• Crimson Cutie®(UCONNBTCP4N)
• Lemon Cutie®(UCONNBTB113)
• Lemon Glow®(UCONNBTB048)
• Mr. Green Genes®(UCONNBTB039)

Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) was listed a Class B noxious weed by PDA's Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee in July of 2021, meaning is could not be propagated, sold or transported in Pennsylvania. The CPNWC made an exception for sterile cultivars that were approved by the Department. These are the first such cultivars receiving such approval.

For more information, go to PDA's website.

The egg masses can be found om just about any hard surface. The gray/brown masses are distinctive and be found on any object that spent time outdoors last summer and fall.

Pennsylvania nurseries within the SLF quarantine area are very familiar with the protocols for shipping plants. But as the insect spreads, those outside of the quarantine area should also be checking for egg masses, not only on their plants, but also on vehicles and equipment.

By the same token, garden centers should be cognizant of the possibility of egg masses on any item that has spent time outside, such as bales of peat moss, stone, pavers, overwintered plants, etc. Check your inventory that has been around since last year and also check new inventory coming into your garden center.

Landscape contractors are especially vulnerable to inadvertently spreading SLF eggs masses on vehicles, equipment and tools as they move from job to job. Also, like garden centers, landscape contractors should check plants they have overwintered or are buying in, pavers, stone or any other material that could host egg masses.

Penn State Extension has an excellent resources for spotting and dealing with SLF egg masses and managing SLF. Check out these resources and contact your local extension educator for more information.

The CPNWC can list a plant as a noxious weed, which bans that species propagation, transportation or sale in Pennsylvania.

The three plants that the CPNWC will consider for listing are:

• Anthriscus sylvestris - Cow parsely
• Akebia quinata - Chocolate vine
• Ranunculus ficaria - Lesser celandine

The CPNWC will meet virtually on April 21, 2022 via Microsoft Teams at 1:00 PM. The meeting is open to the public. The link to the meeting is not yet available but will be published by PLNA e-News as soon as it is available.

Future Species Under Consideration

Additional plant species that may be considered by the CPNWC at future meetings are listed below. These species have been identified by state agencies and conservancy groups as problems in natural areas, threats to agricultural land use, and/or pose roadside maintenance problems.

• Acer platanoides - Norway maple
• Albizia julibrissin - Mimosa 
• Alnus glutinosa - European black alder
• Euonymus alatus - Burning bush
• Euonymus fortunei - Wintercreeper
• Hedera helix - English ivy
• Ligustrum japonicum - Common privet
• Ligustrum obtusifolium - Amur privet
• Ligustrum sinense - Chinese privet
• Ligustrum vulgare - Wild privet
• Lonicera maackii - Amur honeysuckle
• Lonicera morrowii - Morrow's honeysuckle
• Lonicera morrowii x. bella - Bell's honeysuckle
• Lonicera standishii - Standish's honeysuckle
• Lonicera tatarica - Tatarian honeysuckle
• Lysimachia nummularia - Moneywort
• Miscanthus sinensis - Chinese silvergrass
• Paulownia tomentosa - Empress tree
• Phellodendron amurense - Amur cork tree
• Phellodendron japonicum - Japanese cork tree
• Phellodendron lavallei - Lavalle corktree
• Rhodotypos scandens - Jetbead
• Rubus phoenicolasius - Wineberry
• Schedonorus arundinaceus - Tall fescue
• Spiraea japonica - Japanese Spiraea
• Viburnum opulus - Guelder Rose
• Wisteria floribunda/sinensis - Japanese/Chinese wisteria
  
   

The CPNWC meets quarterly, typically on the third Thursday of the month at 1:00 PM.  As future meetings approach and the list of plants to be considered is finalized, notice will be published in PLNA e-News and the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

As with the previous ban on barberry, PDA is phasing in the enforcement of the ban according to the following schedule:

• Winter 2021 - Callery pear is added to the Controlled plant and Noxious Weed list as a Class B weed.  
• February 2023 - Letter of warning would be issued to any plant merchant selling Callery pear, providing a date in February 2024 after which any remaining inventory would be subject to a destruction order. 
• February 2024 - Stop Sale/Destruction orders issued to plant merchants selling or distributing Callery pear.

