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I find there’s often some confusion about native, non-native and invasive plants. Native plants are those that have been around before colonial times. They have an ecological connection to the place they’re growing. Non-native plants do not. Most of the flowers sold at garden centers are non-natives. Most of the classic flowers in our yards (lilacs, peonies, old roses, irises, etc.) are non-native. And they are lovely. Even though most non-natives do not serve the local wildlife as well as native plants, they generally do no harm.
Invasive plants, on the other hand, will do harm and should be avoided. An invasive plant has been scientifically determined to damage the environment, economy or human health. Every state has an official list of invasive plants. The one for Pennsylvania can be found .
Penn State Extension lists several common landscaping plants sold at Garden Centers that are on the official state invasive plant list, including:
Invasive Trees:
Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana-Bradford)
Invasive Shrubs
Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) Butterfly Bush (Buddleia species) Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) Winged Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) Privet (Ligustrum species) Exotic Bush Honeysuckle (Lonicera species)
Invasive Vines
Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) English Ivy (Hedera helix) Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
Invasive Herbaceous
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Crown Vetch (Coronilla varia)



The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect known to be established in Eastern Berks County and portions of Montgomery, Bucks and Chester Counties. This insect has potential to severely impact a number of agricultural commodities. Attempts are being made to eradicate this insect in the affected area.
Residents of municipalities included in the quarantine are encouraged to sign up as volunteers to band trees to trap and destroy this insect on their property. To participate, you must own property with a confirmed population of spotted lanternfly, and have Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven) trees. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) crews will service other targeted properties where volunteers are not available.
Penn State Extension, in cooperation with the PDA, and the United States Department of Agriculture is offering three opportunities to train volunteers.
What is involved?
Interested residents must attend one training session to participate in the banding program.
Participants must agree to hang sticky bands on a number of Ailanthus trees on their property, service these bands every two weeks from May through December, and enter results into an on-line database. The estimated time to service a single band, count, and enter data is 15-20 minutes every two weeks. Five bands could take about an hour. The number of trees banded will vary depending on the availability of equipment and time commitment of the volunteer.
Participants must agree to schedule pick-up of spent bands for proper disposal by PDA crew members or other volunteers.
Three training sessions for potential volunteers are scheduled:
Friday,garden furniture, April 29, 2016: 10 a.m. – 12 noon at the District Township office, 202 Weil Road, Boyertown, PA
Saturday, April 30, 2016: 10 a.m. – 12 noon at the District Township office, 202 Weil Road, Boyertown, PA
Friday, May 6, 2016: 10 a.m. – 12 noon at the Upper Hanover Township office, 1704 Pillsbury Road, East Greenville, PA
Call the Penn State Extension office in Lehigh County at 610-391-9840 or email your name, address and phone number to to register for a training session.
What is provided?
Training: At the training sessions, volunteers will be shown how to identify target hosts of spotted lanternfly, how to identify spotted lanternfly, how to band trees, how to accurately count specimens on a tree band, and how to enter their results into the online database.
Equipment: Equipment is limited, so targeting of infested properties is essential for the success of the program. These properties will receive top priority. Provided equipment includes rolls of tree bands, push pins, trap labels, and trash bags.
Support: Field survey crews will begin employment with PDA and be assigned to specific areas. These crews will be available to assist with site assessment, initial band deployment, initial insect identification, waste disposal and biosecurity, and covering services if needed. Volunteers should expect regular contact from the PDA crew assigned to their area.
For more information on the spotted lanternfly, and a current quarantine map go to:




Black spot is a fungal disease that causes spots on rose leaves, eventually causing the leaves to turn yellow and drop off.
Like most fungal diseases, black spot thrives in wet, humid weather, usually when temperatures are in the mid-70s. The fungal spores can survive the winter in fallen leaves and infected canes.
Prevention is the first and best line of defense. Remove infected canes and leaf litter. Fungus spores need water on the leaf to germinate. So taking steps to make sure rose bushes dry quickly is important. Roses should be planted in areas with plenty of sunlight and good circulation. Prune roses to improve air flow.
If you see black spot disease developing, begin treatment early to gain control. Stan V. Griep of the American Rose Society, wrote , that he likes to use Green Cure as his main fungicidal spraying product, which is earth friendly and effective. He also recommends neem oil.
You can also plant rose cultivars resistant to black spot. Penn State Extension recommends the following cultivars: David Thompson, Bebe Lune, Coronado, Ernest H. Morse, Fortyniner, Grand Opera, Lucy Cromphorn, Sphinx, Tiara, Carefree Beauty, and Simplicity are considered resistant. Teas, hybrid teas, hybrid pertetuals, Pernetianas, Austrian briers, and polyanthas are usually very susceptible while rugosa hybrids, moss roses, and wichuraianas are more resistant. The American Rose Society recommends the following varieties as resistant: Bride s Dream, Canadian, White Star, Cary Grant, Dainty Bess, Duet, Electron, Elina, Elizabeth Taylor, Helmut Schmidt, Keepsake, Lady, Lady Rose, Lady X, Las Vegas, Mikado, Nantucket, Olympiad, Otto Miller, Pascale, Polarstern, Precious Platinum,furniture outlet stores, Princess of Manaco, Pristine, Sheer Bliss, Sunbright, Tansinnroh, and Uncle Joe.
For more details on dealing with black spot disease, see .



