In the Garden: The dreaded Japanese beetle is back in Nebraska, chomping on plants | Home & Garden

Avid gardeners weren’t the only visitors when I hosted a stop of the Omaha Rose Society tour last weekend.

A few people shared that they’d seen Japanese beetles on some of my roses, disappointing news for everyone.

“We are unsure of what the population will look like this year,” said Scott Evans of Nebraska Extension in Douglas-Sarpy Counties. “These beetles will feed on over 300 ornamental and agricultural plants.”

Evans said there are some common misconceptions when it comes to the destructive insects:

• Beetle traps work, but they work too well. Each trap has the potential to bring in a few extra 100,000 insects into the landscape.
• Grub management will not prevent or stop adult beetles from flying into the landscape. Grub management will only protect the turf.
• Milky Spores may not be as effective as it once was. It only kills the grub of the Japanese beetle and will not manage the other four white grubs we can see in the lawn.

The best defense to help reduce damage to the landscape is by spot treating highly prized or high-value plants, Evans said. Consider using less toxic options such as neem-based products to reduce collateral damage to beneficial insects.

Hand-picking has been proved to be effective. Do so around 7 p.m. to help reduce the distress pheromones that the plant emits and the aggregation pheromones the beetles produce.

Evans’ co-worker John Porter said the insects love lots of fruits, especially peaches and grapes.

To protect them, you can spray on a product called Surround. It’s a finely powdered spray that makes those plants less tasty but washes right off.

“Most people don’t use it in the landscape because it makes the plants ugly,” Porter said.

The beetles continue to move west, but they’ll never leave completely. Porter said in West Virginia, where he is from, they are now a common pest.

“I came here one of the first years they were here,” he said. “I could not figure out why everyone was losing their ever-loving mind about Japanese beetles.”

I want to thank the Omaha Rose Society for asking me to be a part of their garden tour.

Not because I think I had an amazing property to show off — but because it made me get my gardens into the best shape they’ve ever been.

It took an army to pull off that transformation — 21 bags of yard waste in all — and made me realize that my sisters might be right when they tell me to stop making new beds and just take better care of what I’ve already planted.

But will that stop me next year when I lose my mind buying plants? I think I can safely say the answer is a resounding no. When that fever hits, there’s probably not a force in the world that can keep me from a discounted flower I covet.

I already used the tour as an excuse to buy every plant that caught my eye, reasoning that as the garden writer, my place had to look good. That’s why I’m doing a no-spend July, so if you see me at a garden center buying something, please stop me.

I’m sure I’ll have a valid reason why I need the three or four plants in my cart.

Two disappointing items. I never got time to label everything as I wanted and why can’t we still have yard-waste pickup? People are working in their yard throughout the summer.

I want to thank my girls, my family, neighbors and friends for helping me pull this off. Even if it wasn’t the best stop on the tour, my gardens give me constant joy. And probably angst as I see all the weeds quickly sprouting again.

Lincoln is one of seven cities from Europe and the United States to adopt Stockholm’s 2014 Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge winning biochar project.

With the project, plant waste from parks and homes — everything from grass clippings to trees and limbs — is made into a charcoal-like substance that residents can then use in their yards and gardens to help combat climate change. When biochar is used as a soil fertilizer, it promotes plant growth while simultaneously absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and locking it into the soil. It also reduces stormwater runoff.

Darmstadt, Germany; Helsingborg, Sweden; Sandnes, Norway; Helsinki, Finland; Cincinnati, Lincoln and Minneapolis will each receive up to $400,000 in funding, along with implementation and technical support from Bloomberg Philanthropies to develop citywide biochar projects and engage residents in the fight against climate change.

In total, the projects are expected to produce 3,750 tons of biochar, which would sequester almost 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year — the equivalent of taking 6,250 cars off the roads every year. In addition, thousands of residents across the seven cities will contribute to the success of this work.

Lincoln plans to capture community wood waste for biochar production and use it to support tree plantings, urban agriculture, public gardens, composting and stormwater treatment. Lincoln will build its first biochar production facility working closely with the Nebraska Forest Service, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and other stakeholders.

“Stockholm’s Biochar Project is a remarkable example of how a great idea in one city can inspire positive climate action in cities around the world,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “We are eager to see how civic leaders in these next seven cities build on Stockholm’s lessons learned and take their own efforts to engage residents and reduce carbon emissions to entirely new heights.”

Since winning the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors challenge in 2014 and opening its first of five planned biochar facilities in 2017, the city of Stockholm has produced more than 100 tons of biochar and distributed it to 300,000 citizens.

I received a small bag of biochar with my Bloom Box from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, and I’m eager to give it a try.