Blooming in late winter, hellebores (Helleborus spp.) are tough perennial plants that are also sometimes called winter roses. The flowers come in white, yellow, pink, maroon, chartreuse, and bicolored. While the flowers typically hang downward, newer varieties boast flowers that face upwards so are easier to see.
Marigolds are commonly divided into three categories: African, French, and signet. All these marigolds are fast-growing annual plants that bloom reliably from early summer to frost. Deadheading will encourage more blooms and prevent marigold volunteers from popping up next spring. However, each type has its unique characteristics.
These tall and stately plants make beautiful borders along fences, at the back of perennial beds to set off other flowers, and as a large patch all on their own. African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) are good for cutting for arrangements with long, sturdy stems and good vase life. They are relatively low-maintenance summer flowers and thrive in hot, dry conditions. Here are a few of the prettiest varieties of African marigolds to try:
Bushy plants with a compact, mounded shape and bright colors make French marigolds (Tagetes patula) a favorite. They are generally not bothered by insects or disease and make fabulous companion plants for your vegetable garden. Keep deadheaded for blooms all the way to frost. French marigolds range from 6 inches to 2 feet in height.
Tagetes tenuifolia is an annual herb sometimes reaching as much as 50 cm (20 in) tall. Leaves are less than 3 cm (1+1⁄4 in) long, deeply divided into many small parts. The plant produces many small bright yellow flower heads in a flat-topped array, each head with five ray florets and 7–9 disc florets.[4]
Perhaps the least well-known type of marigold, signet marigolds (Tagetes tenuifolia) offer simple color and compactness. They are great for window boxes, edging garden beds with color, and companion planting because they won’t shade anything out. Also known as lemon marigolds, some signet varieties give off a lemon scent when their foliage is bruised.
Urban and community forests include all publicly and privately owned trees within an urban or community area, such as public gardens, street trees, urban parks, landscaped boulevards and river and coastal promenades, among others. They make up an important component of America’s green infrastructure, supporting the health and function of cities and towns through the services that they provide. Acknowledging the ecological, economic, and social benefits of these forests, the Forest Service is dedicated to helping cities transition to a sustainable future.
The benefits that forests, grasslands, and other natural areas provide us are known as ecosystem services. It can be easy to take these free services for granted. The Forest Service is contributing to improved valuation and preservation of these services. By working on markets for ecosystem services and measuring and monitoring them, the Forest Service aims to improve decision-making that affects the use of ecosystem services.
Outdoor recreation contributes greatly to the well-being of Americans – getting outside has been proven to have psychological, physical, social, and economic benefits. Understanding its important role in providing recreational opportunities, the Forest Service carefully assesses the status of, and trends in, outdoor recreation. In order to continue providing recreation opportunities that citizens value, we need to understand how demands on our natural resources will change in the future and manage accordingly.
A program to help bring research results into practice by developing cutting edge technologies and field operation methods that provide field specialists with tools to restore and protect America's forests.
A component of the Biological Control Program designed to develop methods and technologies that address the spread and impacts of invasive forest pests.
Aerial treatment operations- fixed wing aircraft applying pesticide over forest for Lymnatria dispar control. Courtesy photo from bugwood.org, USDA APHIS PPQ.
The Forest Health Protection staff of the USDA Forest Service has the responsibility of managing and coordinating the proper use of pesticides within the National Forest System (NFS). It is also responsible for providing technical advice and support, and for conducting training to maintain technical expertise.
Health & Safety
Pesticide Registration
Virus Products
Pesticide Use Risk Assessments & Worksheets
Mile-a-minute weevil (Rhinoncomimus latipes) on vine. Courtesy photo from bugwood.org, by Ellen Lake, University of Delaware.
The Biological Control program is tiered to the broader Forest Service's National Strategic Framework for Invasive Species Management as well as regional plans dealing with invasive species. The Biological Control program focuses its resources on a few insects and weed species that have the greatest potential for biological control.
Identify natural enemies for biological control of invasive species
Coordinate funding for biological control
Develop recommendations for the restoration of native plant species
Larva of the Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia psuedotsugata, on white fir. Courtesy photo from bugwood.org, by Donald Owen, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Biopesticides Program serves as an up-to-date information source on biopesticides, biologically based products such as semiochemicals and microbial agents, used by State and Private Forestry staffs, nationwide, for short-term control of invasive species.
Increase awareness on the use of biopesticides
Form partnerships and coordinate the development and implementation of biopesticides
Native insects and pathogens are an important part of a healthy forest ecosystem, but when environmental and biological conditions favor their development into outbreak status they can cause significant losses to forests. Several of these insects and pathogens, such as bark beetles and root diseases, have had extensive impacts forests in western and southern forests. Forest Health Protection along with state, Federal and Tribal partners survey, monitor and manage infestations of these native pest outbreaks.
Native Forest Insects
Native Forest Pathogens
Abiotic Forest Damage
An invasive species is an alien [non-native] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health (Executive Order 13112). Species invasions are one of the main ecological consequences of global changes in climate and land use. Most invasions over the past several centuries have involved species transported directly or indirectly by humans. Forest Health Protection will continue to work very closely with its partners to manage native and non-native pests and reduce the flow of non-native invasive forest pests into the U.S. Forest Health Protection's vision is that the Forest Service will maintain a robust program that protects the nation's forests from extraordinary levels of damage from both native and non-native invasive insects, pathogens, and plants through the continued implementation of an integrated system of prevention, eradication, management, and restoration.
Invasive Forest Insects
Invasive Forest Pathogens
Invasive Plants
Forest Health Protection works in coordination with the USDA Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP) and others to develop, promote, and implement integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. IPM employs a variety of chemical, cultural, mechanical, and biological techniques and tools to prevent, detect, and thwart forestry pests, such as invasive weeds, insects and pathogens.
Pesticide Management
Biological Control
Biopesticides
Forest Health Monitoring is a national program designed to determine the status, changes and trends in indicators of forest health on an annual basis. This program collects information from a wide variety of sources including ground surveys, aerial detection and remote sensing. Forest Health Monitoring data is utilized by researchers who use it in detailed investigations into specific issues, by managers who develop strategies to deal with forest health issues, and by the public at large in order to better understand the processes that drive these natural systems. Forest Health Monitoring provides an updated synopsis of the state of our nation's forested lands, and serves as the repository of records regarding forest condition over time.
Forest Health Monitoring
Forest Health Monitoring Publications
Annual National Forest Health Monitoring Reports
Forest Health Highlights
Forest Health Monitoring Contacts
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