Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County

Helping Gardeners Put Knowledge to Work

We are community volunteers. Our mission is to support, teach and encourage a diverse community of gardeners using current research-based horticulture practices. We invite you to explore our website and over 400 blog posts about gardening in Western North Carolina. Learn more

Looking for Gardening Education?  See our list of over 40 Videos 2023 Gardening Programs

Spotted Lantern Fly Confirmed in NC! This piercing-sucking insect produces copious amounts of honeydew causing black sooty mold to grow on infested plants as well as homes and other structures. They are considered a nuisance pest of over 70 species of plants, and can severely damage several crops, including grapes. Report it if you see it! Click here to report. For more information about this destructive pest, click here.

The Learning Garden is offering over thirty, in-person gardening programs in 2023! Check it out ➜ 

Getting Rid of Ants in Your Garden?

Want to banish ants from your landscape? Think again! Although ants deservedly get a bad rap for invading our homes, when they stay outdoors, they are more often beneficial to our gardens. If you have wooded areas on your property, you may be delighted by the appearance of Trilliums or other beautiful flowers brought there by ants.

Because they’re so small, you may not have noticed that there are many varieties of ants. In our North Carolina mountains, almost 100 different ant species are afoot. Identifying the ants you see in your yard is the first step in deciding how to react. Most of our WNC ants are from the two most common ant subfamilies: Formicinae and Myrmicinae. An important hint about the role many ants play in our gardens is that Myrmicinae are ants that eat starches, which often come from appendages to the plant seeds that they harvest and store. Myrmecochory refers to seed dispersal by ants. Although ants taking your plant seeds may sound like a bad idea, researchers have found that as many as 50% of the non-woody plants in our eastern deciduous forests may depend on ants for spreading their seeds. Many of our favorite wildflowers depend on such seed dispersal, and it isn’t just spreading the seeds around that the ants contribute. By taking them back to their nests, ants protect the seeds from being eaten by predators or destroyed by fire. Finally, ant nests have richer soil than surrounding areas, providing better conditions for the seeds to sprout and prosper.

Of course, not all ants are our friends; for information about common ants to discourage or avoid, see this page for ant identification and treatment: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/ants.htm

Ant identification can be an interesting summer family project, but be extremely careful that children not handle ants or investigate ant nests without supervision as some species bite. Here in the mountains we do not typically encounter fire ants, which are particularly dangerous, but they have invaded many other areas of North Carolina.

The ant species that is most involved in seed dispersal, Aphaenogaster rudis.

Article written by Debbie Green, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

Should I remove a shrub that looks dead, a victim of the winter of 2013-14 ?

For months now we’ve been saying “Don’t be in a hurry to declare any of your woody plants dead.  Nature has a way of healing many problems. Wait awhile.”

I think the time has come to modify that recommendation in some situations.

One is where the plant is showing new growth in some areas, but many branches do not. You scratch the surface with your thumbnail and no green cambium is visible. Twigs snap easily.

Step back and take a good look at that tree or shrub.  Imagine what it will look like if the “dead” wood is removed.  Will the shape of the remaining structure be acceptable?  Is there a likelihood that the “live” branches will fill in and eventually heal the negative effect on your landscape?

If the answer is a very positive “Yes!”,  I’d say go ahead and remove the bad wood. Give the new growth space to develop.   Keep your fingers crossed.

If “No”,  it may be time to remove the plant.

The other situation where I’d say “Take it out!” is when the plant never should have been put there in the first place.  It’s right next to a heat pump or an air conditioning condenser where it gets blasts of hot air year round.  Or it blocks the view as you back your car into the street.  Or it’s underneath the living room window and you’ve had to cut it back every other year.

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Take it out!  Remove it and if you feel a need to replace it choose something more appropriate for that site. But choose one which will survive on the nutrients, moisture, pH and sun provided by the desired placement.

NOTE:  Landscaping around a heat pump or air conditioning condenser might be used to provide summer shade from a deciduous tree or to conceal the machinery.  In any case allow at least five feet for air circulation around the unit for air flow and service access.

Article written by Glenn Palmer, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

Rabbits, Coons and Big Black Bears: Wildlife in the Domestic Garden

Having a successful garden, whether vegetable or ornamental is not always easy.   Definitely enjoyable, but none the less, having a successful garden is difficult.   There are multitudes of things that can go wrong, so we don’t need additional problems caused from the wildlife in our habitat.  Respect our wildlife friends and learn to adapt to living with them.    The animals are learning to thrive in their adaption to human occupation of their environment as we must learn to adapt to their occupation.  

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Small animals (rabbits, raccoons, groundhogs, etc.) enjoy munching on garden veggies. There seem to be a great number of remedies to repel the little critters. Having your own defensive army of dogs and cats seems to be high on that list, but who wants the dogs running and digging in the vegetable garden or cats depositing baby rabbits on the front porch.

Apparently, the small critters turn and run from smelly things. Used kitty litter, moth balls, dried sulfur, dried blood, blood meal, human hair, and strong smelling soap all are included in the lists of critter repellants. All of these listed items may be repellents, but the only truly effective way to limit the gardens exposure is to fence it in. Chicken wire fencing 30” tall is enough to keep the rabbits at bay.   Raccoons and groundhogs are harder to deter, and will require higher, heavier duty construction, and it may have to be electrified to have success. All can and will dig under wire, so in addition to above ground, we need about 8 inches below ground too.  Remember also that trapping and transporting them is only relocating the problem to someone else.  

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The big black bears require a different approach and gardening amongst them is best addressed by humans adapting to their presence. Bears are omnivorous…your fruits and berries and bee hives are their smorgasbord. Having any of these is an invitation for the bears to visit, but there are many things we can do to limit additional invitations. For instance:

  • Secure garbage in shed or garage until absolutely necessary to put on street. Leftover human food should be limited in trash…and freezing the leftovers will help eliminate the smell. Apply ammonia to garbage to repel the bears.
  • Remove leftover pet food and store inside.    
  • Clean grill and grease catcher after each use.
  • Suspend bird feeders 10 feet high and 6 feet away from trees or eliminate completely in warm weather. Feed the birds in the winter while the bears are hibernating (November to March).
  • Sprinkle lime on compost.
  • Remove any food from your car.
  • Harvest fruit and veggies as soon as ripe. Remove fallen fruit from the ground.
  • Remove citronella candles from outside sitting areas.
  • Place electric fencing around bee hives and orchards.

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 Many of us have elected to live in the mountains and with the wildlife that is abundant in those mountains.  Adaptation is our key to successful gardening, living and loving our environment and habitat. Enjoy!

Article written by Patsy McNatt, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

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Buncombe County Extension Office
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Helpline 828-255-5522

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