You can bring a specimen of the plant or pest to the Orange County Agriculture Commissioner for identification, using the following procedure:

• Take the appropriately packaged specimen to the counter at 1750 S Douglass Road, Bldg D, Anaheim, CA. 92806.

• Completely fill out the postcard on both sides as indicated in the countertop example. Secure the post card to the specimen with paper clips or enclose the card in a bag with the specimen.
• Leave specimen with the completed card in the counter top bin.

The postcard will be returned with the name of the specimen and/or a brief synopsis. The Agriculture Commissioner does not provide pest control recommendations and suggests that gardeners consult pest control businesses listed in the yellow pages directory, retail nurseries, or home/farm supply establishments for pest control information, if needed.  Visit the website www.ocagcomm.com for more information, or phone or fax: Telephone (714) 447-7100  Fax (714) 567-6203

If you then have additional questions, contact the Master Gardener Hot Line by telephone (714) 708-1646 or by email at ucmastergardeners@yahoo.com

Most plants that are considered “poisonous” are not necessarily lethal; they are called “poisonous” because they can cause some kind of harm. Only a small number of plants are actually deadly. Usually a large quantity of berries, pods, leaves, flowers or seeds must be eaten to cause symptoms.

Be aware of plants treated with pesticides or fertilizers. Non-toxic plants treated with toxic chemicals can become dangerous. The website below contains extensive lists of plants that may be harmful in some way; plants may be located either by common name or by scientific name. Each plant entry includes information about the level of toxicity.

http://envhort.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/

If you suspect that someone (or a pet) has ingested poisonous plant material:

• Remove any remaining plant parts from the mouth.
• If the victim is choking and cannot breathe, call 9-1-1.
• Otherwise, call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-876-4766 (1-800-8-POISON) anytime, anyplace in California.

If you are advised to go to an emergency room for treatment, take the plant or a part of the plant with you. Do not take a single leaf or a single berry.

If you are advised to go to a nursery to get the plant identified, keep in mind that plants are usually not very quickly digested, so there is time to get a correct identification. The correct name can result in the proper treatment to prevent symptoms from occurring if the plant was poisonous. If the plant was not dangerous, knowing the name can prevent needless treatment and worry.

The following laboratories will test your soil for a fee. Call to learn how to take a soil sample.

Associated Labs (Ed Behare)>
806 North Batavia
Orange, CA 92868
(714) 771-6900

Soil and Plant Laboratory
1594 North Main Street
Orange, CA 92867
(714) 282-8777

You can also purchase a soil testing kit from most nurseries.

The International Society of Arboriculture’s website provides names and contact information for ISA Certified Arborists as well as information on tree selection and care: www.treesaregood.com

Check the yellow page under Trees, Tree Service or Tree Care Service.  A listing indicates some degree of permanence.  Beware of door-knockers. Most reputable companies have all the work they can handle without going door-to-door.

Determine if the arborist is certified through a local certification program or the International Society of Arboriculture. Certification requires appropriate training, experience, and knowledge as evidenced by successfully completing a standardized application and testing process. In some cities, arborists are required to have a license. Check with city hall, then use only an arborist who is in compliance if licensing is included in your community’s ordinances.

Ask for certificates of insurance, including proof of liability for personal and property damage and workman’s compensation. Then phone the insurance company to make certain the policy is current. Under some circumstances, you can be held financially responsible if an uninsured worker is hurt on your property, or damage is done to a neighbor’s property!

Ask for local references.  Take a look at some, and if possible, talk with the former client.

A good arborist will recommend topping a tree only under rare circumstances (such as to save the tree after severe physical damage to the crown, or for the decorative effect of pollarding in a formal setting or restricted space).  A conscientious arborist will not use climbing spikes if the tree is to remain in the landscape.  Beware of an arborist who is eager to remove a living tree. Removal should be a last resort.

Properly maintained trees add property value, beauty, oxygen, and shade.  Many trees, originally planted in an effort to get quick results, can result in problems that are very expensive to solve.  Problems caused by improperly chosen trees include: increased fire hazard; root damage to structures and sidewalks; and seedling trees all over your garden (and the neighbors’ gardens, as well as any adjacent wildland).

One of the most common tree problems is selection of a tree that matures to a size too large for its location. There are many well-behaved trees that will enhance your garden and give pleasure for many years.  Ask your arborist or nursery personnel for recommendations.

If you find a swarm of bees in your back yard, don't call an exterminator right away. O.C. entomologist Nick Nisson says that if the bees are hanging on a tree, chances are that they will move off in a few days.

If bees settle in a structure such as a roof or wall, they may be there for the long run. There are services which will remove and rescue the bees, and the fee is about the same as for extermination. With the global bee shortage, rescue may be the better choice.

