Garden Troubleshooting

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A green backyard lawn surrounded by small shrubs.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Killing Your Lawn?

November 8, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
Kill your lawn! has become a popular phrase and landscaping trend in recent years. Whether you are looking to completely remove your lawn or just renovate it, this article will give you useful information to help you decide how best to do away with your existing lawn and prepare for your new design.
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Green feather-like leaves and white flat, clusters of flowers.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Poisonous Plants in the Landscape

September 19, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
Plentiful rainfall in California this spring created an ideal environment for many plants to thrive, including wildflowers, trees, and shrubs that desperately needed the water. However, other potentially harmful species also benefited from the unusually wet weather.
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Graphic image depicting horizontal and vertical fire paths.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Weeds & Wildfires

August 28, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
Wildfires are part of California's ecosystems, and they do not have to lead to the destruction of structures and livelihoods. Each of us can contribute to improving wildfire resilience, from individual homeowners and businesses to entire communities.
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A person standing in front of a hillside covered in yellow flowering French broom shrubs.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Invasive Pest Spotlight: Brooms

August 23, 2023
By Mackenzie F Patton
The Invasive Pest Spotlight focuses on relevant or emerging invasive species in California. In this issue we are covering brooms, a group of invasive shrubs. Invasive Broom facts Brooms are upright shrubs in the legume family that typically produce small, yellow, pea-shaped flowers.
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A patch of highway iceplant, Carpobrotus edulis. Photo by Mitch Barrie, Flickr.com.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Invasive Spotlight: Highway Iceplant

June 5, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
You've probably seen this invasive plant growing along highways or the coast in California. Highway iceplant, Carpobrotus edulis, was intentionally introduced to prevent soil erosion along highways and coasts but it has since invaded many different ecosystems and outcompetes native plant species.
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Figure 2. Visual rating of phytotoxicity to grasses (A) and broadleaves (B) from herbicides used in the Sacramento trial. Arrows indicate second and third repeat applications after the initial treatment.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Organic Herbicides for Weed Control in Urban Landscapes

March 30, 2023
By Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Weed management in landscaped areas can be challenging. Weeds may need to be controlled for public safety, fire reduction, aesthetics, and elimination of harborage for other pests.
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Blooming Bermuda buttercup next to a residential fence.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Weeds in Landscape Plantings

January 25, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
[Originally featured in the Winter 2022 Issue of UC IPM's Green Bulletin Newsletter] Weeds can be a problem in any landscaped areas including around trees, shrubs, flower beds, or lawns and turf.
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