Weird Weather in 2023

Rime ice event in February 2023

Why pay weathermen when you can just look out a window?

Pamm Cooper

Rime ice on white pines ion February 2023

Looking back on the past year it was a singularly weird one as weather events go. It was kicked off by a wide-spread rime ice event. In mid- February 2023 we had warm weather that produced a winter fog which rolled in as temperatures dropped below freezing. Several regions of Connecticut had rime ice that lasted for as long as three days as cloudy, cold weather continued. Some tree buds, like red maples, already had swollen leaf buds and thick, clear ice covered them. Damage was moderate as the sun did not appear before the ice melted.

Clear rime ice on a red maple with swollen flower buds in February 2023

A week later there was a hoar frost which occurs during clear nights as temperatures drop. Hoar frost is more crystalline and feathery than rime ice and looks like sugar crystals on leaves and stems of plants. In May, hard frost in spring occurred when many fruit trees were flowering, and peaches, plums and other tree fruits had little fruit in some areas of the state.

Hoar frost

A wet spring resulted in a high incidence of Exobasidium vaccinii galls on some rhododendrons and azaleas. These leaf galls are very heavy and as they age they develop a white coating of spores. Especially affected for some reason were many old rhododendrons.

Exobasidium galls pruned off an old rhododendron

During a hike, I came across a small pile of white pines that had recently been cut. The cui ends had a reddish pink tint to the sap, which was a new one to me. Our forestry expert said that I took the picture likely within hours or at most a day of the cut, and the tree was still photosynthesizing. Carbohydrate compounds produced by photosynthesis in the sap reacted with the air and oxidized or developed some fungal stain. This is why pines are not harvested for timber during the growing season.

Reddish sap from newly cut white pine

Canadian wildfires affected our air quality, especially during early summer. Ash in the sky made for a hazy, almost fog-like appearance to our air, especially if you looked down into low areas. A lot of perennials grew exceptionally tall during this three-week period as they reached upward for light

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Widespread haze occurred from ash blown in from Canadian wildfires

It was also a very wet year, with almost weekly rains, cooler temperatures and sometimes very heavy downpours that occurred in short periods of time. Water made both gardens and lawns mushy as soil was slow to dry out. Flooding along the Connecticut River also destroyed some crops or rendered them unsafe for consumption. Native maples had brown shriveled leaves in late summer as a result of an anthracnose leaf disease brought on by extended humid conditions earlier in the year.

Corn field flooded along the Connecticut River

Anthracnose caused early leaf drop and browning of leaves during the summer on native maples

This year was a good one for fungi. Last year with the heat and drought there was a dearth of mushrooms, but this year there were plenty to be found. This year I found my first netted stinkhorns and several earthballs plus plenty of varieties of coral fungi that seemed to be everywhere in the moist woods.

Earthball fungus (Scleroderma citrinum) after spore dispersal

Netted stinkhorn Phallus duplicata– you smell it before you see it…

Golden spindles coral fungi

White Spindles – Clavaria fragilis fairy fingers coral fungi

Slime molds were also prevalent especially in lawns and in moist woods. Some look like puffballs, like the wolf’s milk slime mold. The fruiting bodies of this slime mold are pink and have a slimy pink interior where the spores are found. Many slime molds look like tiny dots on tree trunks and logs in woodland areas.

Wolf’s milk slime mold Lycogala epidendrum

This year was a mast year for many trees including oaks, Eastern red cedar, Atlantic white cedar and white pines. The ground underneath pines and oaks were covered in acorns and cones in the fall.

Eastern red cedar had a mast year

Summarizing the year- plants either seemed to do well or were damaged by ice, late frost, wet soils, high humidity and wildfire haze among other things. Although it was nice to at least have some rain after last year’s drought, too much is not always a good thing. Next year will be a typical one for our area,, though, which means it should be totally unpredictable. Dr. Suess has a really good weather tip I will share with you-

“The storm starts, when the drops start dropping
When the drops stop dropping then the storm starts stopping.”
― Dr. Seuss

Orange glow in January 2023 just before sunset

Pamm Cooper

 

Considering Conifers 2

In early July, I wrote a post titled “Considering Conifers”, where I discussed a few pests, diseases, and abiotic issues that conifers face here in New England. Some mentioned in that post included witches’ broom, root rot disease, and bagworm feeding. With the holiday season upon us, I figured now would be a good time to continue that post by discussing a few additional pests and diseases.

One category of pests briefly mentioned in the previous conifer post was scales. Scales are slow-moving insects in the order Hemiptera with a protective covering, making management with insecticides alone more difficult. An integrated pest management (IPM) approach, using a combination of low-impact approaches, is usually the most effective approach for homeowners and commercial growers alike.

Targeting scales with insecticides is most successful when applying the product in the spring and early summer during the scales’ “crawler”, or immature, stage when they are more likely to come in contact with the insecticide. Be sure to apply the product following the instructions on the label and following any specific timeline established for the species of scale in question. Two common scale pests one might encounter on conifers include wooly hemlock adelgid (you might see these when decorating your hemlock outside) and cryptomeria scale (these are more likely to be on your cut Christmas tree, like Canaan fir or Fraser fir).

