Rutgers Master Gardeners of Burlington County Blog

By Bobbie Herbs Leaves of three, let it be. The old adage remains true today.   Poison ivy is the leading cause of allergenic dermatitis on the East Coast according to Rutgers University Fact Sheet 1019.   Poison Ivy is a deciduous plant meaning the leaves die back in winter.   The plant can take many forms, such as a shrub or a vine climbing a tree or trailing through your shrubs and garden beds.   With every part of the plant poisonous, it can cause red, itchy rashes to blistering, even anaphylaxis. If you choose removal versus letting it be, identification is key.   Poison Ivy can look like Virginia Creeper in its early stages.   Upon germination both seedlings can have three oval leaves with highly toothed edges.   As they mature, poison ivy retains three leaves while Virginia creeper has five.   Once identified, consider either mechanical or chemical methods of removal.     Remember, every part of the plant is poisonous at all times of the year.   Start

By Bobbie Herbs ‘Tis the season for trips to the shore and around the world.   Although bed bugs have not been in the news lately, know they are still prevalent and should be accounted for.   A resurgence of beg bugs began in the 1990’s. Scientists believe the cause was a worldwide increase in bed bug populations fueled by increased global travel, changes in pest management practices plus the insects’ resistance to modern day pesticides.  Bed bugs need warm-blooded mammals to survive.   Since the beginning of human time they have been our companion - then in caves, today in hotels, hospitals, and any place we sleep.    Cimex lectularius , the bed bugs’ scientific name, are part of a blood-sucking group of insects that require blood to lay their eggs and provide food for larvae.   The adults are under ¼” long and flat with an oval shaped body.   Because they feed at night you may not even know you have been feasted on.   People who react to the bites show small, f

By Bonnie McNamee   Did you know that the black swallowtail butterfly ( Papilio polyxenes ) was designated the official state butterfly of New Jersey and was signed into law on January 11, 2016?   Widely admired for its beauty, the black swallowtail is indigenous to New Jersey, and can be found in all twenty-one counties.   They like open areas including fields, meadows, roadsides, lawns and gardens.   The genus name " Pupilio " is the Latin word for butterfly. The black swallowtail has two different markings.   The female is black with blue markings and the male is black with yellow markings.   Their size ranges from 3-1/4 to 4-1/4 inches. To encourage black swallowtail butterflies to visit your garden, plant both flowers to provide nectar, and larval host plants, such as parsley, dill, fennel, and rue that you are willing to let them eat, and refrain from using insecticides in the garden. A black swallowtail has two generations a year in the northeast, and th

By Bobbie Herbs Fascinated by those adorable Toad Houses online and in catalogs? I certainly was and decided to see what it took to attract toads to my garden. Butterflies, birds, and pollinators already make my garden home, but because toads are carnivores and can eat 50-100 insects in a night, I wanted to add another beneficial to my landscape.   Toads are frogs, but all frogs are not toads. The big difference between the two are that toads live a good portion of their life on land and in trees. Toads have shorter hind legs for walking and jumping. They don’t leap like frogs do.   Lastly, they have bumps on their head called paratoids, which won’t give you warts. The paratoids do defend the toad against predators by triggering toxic chemicals, but they won’t hurt humans unless ingested. Female toads lay thousands of eggs in small ponds and vernal pools, as water is required for reproduction. Frogs and toads mature through the process of metamorphosis. Eggs turn to tadpo

By Merry Bogert  Among the many joys of some flowering plantings in our yards are the colorful fruits that follow and provide food for wildlife. But many are toxic if consumed by humans or pets, so it pays to be aware of them in order avoid accidental poisoning. Decorative ivies such as Boston Ivy, English Ivy, and Poison Ivy all produce colorful berries that are lovely to look at but may cause stomach upset, and even be fatal if consumed. In particular, Boston Ivy berries contain calcium oxalates, needle-like crystals that cause pain and swelling in the lips, face, tongue, and skin. Ripe Virginia Creeper berries look like grapes but are extremely poisonous; they have been implicated in fatalities. American Bittersweet berries can cause stomach upset and diarrhea; invasive Asian Bittersweet’s toxicity level is not well-documented in the literature. It’s best to avoid both. Shrubs and trees with poisonous berries include: Yew (the black seed inside the fleshy red aril cau

By Joan Johnson The butterflies vibrant rainbow colors and graceful fluttering flight have been on this planet for about 55 million years! And while they are enchanting us they are also star performers in pollinating plants. Sadly, their natural habitat is disappearing, but we can all help by creating gardens with trees, shrubs and plants that attract and support butterfly life. Butterflies need food, water and habitat to survive and prosper. A butterfly garden needs both host plants where the eggs are laid and hatch into caterpillars which feed on the host, and nectar plants that the adult butterflies feed on. (For a list of both kinds of plants and the butterflies they attract go to   http://www.cpe.rutgers.edu/hgs/docs/2018/Workshop-33-Butterfly-Host-Plants.pdf .) Butterfly antennae are covered with sensory organs to find food sources. The elongated tubular proboscis unrolls when at a food source. Butterflies feed primarily on nectar for energy, pollen, rotting fruit, and