skinny". Of course I kept my mouth shut but everyone at the party was whispering the same thing. I hope she has success with her new album and comes to Wisconsin soon for cheese and beer! lol!

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Remembering NOLA!
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BACON Debate - Best way to cook...
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Managing Picnic Beetles
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Eat All Your Vegetables Day â June 17th
Load up your plate with fresh-from-the garden produce as you celebrate Eat All Your Vegetables Day on June 17th. Use this day to inspire new additions to your vegetable garden while encouraging reluctant veggie eaters to try something new. Once they try some fresh vegetables they may be willing to make them a regular part of their diet. And, if you get them to grow their own, they are even more likely to partake. Once you're inspired, look for extra space to add more vegetables to the landscape. Start by calculating the number of days left in your growing season. Simply count from the anticipated planting date to the average date of the first fall frost in your area. Check plant tags and seed packets for the number of days needed from planting until harvest. Make a list of these vegetables. Then look for vacant spaces in flowerbeds, mixed borders and containers. And train vines crops up decorative trellises and fences. A bit more information: Here are a few short season crops you may want to consider. Plant seeds and be ready to harvest radishes, leaf lettuce, spinach and chard in 40 days. Beets, bush snap beans, cucumbers and kohlrabi are ready to harvest in 50 to 60 days. Carrots, Chinese cabbage, and turnips take about 10 days longer. For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com

My recent Hollywood murder mystery adventure!
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PIC: Cool Clouds
I took this picture from the rooftop of a friends condo in Chicago. We were having cocktails tonight when the storm was rolling in. Super cool clouds!

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Shade Combinations for Attracting Hummingbirds
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