In 2011, Springer reported that the average U.S. household used approximately 69 gallons of water per capita daily. Some of that water is likely used to install and maintain landscape plants. However, future water shortages may literally change the American landscape if enough water is not allocated to ensure plant survival. Installing and maintaining landscapes can have real environmental and well-being benefits to homeowners; landscapes provide an aesthetically beautiful backdrop, as well as areas for recreation and relaxation (Hall and Dickson, 2011).

Research has shown that better educated homeowners are more likely to adopt conservation measures such as turning off the tap when washing dishes or buying plants that need less water (Gilg and Barr, 2006; St. Hilaire et al., 2010). Households using less water had more concern for conservation issues and future preservation of water resources (Gregory and Leo, 2003). With diminishing fresh water resources, alternatives to irrigating residential landscapes will be in greater demand. Some reductions in the fresh water landscape use might come from using recycled water.

Recycled greywater from washing machines, bathtubs, showers and sinks (but not toilets), constituted approximately 60 percent of the total wastewater from households. This can equate to about 30,000 gallons of greywater a year for a family of four (Al-Jayyousi, 2003; Cabrera et al., 2013). If greywater is treated, it can facilitate groundwater recharge, and may play a substantial role in the reuse and total reduction of fresh water usage by households (Al-Jayyousi, 2003; Eriksson et al., 2002). In the same way, water could also be recycled from nursery production facilities and reused to grow plants. We were curious to learn how consumer perceptions about the source of the water used for plant production and how much water plants used to become established in the landscape affected their decision to buy a perennial or a small tree.

Building on the findings we reported in the June issue (from Knuth et al., 2018, using the same survey, same data, same methodology), we developed two question groups: one for small woody trees and one for herbaceous perennials. We photographed plants and then incorporated additional information about the plants including: (a) price at one of three levels, (b) production with one of three water sources using either fresh water, recycled water, or a blend of fresh and recycled water, and (c) use of irrigation only for the first season to help the plant to become established or use of irrigation for most seasons after establishment1 (Figure 1). The herbaceous perennial plants included were coral bells (Heuchera americana), English lavender (Lavendula angustifolia 'Munstead’), and perennial verbena (Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’) with prices of $6.99, $9.99, and $12.99 per container. The small trees included were golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica ‘Gro Low’), and redbud (Cercis canadensis) with prices of $19.99, $29.99 and $39.99 per container.

To compare respondents in different water/drought situations, we used the three categories based on whether they accurately perceived if the region in which they lived was experiencing drought (Knuth et al., 2018). The three categories were based on whether the survey participant accurately perceived if the region in which they lived was experiencing drought and included the following:

• They did not perceive drought even though they were in real drought (NP/R),
• They did not perceive drought, but they were not in real drought (NP/NR),
• They perceived drought correctly since they were in a real drought (P/R).

Consumer preferences

Survey results for perennials showed the major influence on the decision was made based on the plant, which is consistent with prior research. Consumers preferred the perennial verbena more than the English lavender, which was more desired than the coral bells. The second most important factor in the decision to buy the perennial was the water source. Plants grown with fresh water were preferred over plants grown with recycled water and the blend of fresh and recycled water was the least preferred (Figure 2). Lastly, their decision to buy the plant was equally weighted on price and water use in the landscape. So water source was, in the decision process, more important than water use in the landscape. In terms of water use in the landscape, respondents most preferred plants that required irrigation but only for the first season. Lower prices were preferred to higher prices.

In the decision to buy perennials, we found several differences between the drought perception/realization groups. Figure 3 shows the relative utility (or value) placed on the water sources and water uses. A higher score shows the consumers valued that characteristic more while a negative score shows they did not value that characteristic. The water used in the landscape was slightly more important for the NP/NR group compared to the other two groups, both of which had experienced a real drought. In addition, the utility score for “grown in the nursery with fresh water” was lower for the NP/NR group compared to the NP/R group. We also found that the NP/NR group valued less (had a lower utility score) “requires irrigation in the landscape but only for the first season to help the plant become established” compared to the NP/R group.