PDA is also accepting applications to exempt certain sterile cultivars of Callery pear from the ban if those cultivars have proven to be sterile and cannot reproduce.

For more information and to obtain a copy of the application for sterile cultivars, go to the PDA website.

Enforcement of the ban will be phased in over two years, following the pattern the Department adopted with the barberry (Berberis thunbergii) ban last July.

Also, as with barberry, the Department will be accepting applications for exceptions to the Callery pear ban for sterile cultivars of the species.

More information on the enforcement phase-in and the process for applying for exceptions for sterile cultivars can be found at by clicking here. While the information at this link applies to barberry, it is anticipated that the Callery pear ban will follow similar process.

For questions on the plant bans, call PDA at 717.787.7204 or email at RA-plant@pa.gov.

According to PDA, the enforcement deferral will follow the following process:

• Fall 2021 - Letter of information to plant merchants, to let them know Japanese barberry is on the noxious weed list and to advise that they begin immediately to adjust propagation and ordering of Japanese barberry to decrease their inventory. It will also mention that a process for allowing sterile varieties to be sold is under development.
• Fall 2022 - Letter of warning would be issued to any plant merchant selling Japanese barberry, providing a date in Fall 2023 after which any remaining inventory would be subject to a destruction order.  
• Fall 2023 - Stop Sale/Destruction orders issued to plant merchants selling or distributing Japanese barberry.

Shipping Barberry into Pennsylvania Illegal after October 6, 2021

The ban also makes shipping barberry into Pennsylvania illegal as of the effective date of the CPNWC action, according to PDA deputy secretary Fred Strathmeyer. The ban became effective sixty days after publication of the CPNWC action in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on August 7, 2021, or October 6, 2021.

Exceptions for Sterile Cultivars

The CPNWC also recommended to PDA that exceptions be granted to the ban for barberry cultivars that have been proven to produce sterile seeds. PDA has published a petition form that growers may submit to PDA for this consideration. That form may be downloaded by clicking here.

More information on the barberry ban can be found on the PDA website by clicking here.

The next meeting of the CPNWC is this coming Wednesday November 17, 2021 at 11:00 am. If you have questions on the barberry ban or comments on the pending ban on Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) you can attend the meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams or phone by clicking on the links below:

Microsoft Teams meeting of the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+1 267-332-8737,,629062574# United States, Philadelphia

Since the meeting, PLNA has been waiting for official guidance from the Department on how the enforcement deferral and process for exempting sterile cultivars will be implemented. With ordering for spring of 2022 well under way, many questions remain about how this enforcement deferral and sterile cultivar exemption process will work.

PLNA recently submitted a list of questions to PDA that it would like answered. Those questions are below:

1. When will guidance be issued to the industry on the meaning of the two-year enforcement moratorium called for by the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee when it voted to list barberry (Berberis thunbergii) as a class B noxious weed at its July meeting?
2. Will shipments of barberry from out-of-state nurseries be permitted during the two-year enforcement moratorium?
3. When will guidance be issued on the process for growers to apply to the Department for an exception to the barberry noxious weed listing for sterile cultivars? Orders are now being taken for plants for the spring 2022 sales.
   1. Who will be eligible to apply to the Department for an exception to the barberry noxious weed listing for sterile cultivars?
   2. To whom will the license or exception be issued? Will it be to a specific nursery growing that cultivar, or to that cultivar generally, regardless of who propagates, grows and sells it?
   3. What information will the Department require from petitioners for an exception to the barberry noxious weed listing for sterile cultivars?
   4. What criteria will the Department use in determining whether a cultivar will be issued an exception to the barberry noxious weed listing for sterile cultivars?
   5. If an exception is issued, for how long will that exception be valid?
   6. How will the Department verify that a barberry cultivar that has been issued an exception and is in the trade is, in fact, a true genetic clone of that cultivar?
   7. Will there be chain of custody requirements from the licensed propagator to final sale in the garden center, landscape contractor, wholesale yard, etc.
4. What will PDA do to alert and educate the public that barberry is now class B noxious weed?
   1. Will PDA be providing any educational literature/brochures to garden centers, wholesale yards, landscape contractors that they can distribute to customers about barberry’s status a noxious weed?
   2. Will PDA be reaching out to garden writers and master gardeners across the state about barberry’s status as a noxious weed?
5. PDA has the authority under the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Act to compel property owners to remove noxious weeds from their properties. Will PDA require homeowners, commercial property owners, non-profit property owners or government property owners to remove existing barberry from their properties? If so, how long do they have to accomplish such removal?

