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A. They are spring cankerworms and oak leaf rollers. According to Wizzie Brown, Extension Agent-IPM, both dangle from silken threads, but cankerworms drop to the ground to pupate, while oak leaf rollers dangle, then crawl back up into the tree to continue feeding.

If you have a small, young tree that’s losing 25 percnet of its foliage, you may want to spray with Bacillus thuringiensis. It’s difficult to spray large trees without commercial equipment, but mature healthy specimens will soon recover on their own. Healthy mature trees will recover.

Wphps, mockingbirds and other birds provide free natural control.

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Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum cv. 'Rubrum')
Ornamental grasses provide a fine texture to the landscape. Purple fountain
grass is an outstanding ornamental grass for central Texas.

Its foliage is a deep reddish-burgundy color, reaching to a height of about 3 feet. Burgundy foxtail-like seed heads adorn the plants from late summer through autumn. This plant is a show-stopper in the landscape and makes an excellent specimen plant. Give it full sun and moderate moisture for best color and vigor. In hard winters we treat it like an annual.

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• It’s time to select caladiums for shady spots. We don’t want to plant them until the soil reaches about 70 degrees, so plan for late April and early May. Varieties with white leaves burn more easily when exposed to sun, but the strap-leaf specimens can take a little more sun.
• It’s too late to apply broad-leaf weed killers. Using them now will only burn or harm your lawn and other plants.
• When fertilizing the lawn, remember to apply half in one direction and half in the other to avoid streaking.
  
  

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