It is that time of year again, time for a review of 2024. Each year comes with its own problems and outcomes. But each year also comes with exciting things and rewards along with them. I try to put my best effort into each year as it comes along to make it the best possible time for my customers as well as my employees and colleagues. For 2024, I will discuss our current disease and insect updates, an update on the Callery Pear, our drought, my trip to the FarWest Show, and my latest achievement.
Insect Update for 2024
First up is the insects. As many of you know, I have more than fallen in love with insects and spiders during my hiking trips across Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. That does not mean that I would love to see new and dangerous invasive insects arrive in our area, just that there are already so many native ones which are interesting. And I do love to see the interaction between insects and invasive insects in my own landscape.
Emerald Ash Borer
Emerald ash borer (EAB) continues to march across our state and region, killing a nearly all the ash trees in its wake. In my own landscape, I saw several trees ranging from 6 to 18 inches in diameter die this year. The smaller diameter trees take only 1 year to die. And they have now been found by the state of Kansas in Nemaha County, even though I found them there in 2023. I would expect an announcement on that in January of 2025.
But there is hope on the horizon. I recently came across an article where ash trees in the Midwest had been found to stage a comeback. A handful of ash trees are putting out chemical defenses which are killing the larvae before they can kill the tree. These trees are being studied now, so the future looks good to have ash trees back in our landscapes in the future, just like the return of the American elm.
What can you do to prevent/stop EAB? In your own landscapes, if EAB is not yet present, identify which trees in your landscape are ash. Hire an ISA Certified Arborist to examine your trees for soundness, longevity, and other issues to determine if it is a good tree to save for treatment, or prepare for removal. Treatment is a viable option for many homeowners who have ash trees as their main shade.
Japanese Beetle
In my own landscape I am witnessing a wondrous thing in regards to Japanese beetles. While they have plagued us for 6 years now, I am seeing an extraordinary increase in native predatory insects, especially assassin bugs. These predators are killing large numbers of Japanese beetles. But the main key for success in control is trapping, as long as the traps are put out before the beetles emerge from the soil. Do the traps attract beetles from the neighbors? Yes. But with the use of 55 gallon barrels of water placed under the traps, I have never had too many beetles to collect daily. I feed these trapped beetles to my ducks. I do not use pesticides in my own landscape because I wish to see butterflies, bees, and other insects.
Other Insects in 2024
As you know, I am an avid hiker. I love to spend not only my lunch breaks at local lakes and wildlife areas, but I travel for walks with the Kansas Native Plant Society, and sometimes with the Audubon Society of Kansas. Also, I post all my find to iNaturalist, a page where all life can be tracked for projects or personal goals. For example, in 2024 I posted 2,147 identifications of insects, primarily in Kansas. I had 1,042 different species of insects, including 2 new to me butterflies-the Queen and the Red-Banded Hairstreak.
But it was a down year for monarchs in our area, I only posted 4 observations, all adults on the wing. I did not even see one monarch caterpillar. Why the absence? I can only surmise that the lingering warm winter weather and summer drought posed a problem for them in their return to the US from Mexico and that breeding was interrupted by lack of food during the flight time, which likely was earlier due to warm weather early.
Callery Pear in 2024
What about it? I did write a post earlier this year, in a good riddance view. You can find it here. You will find that I am not a fan of the callery pear, nor any of its relations. The Kansas Department of Agriculture did put our a statement effectively banning the sale or transport within the state starting in 2027. I will be happy to see it gone from the nurseries.
How Drought Affected Us
Weather patterns are cyclical, and drought comes back around a lot more often than we like. But I am not talking about an extended drought period, such as months with little or no rain. For in the spring and early summer of 2024, we had rain, plenty of it. Not flooding, but steady rain when we need it most. And it was not too stormy. But starting September 1st, we saw no rain from that day until October 22nd, nearly 8 weeks without moisture.
The lack of rain during that period made it very difficult on a lot of small towns who had more moisture early on, then sold water to other towns. And they ran out. It also made it difficult to plant trees, and keep trees and other plants alive during the 2 month drought. Relief has come to Northeast Kansas, with more than 6 inches of rain in October and November, but much of the state is still in trouble. Including North Central Kansas where I was born.
Excitement in 2024
I was very much surprised in early summer when Doug Grimm asked Greg and I to go to FarWest Show in August. This show is the biggest of its kind west of the Mississippi River, and it is something I have wanted to see for years. It was an exciting trip to Oregon, to see the mountains, and the valleys where much of our plant stock is grown. We toured several nurseries, including J. Frank Schmidt, where most of our bareroot trees are grown. And Monrovia nursery has an excellent botanical garden around their sales offices. I had a great time and I hope I get to go back again.
Another thing which happened was I studied for and passed my Kansas Certified Nurseryman exam and became certified. This achievement was one which I had been thinking of since Nadine retired. As the Nursery Manager for Grimm’s Gardens, I thought it would be a benefit to our customers to be certified by the state.
Coming in 2025
What is coming? Well, we do not know what the future holds. But we can hope for the best and keep moving forward. If you come to the nursery in 2025, expect to see some new plants, as we are getting some in from Iseli Nursery (specialty evergreens) and Monrovia (cool new perennials). There has been even more talk in the industry about native plants, so expect several blogs on them in 2025. We will also continue to have ice cream at our events, courtesy of Doug Grimm and his tractor.
Conclusion
2024 is almost over, and 2025 is coming. I expect to see a lot of new things coming in the new year. I would hope that all of you who read this blog are well and ready for spring to come. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Happy planting!
