Become a Plant Crime Scene Investigator (CSI)! Learn about key plant diseases and insect pests that can cause problems for favorite trees and shrubs in the landscape.

Why does it seem like overnight your favorite shrubs and trees get so many leaf spots? Should your kinnikinnick leaves be so thick, curly and red? And what insect is eating your rhododendrons and azaleas? This session will focus on common foliar pests and diseases of woody plants, including pear rusts, serviceberry rust, dogwood anthracnose, rhododendron powdery mildew, azalea leaf gall, kinnikinnick leaf gall, mountain ash sawfly, azalea sawfly, viburnum leaf beetle, rhododendron and azalea lacebugs, root weevils and cutworms. Plant Health Care (PHC) approaches to management, including accepted Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods will be covered.

In addition to an in-person lecture on foliar pests and diseases, this class will include a field session that will cover how to diagnose common plant problems, including how to scout and monitor for diseases and insect pests, how to recognize what is not normal for a plant, and what kind of management plan will work best for the issue. This class will be held at the UWBG Washington Park Arboretum.