For small trees overall, plant type was the most important attribute, followed by price, water use in production and least important was water use in the landscape (Figure 4). There was good consistency between the decision-making process for the perennials and small trees. Redbud was the most preferred plant, followed by goldenrain tree and fragrant sumac. Lower priced trees were preferred over higher priced trees. Trees grown with fresh water or grown with a blend of fresh and recycled water were preferred over grown with recycled water (Figure 5). Requiring irrigation until establishment was preferred over requiring irrigation for most seasons. The exception was for the NP/R group who preferred plants that did require irrigation for most seasons. This group had experienced a drought but had not perceived it. For these small trees, this group preferred to irrigate the small tree each season, which would likely require more water. Recall that all three trees appear in the “low” category need minimal irrigation during years of normal rainfall (Costello and Jones, 2014). This would suggest that education about the real water needs of this plant may contribute to changing the consumers’ attitudes about irrigation each season.

Industry relevance

The results of this survey help the green industry understand the relative importance of water source and landscape water use from the consumer perspective. The novel insight is that water source during production and water use while in the landscape were at least as important as price. This finding suggests that there may be some benefit to describing both water source and water needs for plants expected to last more than one season (e.g. herbaceous perennials and woody perennials) in point of purchase information. St. Hilaire et al. (2008) showed educational programs about public water conservation influenced landscape choices from present landscape plants to more water conserving landscape plants. Promotion of low water use plants and the use of recycled water in plant production of those plants may become marketable benefits.

Consumers placed greater relative importance on water source during production over water use in the landscape for both herbaceous perennials and small trees. They preferred fresh water over recycled water and least preferred a blend of fresh with recycled water for perennials and recycled water used for woody perennials. Additionally, the NP/R group, who incorrectly assessed they were not in a drought when they actually were, placed a higher value on nursery plants grown with fresh water compared to those who were actually not in drought and did not perceive one (NP/NR, the comparison group). This finding parallels with what St. Hilaire et al. (2008) found in that, despite scant evidence of the increased risk of disease, recycled water has become more popular only among water conservationists who seek to achieve more efficient ways to use water.

Hurd (2006) suggested that with a focus on consumer attitudes, changes in landscape plant selection could reduce overall water use and reduce future water demand. The attitude that recycled water was not as valuable (lower utility score), especially for the NP/R group shows a great need for education. Consistent with other work, our participants may have preferred fresh water due to concerns about or lack of information regarding the safety of recycled (greywater). Clearly, this is a point for future education, especially for nurseries striving to conserve water resources in other work has shown sustainability concerns by consumers often translate into substantial willingness to pay price premiums. Perhaps the use of recycled water could be more socially acceptable if it were marketed as a means to produce a high-quality product while conserving an important natural resource on the farm or production site.

Our study was the first to combine production water source and landscape water use and show that water source in production and water use needs in the landscape are relatively similar to price in terms of relative importance. This is helpful information for the green industry in that efforts to communicate water source and water needs may be favorably received by consumers.

Funding for this study was provided by USDA SCRI Clean WateR3 – Reduce, Remediate, Recycle Grant Number 2014-51181-22372; USDA NIFA Hatch Projects MICL 02085, MICL 1011569, and TEX0-1-7051; Michigan State University AgBioResearch, and MSU Project GREEN and Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

Melinda Knuth is a doctoral student, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University; Bridget Behe and Tom Fernandez are professors, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University; Charlie Hall is a professor and Ellison Chair, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University; and Patricia Huddleston is a professor, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Michigan State University.

¹ The landscape water use categories were derived from the University of California-Davis Water Use Classification of Landscape Species IV (Costello and Jones, 2014). These categories were based on the rate of evapotranspiration expressed as a percentage in reference to evapotranspiration rates in maintained, well-irrigated tall fescue turf. Plants classified in the “high” category need frequent irrigation in during normal rainfall years, plants classified in the “low” category need minimal irrigation during years of normal rainfall, and plants classified in the “very low” category need no irrigation except during years below average rainfall (Costello and Jones, 2014). However, all six plants used in this study appear on the list for low water use plants.

Have you ever been caught off-guard by caterpillars? I don’t mean that a gang of caterpillars jumped from behind a tree and scared the pants off you. I mean one week trees look fine and the next they are defoliated. Rapid growth and feeding make caterpillars important and challenging pests of trees in nurseries and landscapes. There are dozens of caterpillar pests of woody trees and shrubs, but in this article I cover the two most common pests of oaks and maples, which are two of the most common trees.