(Picture from: http://rmkkcompanion.com/?p=3188)
Deer are charming to see, especially with their fawns in the spring – that is, as long as they aren’t munching all the plants in your yard.
There are some things you can do to keep them at a safe and pleasing distance.
Deer don’t like scented plants. This includes most any herb, plants in the mint family, garlic, onions and others. Some people will plant certain mints at the border of their property to keep deer out. One to consider is Meehan’s mint. This is a low growing ground cover that isn’t as aggressive as other mints. It’s a great plant to insert into your flower gardens. There’s also mountain mint, which is a more aggressive variety. I’ve seen people use it as a kind of border hedge (it gets several feet tall). When planted in the shade, it behaves itself pretty well and doesn’t spread as much. It’s a good deterrent for deer not only because of its scent but also because it’s tall and deer tend not want to walk through taller plants. Another strategy is to plant herbs (or onions and garlic) around plants you’re trying to protect from the deer.
Aside from fragrant plants, other deer repellents can be effective, but often require repeated application. Many repellents may not be suitable for the home garden because of odor. Most homeowners prefer to use ammonium soaps and/or human hair. Human hair can be obtained from a local barbershop. It can be scattered in the garden bed and also placed in small bags (cloth or plastic--if plastic is used, punch three to four holes in the bottom). Hang them around the garden or individually in trees. Soap bars can be placed in individual trees. Place these items about 30 inches off the ground, about the average height of a deer. More extensive info on deer repellants can be found .
Fencing deer also works well, but it’s an expensive option, given that the best fences for deer are eight feet high. Still, it’s effective and long lasting, and requires little maintenance. Dogs also keep deer away.
If none of these strategies work for you,buy outdoor furniture, a handy lists of garden plants that deer tend not eat.
All that said, if deer are hungry enough (like during a severe winter), not much deters them. But these ideas should help a lot in an average year.
Please feel free to share other tips that have worked for you!




(Shadberries. Photo from )
Many people are familiar with picking and eating wild blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
But it’s interesting that so few know about the berries on Shadbush. Shadbush is a small tree native to our local forest, also known as Serviceberry and Juneberry. Amelanchier is its Latin name. It gets the name shadbush because it blooms when the shad are running in the rivers. (Shad live in seawater and return to fresh water in April to breed. Right now the shadbush are about to bloom and the shad fishermen are out on the river.)
The berries are ready to pick in June, thus the Juneberry name. The ‘berry’ isn’t technically a berry but a pome. (Shadbush belongs to the rose family, as do apples.)
Many species of Amelanchier are native to much of the eastern and western parts of the country. In our area, Amelanchier Canadensis is one of the best for fruit.
The fruit most resembles a large blueberry. They are delicious. When ripe, the berries are dark-red, almost purplish. They have small, soft seeds, which can be eaten (they have a slightly almond flavor which adds to the deliciousness). The fruit is wonderful straight from the tree. They can also be used in any berry recipe, but it’s best to cook them first with a little sugar.
Aside from the benefits of the fruit, the shadbush is a wonderful addition to any yard with room for a tree. It’s easy to grow and is often used by landscapers as an ornamental tree. A mature tree reaches about 15-30 tall. It features showy, slightly fragrant, white flowers in April. Its green leaves turn orange-red in autumn. So it’s beautiful in all seasons.



about this blog Master Gardeners are volunteers trained by Penn State Extension Horticulture Educators. Once they complete their training, they cooperate with service agencies and community groups on a wide range of gardening projects. Their talents and energies are directed toward providing a link between their community and Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach.
Emelie Swackhamer: Horticulture Educator, Lehigh & Northampton Co. Cooperative Extension