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Plant of the Week

What It Really Means When Fall Webworm Tents Take Over Your North Carolina Trees This Summer

Silky white webs draped over tree branches are one of summer’s most startling sights in a North Carolina yard. Many homeowners assume the worst, picturing...

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 3, 2026

Field Notes

If Your Cucumber Leaves Develop Pale Yellow Patches This August, Downy Mildew May Be the Cause

If your cucumber leaves turn silver and speckled this August, spider mites usually start the damage

If your cucumber vines keep flowering but set no fruit this August, one hidden mistake usually stops it

The California Ground Beetle Quietly Eats The Snails And Cutworms Wrecking Your Beds, But Snail Bait Kills It Too

From the Garden

If your cucumber vines wilt fast in this August heat, bacterial wilt usually starts it

The California Scrub Jay Quietly Eats The Grubs And Grasshoppers Wrecking Your Beds, But Homeowners Keep Chasing It Off

If your zucchini plants suddenly wilt and collapse in this August heat, squash vine borers usually start it

How To Support California Praying Mantises That Occasionally Eat Garden Pests Without Expecting Them To Clear Your Beds

If your tomatoes are ripening green shoulders that stay hard this August, one hot-sun habit usually starts it

In Bloom

If your zucchini fruit rots at the tip before it ripens this August, blossom-end rot usually starts it

What It Really Means When Copperheads Start Showing Up Along Your North Carolina Wooded Edge This Summer

7 Florida Native Plants That Deter Ticks and Mosquitoes From Your Patio Without a Single Spray

Gardener's Selection

That Spiky California Bug Crawling On Your Roses Is A Baby Ladybug Eating The Aphids, But Homeowners Squash It By Mistake

More Green Lynx Spiders In Your Central Texas Garden Means Fewer Caterpillars Shredding Your Vegetable Beds

If your eggplant leaves are peppered with tiny holes this August, flea beetles usually start the damage

If Your Cantaloupe Fruit Tastes Bland and Watery This August, One Late-Season Watering Habit Usually Starts It

What It Really Means When Fall Webworm Tents Take Over Your North Carolina Trees This Summer

The Potting Shed

The California Alligator Lizard Quietly Eats Black Widows and Snails, But Homeowners Keep Chasing It Off

More Green Anoles On Your Central Texas Fence Means Fewer Aphids Chewing Your Roses This Summer

If Your Bell Peppers Turn Out Thin-Walled and Small This August, Excess Nitrogen Is One Possibility – Not the Only One

7 Native North Carolina Trees That Flower Better Than Bradford Pears Without The Splitting And Stink

If your carrot roots come out forked and twisted this fall, one soil habit usually starts it

More Toads Around Your Central Texas Pond Means Fewer Grasshoppers Chewing Your Vegetable Beds This Summer

If your ripening tomatoes keep splitting and cracking in this August heat, a rapid dry-to-wet change may be the trigger

What It Really Means When Spotted Lanternflies Start Showing Up On Your North Carolina Trees This Summer

More Anole Lizards On Your Central Texas Porch Means Fewer Mosquitoes And Roaches (Here’s How To Bring Them In)

If your tomato leaves are rolling upward and leathery this August, the cause usually starts at the roots

Cucumber Leaves Yellowing Between the Veins in August: Could Magnesium Deficiency Be the Cause?

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Fills Your Fall Yard With Color When The Beetles Have Wrecked Everything Else

Why Your Central Texas Okra Pods Turn Woody and Tough Before You Pick Them In August Heat

If your cucumber vines wilt and collapse overnight this August, the trouble usually starts inside the stem

7 Florida Native Ground Covers That Replace St. Augustine and Shrug Off the Fall Drought

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

7 Florida Native Plants That Make Bats Move In and Clear the Mosquitoes From Your Yard

If your summer squash leaves suddenly show white powdery patches this August, one watering habit usually starts it

Golden Dewdrop: A Florida Landscape Shrub That May Irritate Skin and Can Poison Pets If Eaten

7 Florida Native Groundcovers That Fill Bare Sandy Spots UF/IFAS Backs and Never Ask for Watering

7 Florida Native Plants That Turn Your Yard Into Firefly Territory Again After Years of Dark Nights

The California Kingsnake: A Native Predator That Sometimes Eats Rattlesnakes