Weekend Gardening: Getting rid of spider mites, planting perennials and biodegradable confetti

CHICAGO — WGN’S Plant Daddy Tim Joyce is back to share several tips on how to keep your plants in tip-top shape.

How to get rid of Spider Mites

Fall means cooler temperatures return to Chicagoland. But how can you make sure your plants are spider-mite-free when you bring them in for the season?

Spider mites are tiny little plant pests that often live under the plant leaves and spin tiny webs, which is how they get their name. They get their meals by sucking on plant parts.

There are several nonchemical ways to get rid of spider mites if they are caught early enough.

Spraying the undersides of the leaves in the garden with a hose can do the trick. Wiping the leaves with a solution of mild dish soap and water, or of a deluded mixture of neem oil or rosemary oil, on either indoor or outdoor plants, can also help get rid of the pests.

For larger infestations, trimming off affected plant material can also be an effective measure. If this is done, gardeners should throw the discarded material away instead of just composting, since spider mite eggs can last for weeks and then reinvade plants.

Planting your perennials

From the podcast The Beginner’s Garden , host Jill McSheehy recommends planting perennials, like ornamental shrubs or fruit-bearing trees, bushes and canes now. According to McSheehy, once the summer heat has waned, you can plant them in late September or the early part of October.

The two big advantages of planting things like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and even parts of strawberries right now are if they get established in the fall, they will get a jumpstart on next season’s harvest.

Another big advantage is cost savings. McSheehy said right now, local garden stores will have much better deals on those types of perennial plants and then be triple the price in the spring.

Craft Idea: Biodegradable Confetti

A craft idea from both Pinterest and Instagram at a website called Something Turquoise : Some natural biodegradable confetti in all sorts of colors for free with a hole punch in any kind of fun shape and leaves from outside that are already starting to fall.

The confetti will be all-natural and low or no cost as the materials are just from the yard or parkway.

To submit any gardening questions, email Tim at tjoyce@wgntv.com

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