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

Apple Varieties That Actually Work Here

Disease resistance, not chill hours, determines which apple trees produce fruit in the Puget Sound lowlands. Nine varieties that need no spray program, plus rootstock and pollination guidance.

Apple Scab: The Disease You Can Plan Against

Apple scab is the most reliable fungal disease on any Malus in the Puget Sound lowlands. Identification, the Mills table, cultivar resistance ratings, fall sanitation, and protectant vs. kickback spray timing for Western Washington fruit growers and landscapers.

Bronze Birch Borer: Why Your Birch Is Dying from the Top Down

Bronze birch borer kills stressed birches from the canopy down, and understanding the delay between drought stress and visible damage is the key to saving trees that can still be saved. GDD timing, resistance chemistry, treatment thresholds, and species substitution for the Puget Sound lowlands.

Apple Varieties That Actually Work Here

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)

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