PDA has told PLNA that it anticipates guidance to be issued before Thanksgiving.  Stay tuned to PLNA e-News for updates.

According to USDA, over 90% of the nation’s tall fescue, rye and orchard grass seed are produced in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Seed producers are expecting yields this year to be less than half due to drought and extreme temperatures in Oregon. Temperatures in the normally cool Willamette Valley set all-time records this June reaching 115 degrees in some areas. Rainfall during the critical spring growing period was down by 5.5 inches, according to the Oregon State University Cooperative Extension.

Pennsylvania users of cool season grass seeds are already seeing the shortages and price hikes as they prepare for the fall planting season.

“We are currently only going to receive 50% of the seed that we ordered of many turf species,” reported Andy Ernst of Ernst Conservation Seeds in Meadville. “The fires and drought in Oregon have significantly impacted the yield.”

If you are planning the installation of new lawns and turf grass this fall or next spring, be sure to account for these price increases in your bids and get your seed or sod early. This shortage is expected to continue at least through spring of 2022.

Landscape and nursery interests in the region have been urged to carefully monitor boxwoods and consider applying treatments to boxwoods right away, as the pest’s second generation is likely still feeding but will soon pupate. Detailed information on life cycle, pest identification, and what to do if the pest is detected can be found here.

During 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture monitored locations in 18 Pennsylvania counties but detected none of the pests

Two years ago, AmericanHort and its foundation, the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), began advocating for a proactive research effort on this pest.  Recently, HRI hosted a box tree moth webinar featuring science, regulatory, and industry updates as part of its tHRIve Series. You can learn more by visiting the tHRIve webpage and scrolling down to the video recording.

Counties Added to Quarantine Area

Several counties were added to the quarantine area in 2021. Click here for a current map of the counties in the quarantine area.

Who Needs to Be Permitted?

An SLF permit is required for businesses working within the quarantine area which move regulated articles such as products, vehicles or other conveyances within or out of the quarantine. For more details on who needs a permit, click here.

What records need to be kept?

Records of training, shipping records, and inspection of vehicles with control measures taken if SLF is found (such as vehicle washes, destruction of living lanternfly, etc.) must be maintained for a minimum of two years. Electronic records are acceptable if you can make them available during a verification checkpoint or inspection. More information on recordkeeping requirements can be found by clicking here.

Best Practices for Green industry Companies

PDA has published green industry best management practices for the spotted lanternfly, which can be downloaded here.

Being listed as a Class B noxious weed prohibits the possession, propagation, growing, sale or transportation of that plant species in Pennsylvania.

However, the action of the CPNWC included two provisions: 1) that enforcement of the ban be delayed for two years to provide time for the industry to adjust and sell existing stocks of barberry; and 2) that the CPNWC accept petitions for exemption from this listing from growers who have cultivars which are proven to be non-reproducing.

The CPNWC also tabled listing callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) due to uncertainty over how this would affect the pear orchard industry in Pennsylvania, since callery pear is used as a root stock for many edible pear varieties. Gregg Robertson, PLNA’s alternate representative to the CPNWC, was appointed to a subcommittee to research this issue.

The panel also voted to list two addition plant species as Class B noxious weeds: Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and Japanese stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum).

