Buffalo Horticulture

Buffalo Horticulture Represent the work and works of "Buffalo Horticulture" which designs, builds, and maintains gardens and landscapes in Buffalo and WNY since 2001.

🦋 PSA: Watch for Box Tree Moth Damage on BoxwoodsThe Box Tree Moth is an invasive pest attacking boxwood shrubs. Its cat...
07/23/2026

🦋 PSA: Watch for Box Tree Moth Damage on Boxwoods

The Box Tree Moth is an invasive pest attacking boxwood shrubs. Its caterpillars can strip plants bare surprisingly fast, leaving brown, webbed, skeletonized foliage.

Signs to look for:

• Chewed or disappearing leaves

• Fine webbing inside shrubs

• Green/yellow caterpillars with black stripes and spots

• Rapid browning or defoliation of boxwoods

• Small white moths with brown borders fluttering around plants

What to do if you spot it:

✔ Inspect boxwoods regularly, especially inner branches

✔ Hand-remove caterpillars when possible

✔ Early treatment matters

Biological controls like Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki) or other labeled insecticides can be effective against young caterpillars. This pest is in the Buffalo Area. We, at Buffalo Horticulture, use Bt or Btk when dealing with this invasive pest. 😃

W**d of the Week: Lady's Thumb (Persicaria maculosa)Lady's thumb is a fast-growing annual w**d common in gardens, landsc...
06/24/2026

W**d of the Week: Lady's Thumb (Persicaria maculosa)

Lady's thumb is a fast-growing annual w**d common in gardens, landscapes, fields, ditches, and other disturbed, moist areas. It is easy to spot by its slender upright stems, narrow leaves with a dark purple or maroon thumbprint-like blotch, and small pink flower spikes that appear from summer into fall. Because it can produce thousands of seeds in a single season, it spreads quickly and creates a lasting seed bank, so the best management is to pull plants early, before they flower, and keep soil covered with mulch or dense plantings to reduce new seedlings.

📸 Kylee

**dsofwny

Common Milkw**d: One of Western New York's Most Important Native PlantsWhen many people think of milkw**d, they picture ...
06/11/2026

Common Milkw**d: One of Western New York's Most Important Native Plants

When many people think of milkw**d, they picture a roadside w**d. What they may not realize is that Common Milkw**d (Asclepias syriaca) is one of the most important plants for pollinators in our region.

Milkw**d serves as the primary host plant for Monarch butterflies. Monarch caterpillars can only feed on milkw**d, making it essential to their life cycle. Its fragrant summer blooms also provide nectar for bees, butterflies, hummingbird moths, and countless other beneficial insects.

At Buffalo Horticulture, Common Milkw**d isn't a plant we use or install in residential landscapes. But, it is a plant we often times choose to keep when we find it. It spreads aggressively through underground rhizomes and can quickly take over garden beds. However, that doesn't diminish its ecological value.

For larger properties, naturalized areas, pollinator meadows, and habitat restoration projects, Common Milkw**d can be an incredible addition. Sometimes the plants that support the most wildlife aren't the tidiest or most refined garden specimens, but they play an outsized role in the health of our local ecosystem.

Nature doesn't always measure success by appearance. Sometimes success looks like a Monarch butterfly finding exactly the plant it needs. 🦋

📸 Kylee

This plant is the Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus), a native flowering shrub known for its unique, fragrant blos...
05/28/2026

This plant is the Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus), a native flowering shrub known for its unique, fragrant blossoms.

It produces small, brownish-maroon flowers that have a spicy aroma often described as resembling fruity wine, bubblegum, or ripe fruit.

Depending on the region, it is also referred to as sweetshrub, spicebush, or sweet bubby bush.

Historically, the fragrant flowers and leaves have been dried for use in potpourri, and the bark can be used as a substitute for cinnamon.

This shrub thrives in partial shade to full sun and is valued in landscapes for its scent and deer resistance.

📸 Matt Dore

W**d ID: Broad-Leaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine)Removal PSA: Hand pulling is often ineffective with this one. T...
05/20/2026

W**d ID: Broad-Leaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine)

Removal PSA: Hand pulling is often ineffective with this one. The plant tends to snap off at the root crown/bundle, leaving much of the underground structure behind to regrow. It roots surprisingly deep. On a relatively small plant, my w**d knife was 7 inches down and still not beneath the root system. Simply pulling usually removes the top growth, not the actual roots.

