Recent News

The ISU Plant & Insect Diagnostic Clinic provides diagnosis for plant problems and insect, plant or mushroom identification.  Reaching the Clinic with your sample is now more streamlined, as a revised and simplified submission form t

Grapes and raspberries can be grown in the back yard, with a little bit of ingenuity and work to construct a trellis to support the plants.  See the Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Yard & Garden news release for May 9, 2017

Recent requests for information from Master Gardeners and others have prompted us to share what we know about "jumping worms," another in a long list of invasive species that could have a negative impact on our landscapes and natural areas. 

The following are highlights and updates about samples and questions recently received in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic. Visit the PIDC's Facebook page to ask questions and for updates and more pictures.

The following are highlights and updates about samples and questions recently received in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic. Visit the PIDC's Facebook page to ask questions and for updates and more pictures.

Small fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, grapes and blueberries can be an enjoyable part of the home garden.

The National Weather Service is seeking citizen science volunteers to collect daily rainfall reports each morning.  Volunteers buy and install a standard rain gauge for about $30, take a morning measurement, and submit their observations to a

Cracks on the trunks of trees may be caused by environmental factors such wind, harsh winter conditions and mechanical injuries among others.  Cracks become the entrance point for decay fungi.

The following are highlights and updates about samples and questions recently received in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic. Visit the PIDC's Facebook page to ask questions and for updates and more pictures.

With the arrival of  spring, many people across the state are eyeing their local nurseries, greenhouses and garden centers for trees and shrubs to plant to spruce up their property.

Popular bedding plants such as geranium, petunia or coleus may develop crown and root rots.  Pythium is one of the pathogens that we have encountered in several plant samples this spring. Symptoms can vary by plant age.

The following are highlights and updates about samples and questions recently received in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic. Visit the PIDC's Facebook page to ask questions and for updates and more pictures.

The Horticulture and Home Pest Newsletter was created 30 years ago as a spin-off from the Insect, Weed & Plant Disease Newsletter.  In 2005, HHPN became an electronic newsletter after 18 years as a printed, mailed-by-subscription newslett

The following are highlights and updates about samples and questions recently received in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic. Visit the PIDC's Facebook page to ask questions and for updates and more pictures.

Crabgrass is a common weed in many lawns.  Crabgrass is an annual, warm-season grass.  Germination of crabgrass seeds usually begins about mid-April in southern Iowa, early May in northern parts of the state.  Crabgrass seeds contin

The following are highlights and updates about samples and questions recently received in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic. Visit the PIDC's Facebook page to ask questions and for updates and more pictures.

As perennial as the bur oak, and dependable as the tolling of the campanile on central campus, we again come to the time of year when arborists, nursery and landscape professionals, and tree lovers in general gather for the ISU Shade Tree Sho

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Master Gardener program volunteers help extend consumer horticulture science with practice through there local county extension offices.  Here are two summaries of how Master Gardener