Cryptomeria scales are often called “fried egg scale” due to their appearance. They are found exclusively on the underside of needles. The photo above shows some previous beetle predation of the scales. Photo credit: Nick Goltz, DPM

Scout for pests like scales routinely during the growing season. If you notice scales on your cut Christmas tree, don’t worry – they are harmless to humas and don’t survive off the plant. If you notice scales on your conifers, you may want to introduce a biological control agent, like the twice-stabbed ladybird beetle (Chilocorus stigma) in early summer, particularly if you would prefer to use minimal insecticides. Be careful to not apply insecticides, especially products containing pyrethroids or bifenthrin, when the ladybird beetles are active as these products will kill them as well as the scale pest. For Christmas tree growers, trees that have heavy scale infestations should be removed when observed to prevent spread to healthy trees nearby.

Beyond insect pests, conifers are prone to fungal diseases as well. Some fungal pathogens cause needle drop, such as fungi in the genera Pestalotiopsis, Rhizosphaera, Cyclaneusma, Dothiostroma, Lecanosticta, and others. These pathogens tend to produce copious numbers of spores and spread to new trees vi wind and rain. Needles, usually beginning with the outer needles, will become discolored before falling off the tree.  Other fungi cause cankers and blight, such as those in the genera Neonectria, Caliciopsis, Diplodia, Seiridium, Fusarium, and others. These pathogens are more serious as they destroy vascular (cambium) tissue, resulting in reduced water movement, trunk lesions, and often an untimely death for the tree. Minimizing unnecessary wounding (such as through excessive or off-season pruning) and environmental stress (drought, freezing, etc.) will reduce the likelihood of canker diseases appearing.

Pestalotiopsis (shown above) and other needle drop fungi produce abundant spores, especially after rain during the growing season. Prune away and tissue that appears to be diseased. Either submit it to a diagnostic lab for identification, burn it, or throw it in refuse/compost off-site. Photo credit: Nick Goltz, DPM.

While some fungal diseases, such as Armillaria root rot, cubical brown rot/ crumbly rot, and others produce large fruiting bodies (shelf mushrooms) on the trunk/base of the tree, making identification of the cause of decline easier, other diseases can be complicated to diagnose without culturing in a lab. If you’re ever unsure what could be wrong with your plant, consider contacting the UConn Home and Garden Education Center at ladybug@uconn.edu to discuss your plant’s health and inquire about submitting a sample to the UConn Plant Diagnostic Laboratory. The UConn PDL is funded, in part, by the state of Connecticut and the USDA through IPM Extension Implementation and National Plant Diagnostic Network grants.

If you plan to submit a sample, be sure to do so BEFORE applying any fungicides for the season, or the pathogen may not be able to be cultured.

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season and a safe and prosperous new year.

Nick

 

Considering Conifers

Conifers are cone-bearing plants in the taxonomic clade Gymnospermae. Cedars, firs, hemlocks, junipers, larches, redwoods, spruces, and yews all belong to this ancient and noble group. Though less diverse than their angiosperm counterparts, gymnosperms are just as important ecologically. They provide homes and food for countless organisms, capture vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, and happen to make beautiful additions to managed landscapes.

Sequoia sempervirens, the coastal redwood, is an incredibly long-lived conifer (with many specimens exceeding 1,000 years in age) and the tallest species of tree. Photo credit – Nick Goltz, DPM.

Though conifers can serve countless roles in the landscape – from privacy screens, to topiaries, to majestic specimens, they are not without their fair share of pests, diseases and abiotic pitfalls. Here are a few such things to be on the lookout for as you maintain the health of your conifers (or consider planting one).

Like all plants, conifer species have their unique preferences for environmental conditions.  While some cedar and cypress species tolerate wet soils well, many others do not. Some popular ornamentals that hate “wet feet” (soggy soil conditions that lead to root damage) include arborvitae, yews, and many pine species. Winter damage, drought, and genetic issues also frequently impact conifers.

Many “dwarf” varieties originally began as “witches’ brooms” selected and isolated from specimens of their full-sized counterparts with a genetic abnormality. The opposite scenario may also occur, where dwarf varieties spontaneously grow “full-sized” branches. When either occurs unwanted on a managed plant, simply prune away the affected branches and monitor carefully.

Sometimes, dwarf varieties can display genetic “reversions” where non-dwarf branches begin to grow. Photo credit – Nick Goltz, DPM.

Sometimes, witches’ brooms can develop following heavy mite infestations. Besides mites, pines are susceptible to insect damage, including from scales, boring beetles, and bagworms. These pests can cause needle yellowing, defoliation, and sometimes vascular damage, girdling, and death.  Severe insect infestations may lead to increased susceptibility to various diseases and warrant management including insecticide applications.

Adult bagworm females (possibly the evergreen bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) are a common pest of conifers in New England. Photo credit – Nick Goltz, DPM.

Some of the more widespread and damaging diseases of conifers include root-rot diseases caused by oomycetes and fungi including Pythium, Phytophthora, and Fusarium. Others of significance include needle and tip blight diseases caused by fungi from the genera Pestalotiopsis, Mycosphaerella, Phomopsis, and others.

If you have branches browning mysteriously, consider the environmental conditions your plant is experiencing! If too much and too little water isn’t an issue, and you haven’t noticed any insect or mite pests, have your plant examined by a plant pathologist to see if diseases could be affecting your plant. Contact the UConn Home and Garden Education Center at ladybug@uconn.edu to discuss your plant’s health and inquire about submitting a sample to the UConn Plant Diagnostic Laboratory. The UConn PDL is funded, in part, by the state of Connecticut and the USDA through IPM Extension Implementation and National Plant Diagnostic Network grants.