If attempting removal, digging deeply and removing as much of the underground structure as possible is key. Monitoring for regrowth may be necessary.

This "w**d" is technically an orchid!

**ds

🦋 PSA: Watch for Box Tree Moth Damage on BoxwoodsThe Box Tree Moth is an invasive pest attacking boxwood shrubs. Its cat...
05/18/2026

🦋 PSA: Watch for Box Tree Moth Damage on Boxwoods

The Box Tree Moth is an invasive pest attacking boxwood shrubs. Its caterpillars can strip plants bare surprisingly fast, leaving brown, webbed, skeletonized foliage.

Signs to look for:

• Chewed or disappearing leaves

• Fine webbing inside shrubs

• Green/yellow caterpillars with black stripes and spots

• Rapid browning or defoliation of boxwoods

• Small white moths with brown borders fluttering around plants

What to do if you spot it:

✔ Inspect boxwoods regularly, especially inner branches

✔ Hand-remove caterpillars when possible

✔ Early treatment matters

Biological controls like Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki) or other labeled insecticides can be effective against young caterpillars. This pest is in the Buffalo Area. We, at Buffalo Horticulture, use Bt or Btk when dealing with this invasive pest. 😃

This image shows a late instar caterpillar in the Buffalo area suggesting treatment must happened asap!

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry (Prunus x cistena)Blooming early - mid Spring, usually late April - Early May around here. Beaut...
05/14/2026

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry (Prunus x cistena)

Blooming early - mid Spring, usually late April - Early May around here. Beautiful 🔥

A Spring Heads-UpAs the season is waking up— so is poison ivy.Look for clusters of three leaves, often reddish when you...
05/06/2026

A Spring Heads-Up

As the season is waking up— so is poison ivy.

Look for clusters of three leaves, often reddish when young or shiny green as they mature. It can creep along the ground or climb trees.

A little awareness goes a long way this time of year.

Fun Facts about Forsythia Forsythia flowers before it leafs out, which gives it that dramatic “all yellow, no green” loo...
04/24/2026

Fun Facts about Forsythia

Forsythia flowers before it leafs out, which gives it that dramatic “all yellow, no green” look. This strategy helps it maximize sunlight while it attracts early pollinators.

Snap a young stem and take a peek inside. Unlike many shrubs, Forsythia has a hollow pith, a distinct characteristic. It’s a quick way to identify Forsythia compared to similar shrubs.

Forsythia blooms on old wood, meaning next year’s flowers are formed this year so the best time to prune is right after flowering, or you risk cutting off next spring’s blooms.

Horsetail (Equisetum) is a "living fossil" that has remained largely unchanged for over 300 million years, once growing ...
04/21/2026

Horsetail (Equisetum) is a "living fossil" that has remained largely unchanged for over 300 million years, once growing as tall as 100-foot trees during the dinosaur era. It is notoriously difficult to eradicate because its waxy stems resist herbicides and its root system can reach depths of 6 feet.

Fascinating Facts about Horsetail

No Flowers or Seeds: As a relative of ferns, it reproduces via spores released from cone-like structures in early spring.

Biological Multiplier: Even a tiny fragment of a root left in the ground can grow into a new plant, making tilling one of the worst ways to manage it.

Strategies to Get Rid of Horsetail:

Eradication is a multi-year process. You must be more persistent than the plant.

Improve Soil Conditions:

Horsetail thrives in acidic, wet, and compacted soil. Improve drainage to eliminate standing water. Raise the pH by adding agricultural lime to make the soil more alkaline. Boost nutrients with organic compost to encourage competing plants.

Deplete Energy Reserves:

Consistent Pulling/Mowing: Snap off green shoots as soon as they appear. This forces the plant to use up energy stored in its deep roots. Remove spore cones in early Spring. Starving of light and smothering can also help deplete this w**ds energy reserves.

Targeted Herbicides: Products containing Halosulfuron-methyl (like SedgeHammer) or mixtures with 2,4-D and Triclopyr are often more effective than standard glReserves.

Have you successfully gotten rid of your Horsetail?

**dsofthenortheast

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Buffalo, NY
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