Garden Help Desk

For an Abundant Harvest Next Year This year was a pretty good year for the vegetable gardens, however Fall is the time to give back and tune-up your soil for what you received in produce. There is still plenty of time for garden cleanup and amending. The soil amendments you...

Magnolia Tree Looks Sick and is Dripping Sticky Black Sap All over the Plants below It.   Magnolia scale has become an increasingly common problem on magnolia trees in Illinois.  Magnolia scale, Neolecanium cornuparvum is one of the largest and most conspicuous scale insects in our area. The over-wintering nymphs...

Would you like absolutely spectacular flowers in containers and in your planting beds? Treat your plants to Pesche’s cocktail for growing success! Water your plants well the day before fertilizing. Mix these 3 components together per instructions for 1 gallon. Feed your containers once a week, your flower beds every...

Fall planted mums can put on a beautiful display but often they don't return the following year. Here are some tips for fall planting which will help your mums return along with some maintenance pointers for next year. Site Selection Make sure your planting beds drain well; this is a...