Both species are in the family Saturniidae. This family contains many of the world’s largest and most beautiful moths characterized by rings or eyespots on their wings that resemble Saturn. Orangestriped oakworms (Anisota senatoria) are common throughout the eastern U.S. and west to the Great Plains. They typically have one generation per year. Adults are 1-2 inches long and orange to pink with a stark white spot on each forewing. Female moths lay clusters of yellow eggs on the bottom of oak leaves in mid to late summer. Eggs hatch in a week or two then tiny young caterpillars feed in groups beneath leaves.

This is the sneaky part about caterpillars. They start small and are hard to notice, just skeletonizing leaves. However, they grow quickly and increase their body weight and feeding by hundreds of times. Orangestriped oakworm larvae become black with increasingly noticeable orange stripes. Larvae grow more than 2 inches long and consume entire leaves, leaving only the toughest midveins. They also become less gregarious and spread throughout a tree or groups of trees in search of new leaves.

Orangestriped oakworms, as you would expect, feed primarily on oaks. Red oaks, scarlet oaks, pin oaks, and willow oaks are preferred over white oaks, chestnut oaks and others for feeding and oviposition. Maples and other trees can be damaged by orangestriped oakworms, particularly if they are near a heavy infestation on oaks.

Greenstriped mapleworm, Dryocampa rubicunda, has many similarities to orangestriped oakworm. It is also found throughout the Eastern United States. Adults are called rosey maple moths. They are bright pink and yellow and about an inch long. They lay eggs in early summer and tiny yellow caterpillars feed gregariously like their orangestriped cousins. These grow into 2-inch green caterpillars with black horns. In just 30 days they are full grown and ready to pupate. However, unlike orangestriped oakworms, a second generation of moths will emerge from these pupae in a couple weeks to lay eggs again. Greenstriped mapleworm can have two to three generations per year in warm regions.

Caterpillars damage trees by eating leaves. Hundreds of caterpillar species feed on oaks and maples but only a couple are pests that cause noticeable damage. Even feeding by pests, like oakworms and mapleworms, may be limited to a single branch that could go without notice. However, sometimes and in some places, outbreaks occur in which many trees are defoliated. Sometimes because caterpillar outbreaks do not occur every year. Some places because certain nursery and landscape situations are more prone to damage than others.

It is hard to predict the years when caterpillar outbreaks will occur. The places where outbreaks occur are easier to predict. Most pests become more abundant and damaging when lots of their host plants are grown together under unnatural conditions. Thus, caterpillar damage can be worse in nurseries where many oak or maple trees are grown in tight quarters. Severe defoliation also occurs on urban trees where whole neighborhoods can be lined with one species of oak or maple growing in hot dry conditions.

These nurseries and urban street plantings make it easy for female moths (and other pests) to find their preferred host tree to lay eggs. Once the eggs hatch in these situations it is easy for caterpillars to move from tree to tree eating leaves. Presumably, if you are reading this you manage trees in nurseries or landscapes and may have to deal with orangestriped oakworms or greenstriped mapleworms. So, what do you do?

Scouting and control

Luckily, considerable research was conducted at Virginia Tech to develop integrated pest management tactics for orangestriped oakworm. The first thing you can do is look for moths and eggs in midsummer. In central North Carolina, moths turn up at porch lights and start laying eggs in late July. Inspect trees to find the masses of yellow eggs. I know this seems like finding a needle in a haystack, but each egg mass has up to 700 eggs, so it is worth finding them. Focus on the trees most likely to be infested, which means trees in groups or stressful conditions and trees that were infested the previous year. They often hit the same locations year after year because they pupate in soil near the trees where they feed.

Eggs are laid on the undersides of leaves so looking up from below you can scan for the yellow masses. Trees are pretty tough and can tolerate around 25 percent defoliation, especially late in the season, without reducing vigor. Citizen complaints also increase above 25 percent defoliation, so this has been established as a reasonable aesthetic injury level for orangestriped oakworm. Twenty-five percent damage can occur with as little as one egg mass on trees up to 18 feet or nine on larger trees around 40 feet.

