Plant guides, pest timing, and seasonal intelligence for the Puget Sound region.

Codling Moth: Protecting Your Harvest From the Inside Out

The codling moth larva bores into apples and pears, feeding on the core while the fruit looks fine from outside. Learn the one-day management window, degree-day timing for the Puget Sound region, and how to combine sanitation, bagging, CpGV, and targeted sprays to protect your harvest.

Pruning Fig Trees for the Puget Sound Lowlands

Your fig variety determines your pruning method. Learn the breba vs. main crop distinction, one-in-three renewal pruning for Desert King and Lattarula, hard cutback for Chicago Hardy, and summer pinching to triple your harvest.

Mason Bees: The Pollinators Already in Your Garden

Most people think supporting pollinators means keeping honeybees. But the native solitary bees doing the heaviest work in your spring garden have been here all along. A practical guide to mason bee habitat, lifecycle, and management for the Puget Sound region.

Tomato Varieties That Actually Ripen Here

Crabapple Varieties That Earn Their Space

Apple Varieties That Actually Work Here

Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana)

Pacific Wax Myrtle (Morella californica)

Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa)

Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana)

Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)

Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii)

Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)

Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata)

Western Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)

Catawba Rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense)

Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)

Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)

Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)

Gulf Stream Nandina (Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream')

Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)

Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)

Red-Flowering Currant 'King Edward VII' (Ribes sanguineum)

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster')

Red Alder (Alnus rubra)

Creeping Oregon Grape (Mahonia repens)

Red Obelisk Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Red Obelisk')

Sky Pencil Holly (Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil')

Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)

Cripps Golden Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsii')

Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)

Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin)

Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)

Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata)

Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum)

Judas Tree (Cercis siliquastrum)

Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Gray Mold: The Disease Your Climate Was Designed For

Apple Scab: The Disease You Can Plan Against

Anthracnose: Two Diseases, One Name

Armillaria Root Rot: Prevention in a Fungus-Loaded Landscape

Fire Blight vs. Pseudomonas: Diagnosing Spring Shoot Blight

Verticillium Wilt: The Soil Disease That Outlasts Everything

Black Spot on Kelsey's Dogwood: Diagnose, Treat, Prevent

Powdery Mildew: Why Your Climate Gives You an Advantage

Aphids: Why Spraying Is Usually the Wrong First Move

Eriophyid Mites: The Invisible Pest Behind Galls, Blisters, and Distorted Growth

Leafminers: The Pest You Can Almost Always Ignore

Root Weevil: The Night Shift Pest in Every Western Washington Garden

Spider Mites: The Pest That Thrives When Your Plants Are Already Stressed

Crane Flies: What They Are and What They Actually Do to Your Lawn