Bee Rescue Services in Orange County:

• Melinda Nelson, 714-595-7866
  
• Jim Mieras, 714-447-3855
  

Many of the plants on the market billed as fast growers and/or "drought-tolerant" are highly invasive exotics.  If you have any doubts about a plant you are considering, please check the information on the California Invasive Plant Council's Web site, http://cal-ipc.org
which lists most of the invasive plants causing big problems all over the state.

As Cal-IPC puts it: "The problem plants listed here can escape from gardens in the Southern California region and invade wildlands (see photos under each plant listed). Because of their aggressive growth, these plants degrade native habitat, and some increase flood and fire risk. Each section lists other desirable landscaping plants that serve as good alternatives to the invasive plants."

Pampas grass or jubata grass (Cortaderia selloana or Cortaderia jubata) is one of the worst invasive exotic plants.  Cal-IPC notes that the "wind can carry the tiny seeds of these plants up to 20 miles. The massive size of each pampas grass plant with its accumulated litter reduces wildlife habitat, limits recreational opportunities in conservation areas, and creates a fire hazard."

The Nature Conservancy also maintains an informative website on invasive plants.
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/biglist.html

Varieties of roses with a greater than average number of petals may require more heat to open correctly. Check with the grower and ask for names of rose varieties suited to your coastal climate. Some rose varieties that grow well in an inland garden do not like the cooler, damper weather near the coast. Pest and disease control begins with selecting varieties of plants that are best suited to a particular climate.

Distorted, deformed rose buds could also be due to the presence of insects (aphids or thrips) or botrytis blight. Ants on roses often indicate the presence of aphids; controlling the ants will help to eliminate aphids. Blow gently on an affected bud and see if a small cloud of spores appears; this may indicate the presence of botrytis blight.

You can read more about these two insects and botrytis blight using the link below. Information on control of rose pests and diseases, as well as rose cultural information, is included at that website.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/rose.html

This is most likely sooty mold.  Although unsightly, sooty mold does not infect the leaves and unless it is extremely heavy, does no real harm to the tree. It will eventually be washed away by rain or it can be hosed off.

Sooty mold grows on the sticky “honeydew” secreted by aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and some scales, so the presence of sooty mold indicates an underlying insect problem of some sort.  The link below contains information on controlling insects that may be secreting honeydew on your citrus tree, as well as cultural information on citrus growing. 

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/citrus.html

If your leaves are looking like something is chewing them but leaving the veins, you probably have Rose Slugs. They look like little green caterpillars and you will find them feasting on the undersides of the leaves. They are not caterpillars though, but the larval stage of the Rose Sawfly insect. They probably over-wintered in the soil around your roses, emerging just in time for the tender tasty new growth. They are called Sawflies because they have a little saw-like structure on the abdomen tip used to insert eggs into the plant tissue.

Organic ways to control them are to hand-pick the larvae from the undersides of the leaves, or to spray them off with strong blasts of water, or to use Horticultural oil to smother them.

You may also pick off and discard the damaged leaves. Once a leaf is chewed it will usually die and fall off, so it might as well be removed anyway. Note that Bacillus thurengiensis (BT) will not work, as these larvae are not caterpillars.

One of the chemicals that will kill them is cyfluthrin, found in several commercial products. Sevin will also kill them, but you need to be careful because it can harm bees. Whatever you choose to do, do it early in the infestation for the best effect.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/rose.html

For full information on rose care by the month in the Southern California gardens, look for A Year of Million Roses by Patti Million, available at selected nurseries and gardens, as well as on our website.

Prevention: The warm dry air of summer encourages mites to breed and multiply; therefore, keeping both container plants and in-ground plants well watered is a helpful prevention measure because the air-moisture above a well-watered plant is increased. Spraying with horticultural oil in late winter may smother mites and overwintering eggs.

Management: Mites can be sprayed off the foliage and fruit with a strong jet of water which physically removes them, as well as increasing air-moisture to discourage further attacks. Weekly washings with soapy water may provide effective control. If the mite infestation is very heavy, these measures won’t completely eliminate the problem.

Ladybug larva and native predatory mites (both of which can be purchased) can provide significant biological control of plant-damaging mites, which is a good reason not to use pesticides. Note that mites are not insects and insecticides generally do not kill mites, although they may kill beneficial insects.

Summer oil sprays between August and September should control mite problems in most areas; be careful not to spray oils when temperatures are high because oil-covered leaves may be burned in high heat. Natural (biological) controls may be sufficient in unsprayed backyard trees.

For extremely heavy mite infestations, miticide products are available, but this should be a last resort measure, because these products will also kill any beneficial mites that may be present.

Follow the link below for further information about citrus culture and citrus problems:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/citrus.html