Box Tree Moth

If you are not familiar with the pest, box tree moth is a Eurasian native moth. The larvae are voracious defoliators of Buxus. The pest has become established in western Europe, where it has been extremely damaging to boxwood in the landscape. Roughly two years ago, it was found in an urban Toronto neighborhood. There are ongoing efforts to suppress and contain it, and a nursery surveillance program using pheromone traps has been undertaken during adult flight seasons.

APHIS officials have briefed AmericanHort and Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) on the objectives and status of the emergency program. The overarching objective is eradication. Inspections are underway targeting 26 customer facilities (mostly retail) in seven U.S. states (MI, OH, NY, CT, MA, SC and TN). The list may change. APHIS reported that the pest has been found associated with these plants in at least three of the states where inspections are underway. Accordingly, plants from the Canadian source that are found at retail will be placed on hold and destroyed. At least some of the plants have been sold to consumers, there will be efforts to trace forward to the consumer. We also preliminarily discussed industry strategies to replace consumers’ plants, which may facilitate the effectiveness of the trace/inspect/destroy initiative.  

How to ID Box Tree Moth

Click here to view a preliminary document on pest ID and potential treatment tools for nursery and landscape professionals (not appropriate for consumers).

Finally, click here for a Canadian blog post with good pest ID and other information.

Box tree moth is considered a high-consequence defoliating pest of boxwood, with other possible hosts. We fully support the efforts of federal and state regulators to prevent this pest from establishing in the U.S. AmericanHort and HRI proactively worked to get several major research projects funded to get “ahead of the curve” on this threat. We are hopeful that the regulatory response efforts are successful, giving more time for the ongoing research agenda to better equip the industry with tools to manage the pest if it establishes in the U.S. in the future. 

AmericanHort and HRI continue to monitor this situation and will share additional updates as it unfolds. For more information about boxwood health matters, visit www.hriresearch.org.

The meeting took place virtually via Skype. PLNA was represented on the CPNWC by Tom Tilley of Tilley’s Nursery in Coopersburg, Pa. Alternate representative Gregg Robertson, PLNA government relations consultant was also present.

The ban will take effect sixty days after the list is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. As of this writing, the list had not yet been published.

The species banned were:

• Japanese Angelica Tree (Aralia elata), Class B
• Japanese Hops (Humulus japonica), Class B
  
• Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), Class B
• Black Swallowort (Vincetoxium nigrum syn. Cynachum louiseae), Class B
• Pale Swallowort (Vincetoxium rossicum syn. Cynachum rossicum), Class B
• Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), Class B

If you have concerns or comments about any of these species, please call (717.238.2033) or email Gregg Robertson at PLNA.

The next meeting of the CPNWC will take place virtually on Skype January 21, 2021 at 1:00 pm. The list of the plants to be considered at this meeting will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin a week or two before the meeting. If you would like to be included in the meeting as a member of the public, please contact Trilby Libhart at PDA via tlibhart@pa.gov.

Species Profile

Java waterdropwort is native to East Asia and Queensland, Australia. It grows in wetland habitats, moist areas along streams, and on the edges of ponds. It prefers slow-moving or stagnant water. It was first introduced into North America by the horticultural industry and marketed as an ornamental wetland plant, an exotic vegetable, and a medicinal herb. It has escaped from cultivation into natural areas.

Aggressive Ground Cover

Java waterdropwort is an aggressive ground cover and can form dense colonies, quickly spreading into wetlands. Broken fragments are able to form adventitious roots, thus increasing its chances for spread. It can choke streams once established in a waterway. Other locations impacted by this species see a decline in ecological integrity and decreased recreational value.

Look-Alike Species

Look-alike species include Bishop's goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria), wild chervil (Anthriscus sylvestris), and caraway (Carum carvi). In addition to Pennsylvania, Java waterdropwort has also been found in Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, and Georgia. This information about Java waterdropwort was listed in the "Be an Early Detector: Protect Pennsylvania from these Emerging Invasive Species" brochure, created in 2017 by staff from the PA Natural Heritage Program.

