Common Garden and Landscape Problems
Learn how to care for your garden and landscaping for each season in Jefferson County.
Click on the corresponding picture below for seasonal garden and landscape resources.
Spring and Early Summer
Trees and Shrubs
- Brown needles on evergreens, happened quickly
- Brown needles on evergreens, happened over winter
- Scattered brown branches in low-lying junipers
- Brown branches on crabapple, apple, pear, mountain ash
- Small sticky clusters of insects on branches/leaves
- Sticky areas on branches/leaves
- Balls or knobs on aspen or poplar branches
Lawn
- Dead areas, particularly on south, west exposures
- Dead appearing patches of grass, particularly before warm-up
- Dead areas of grass, scattered or in pattern
- Grass blades cream to tan-colored from tip down
- White circles of damaged grass appearing after lengthy snow cover melts
- Irregular tunneling in grass
- Dark green rings or arcs of grass
- Lawn grasses flowering
Vegetables
- Seeds don’t sprout, sprout slowly or appear to be missing
- Bean seedlings look like green sticks
- Seedlings cut off at soil line
Summer
Trees and Shrubs
- Balls or knobs on aspen/poplar branches
- Leaves turn brown around the edges
- Leaves are pale green or yellow with green veins
- Cottonwood/poplar/aspen branches dead
- Resinous sunken area on spruce branch, needles may be brown
- Dead branches, possibly gum oozing on trunk on plum, cherry
- Aspen leaves with brown spots of various sizes
- Spruce browning from top down
Lawns
- Brown/tan areas of grass, scattered or in pattern
- Grass blades cream to tan from tip of blade down
- Large (over 3 feet) dark green rings or arcs of grass
Roses
Fruit and Vegetables
- Tomato problems
- Blotchy patches in leafy greens
- “Shotholes” in leaves of cabbage family, tomato/potato, squash, beans and/or lettuce
- Holes in cherry or plum fruit
- Tips of raspberry canes dying
Late Summer and Early Fall
Trees and Shrubs
- Aspen leaves having brown spots of various sizes
- Interior pine, spruce needles turning yellow or brown, dropping
- White or gray substance on leaf, stem surfaces
Insects
- Black insects with red coloring, 1/2 inch long, found in or near home
- Brown to tan, 5/8 to 3/4 inch long insects, found in home