Unfortunately, similar work has not been conducted to determine aesthetic injury levels and egg mass thresholds for greenstriped mapleworm or many other pests. Use orangestriped oakworm guidelines, but be sure to look for eggs earlier in the season and watch for multiple generations.

Small patches of defoliation are easier to see than egg masses. Each group of caterpillars came from one egg mass, so you can gauge how many egg masses were present and the potential for damage. But don’t get caught off guard. Defoliation happens fast, so a few nibbled leaves could become severe defoliation in a week or two.

In many cases caterpillar infestations are small and do not cause much damage. Even trees that are entirely defoliated will leaf out again and be fine unless it happens every year. In nurseries, mid-summer damage may not be a problem if trees won’t be sold and planted until fall. If an early infestation is confined to a branch or two a little pruning might be all you need. For high-value trees and those with yearly infestations, a variety of insecticides are available that can be applied to the foliage or even injected into the trunk. The most important thing is to monitor trees to catch problems early, so you are not caught off guard when a tree goes bare.

Steve Frank is Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department Entomology and Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University. You can reach him at sdfrank@ncsu.edu. For more information on nursery and landscape IPM visit http://ecoipm.org.

Bonton is a South Dallas community where 85 percent of men have been to prison, poverty is rampant and jobs are scarce. Bonton is also a food desert, where access to healthy foods is non-existent. Daron Babcock, along with several other faithful helpers, are steering this neighborhood in a completely different direction.

Bonton Farms was Dallas’ first urban farm. Daron started the farm on 1.25 acres amidst a neighborhood riddled with crime. In 2016, a local Dallas family donated 20 acres of land located about 10 miles from the original farm. The family was so inspired by the mission of the farm, they purchased another 20-acre plot adjacent to the original one.

The Bonton Farms mission statement: An agricultural intervention to restore lives, create jobs and ignite hope in the most forgotten and neglected neighborhoods for the most marginalized and vulnerable people.

In the Bonton neighborhood, 63 percent of residents lack personal transportation and the nearest grocery store is a 3-hour round-trip city bus ride away. Instead of making that long trip, the residents go to one of the three beer and wine stores where they have over-priced, outdated, processed foods. Daron explains how the impact on the residents’ health is devastating. Bonton’s cardio-vascular disease rate is 54 percent higher than that of the city of Dallas. Diabetes is 45 percent higher; stroke 61 percent higher; and cancer 58 percent higher. As Daron reveals, this affects the health of the community in Bonton, and impacts people and their ability to work and be productive.

“We believe that our little neighborhood should change from within, driven by our own people using our own hands. So, we launched Bonton Farms,” he says.

Bonton Farms grows myriad of fresh food, taking great care to adhere to organic standards. The farm diverts organic waste from many channels to create compost that replenishes the soil. Besides vegetables and fruits, the farm is also home to free-range chickens, goats, turkeys, rabbits and beehives.

Danny George, who grew up in the Bonton neighborhood, manages the farm. He told D Magazine that he remembers when people from the Rhoads Terrace housing project would take potshots across the street into the police station and shoot at the officers’ wives when they’d come by with lunch.

“Growing up in Bonton was like growing up in Afghanistan or Pakistan,” he told the magazine. “People were shot and killed daily. My mother would cover me with her body when the shooting would start.”

Danny left the neighborhood and worked as a machinist in Garland for 10 years before Daron convinced him to move back and manage the farm. He makes less money now, but told D Magazine “he’s doing God’s work.”

Read the inspirational account about Daron’s personal struggles and tragedies, which led him to buying the original plot of land and starting farm, as well as Danny’s transition back to his old neighborhood. Reading it gave me the chills. (www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2018/february/bonton-farms-south-dallas-daron-babcock/)

Besides providing access to healthy foods, Bonton Farms also provides jobs to residents, which helps them break free of the unemployment and poverty cycles.

There are other neighborhoods like Bonton across North America in need. Consider using your hands or your checkbook to help someone like Daron and his staff in your own community.

P.S. Follow them on Instagram or on Facebook (@bontonfarms) for some feel-good social media time.