Around 29,000 cases of West Nile Virus have been reported in the U.S. since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This makes the use of repellents very important as we begin to enjoy outdoor activities. There are many excuses for not using repellents such as they don’t smell good or they’re too expensive, [...]

During May, we begin to see the adult May and June beetles flying around lights or onto window screens, usually at night. The female May beetle deposits eggs into the turf from April through May; whereas the June beetle deposits eggs from May through June. The eggs hatch into grub worms that are creamy white in [...]

Neil Sperry says the best spring-flowering trees for our area are redbuds (“Oklahoma,” “Forest Pansy” and other varieties), Mexican plums and, later in spring, “Little Gem” southern magnolias. “Aristocrat” pear trees have much stronger branching than brittle “Bradfords.” Buy in bloom for [...]

The average date of the last killing frost is March 20. It’s too early to fertilize St. Augustine and bermuda grass. Too early to plant heat-needing plants like caladiums, purslane, peppers, bean seeds, bermuda seed and others. Better to wait to plant St. Augustine and bermuda sod until April 1. [...]