 Expert Confirmation

This finding, reported to iMapInvasives, was confirmed by Steve Grund, Botanist with the PA Natural Heritage Program, who examined a specimen taken from the site. 

Location Sensitivity

Please note that the specific location of this finding cannot be released due to landowner privacy and other data sensitivity issues. As such, information regarding this finding is listed as confidential in iMapInvasives, meaning that the data record is not viewable to the general public and can only be seen by iMapInvasives administrators and registered users who are designated as confidential data viewers. 

Plans for Management

Other invasive species including phragmites and purple loosestrife were also found at this location, and treatment and management of the site are ongoing. 

Questions

Plants Provide Air Quality

Classrooms with plants have many positive effects for both students and educators, and are an important component of creating a healthy classroom environment.  Plants are good for minds and bodies. Indoor plants remove air pollutants and stabilize CO2, while creating a happier and calmer space for creative and focused learning.

Plants Enhance Mental and Physical Well-Being

Classrooms filled with plants and school gardens are important for our kids’ mental and physical well-being. Research shows that test scores increase by 10%; children are 7% healthier; and symptoms of ADD are reduced in classrooms that contain plants. Teachers report more positive feelings, greater satisfaction, and less misbehavior in classrooms with live plants.

As children return to school in the midst of a pandemic or begin online classrooms, these findings are particularly timely and relevant.

Additional Infographics

Two additional NICH Infographics, #PlantsDoThat: At Home and #PlantsDoThat: Where We Heal may also provide insight into the role of plants in promoting health and healing in indoor environments.

Spread the word! These infographics and other shareable social media graphics developed as part of the #PlantsDoThat campaign use data gathered from research publications, extension publications, government organization outputs, and resource websites. They are available for download and redistribution using the tag #PlantsDoThat at consumerhort.org/plantsdothat.

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants – indoors and out.

The survey sent to 174 landscape contractors, nurseries, garden centers and greenhouses within the Pennsylvania quarantine area using the online survey tool SurveyMonkey. The survey asked three demographic questions and seven impact questions.

The survey was in the field for eleven days from February 21-March 2, 2020 and PLNA received 50 responses for a response rate of 29%, which is good for a survey of this type.

The topline takeaways from the survey were:

·  The SLF is having a mostly negative affect overall, but is sector specific, with nurseries being the hardest hit with inspections and control costs.

·  Nurseries feel that they are bearing the brunt of SLF regulations while other economic sectors are largely ignorant, non-compliant and contributing to the spread of SLF, such as railroads.

·  Some landscape contractors and garden centers are finding that demand for control services and control products is a positive, but fear that the public will stop investing in their outdoor living spaces and gardens.

·  The green industry is largely compliant with SLF quarantine protocols and best management practices, but we aren’t perfect.

·  There is a continuing need for education and outreach to the industry.

Click here to download a complete copy of the survey results.

PDA is advising the public that if they suspect boxwood blight to dispose of the plants and leaf litter by burning, burying or double bagging the diseased plants and disposing of them in a landfill.

The catch to this latter disposal method is that it is illegal in Pennsylvania to dispose of yard waste in a landfill and many waste haulers will not pick it up for fear of being fined for doing so. By law, yard waste should go to a composting facility to be turned into compost.

While the notion of recycling yard waste through composting is generally a good idea, compost containing diseased boxwood material could become a vector for the spread of the disease. The public brings yard waste into these composting facilities and often leaves with a load of the mulch or compost created by last year’s yard waste for their flower beds and gardens.

PLNA has alerted PDA to this problem and urged PDA to meet with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates composting, waste hauling and landfills, to work out a solution to this problem.

As e-News went to press PDA and DEP had met, but had not yet developed a written plan for contacting the waste haulers, composting operations and landfills to make them aware of this problem and assure that diseased boxwoods would not make it into the composting waste stream to be recycled back into peoples’ gardens.

PLNA will alert members when this problem has been addressed.

In the meantime, AmericanHort has compiled a fact sheet on how to protect your business from boxwood blight at this link.