Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

04/07/2026

Mayfest celebration Saturday May 2
Join us for three gardening courses at Suffolk County Farm, Yaphank
Three classes for $25
See the link in our bio for more info and to register.

01/08/2026

Is becoming a Suffolk County Master Gardener Volunteer one of your goals for 2026?
Let's make it happen!
There is still room available and time to apply for our 2026 Master Gardener program which starts in March!
For information and to apply: https://ccesuffolk.org/gardening/master-gardener-volunteers or reach out to Roxanne Zimmer [email protected]
See you in class!

09/03/2025

Be on the lookout!

Laurel Wilt found on Long Island- first time in New York

Margery Daughtrey of the Cornell University-Long Island Horticulture Research and Extension Center (LIHREC) recently identified the pathogen that causes laurel wilt on a wilting sassafras at a home in Northport, Long Island, New York. She sent the sample to the University of Florida, Tropical Research and Extension Center (TREC) for molecular identification and confirmation was concluded at the USDA-APHIS-PPQ-NIS Molecular Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. The insect vector, the redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus) is also an introduced species and also recently found near Northport.

Be on the lookout for signs of laurel wilt, a fungal disease that impacts trees and shrubs in the laurel family, including sassafras and spicebush. Please note that laurel wilt does not impact mountain laurel, which is in the unrelated heath family.

Laurel wilt:
✅ Was recently confirmed on Long Island, the northernmost occurrence in the U.S.
✅ Is spread by the redbay ambrosia beetle, a tiny insect.
✅ Spreads quickly inside of a plant and blocks water flow, causing sudden wilting or browning and death within weeks.
✅ Could impact the diversity of forests across New York State as well as pollinator species that depend on sassafras and spicebush.

There is currently no known treatment for laurel wilt, so management focuses on slowing the spread of the fungus to new areas. If you see wilting or dead sassafras or spicebush, leave them in place. Find more info on laurel wilt and resources to ID sassafras and spicebush on DEC’s website: https://on.ny.gov/4mMpvDc

Think you may have found laurel wilt? Report it to iMapInvasives: https://on.ny.gov/4p8CQr6 or to the DEC Forest Health Lab: https://on.ny.gov/3HZ5hH2

📷: Abby Marino, Long Island Invasive Species Management Area

01/15/2025

SPRING GARDENING SCHOOL 2025
Saturday, April 5
Join us for a day of gardening programs with our talented Master Gardeners at the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank.
Register as soon as you can as popular sessions close quickly.
Fee $75 ( Early Bird Discount $70 before Feb 1st)
Brochure and registration form are linked in our bio.
Contact Sarah Osborn for more info [email protected] or 631-727-7850 x207

10/30/2024

Check into Plant Rehab! Swipe through to see before and after.

Back in December 2023, we were asked, “what is wrong with my Peace Lilies?!” There were two plants, one, we named “Charlie” and one we named “Dad.” They were both given as gifts at the funerals of our clients’s brother and father. We really wanted to help get these important plants back to good health, so we offered for them to be brought in to be repotted.

First thing’s first: the plants were potted into pots way too big for their root systems. There was so much empty, wet space with no roots. The root systems were rotting. We took whatever was left of the root systems apart, culled out all the rotted roots and plant parts and looked at what might be salvageable. There wasn’t much, unfortunately.

We potted up some healthy portions of the plant into fresh potting mix in smaller containers. The trick was to get new roots to grow. Roots develop best when the soil is warm, so these plants spent a few months on a heating mat in a bright, but not sunny spot in our office. Our client checked in on the “patients” every few months and we sent photos to keep them updated on their progress.

After 3 months, new leaves were starting to unfurl, but roots were still slow to establish.

After 8 months, roots were growing well and Charlie even sent up a flower!

At 10 months, we decided Charlie and Dad could go home. Dad recovered wonderfully, and we’re hopeful that with the proper care, will prosper at home. Charlie certainly had a rough go, but left the office with lustrous green leaves and an establishing root system.

08/23/2023

I’ve spotted lanternfly - now what?

An invasive new planthopper, spotted lanternfly is now well-established around much of central and western Long Island, NY, including western Suffolk, Nassau, Queens and Brooklyn. If you haven’t seen it in this area yet, you probably will soon! If you see it in the region, what should you do?

- Don’t worry! Spotted lanternfly isn’t dangerous to people or animals, doesn’t damage structures and can’t survive or breed in homes. It isn’t a killer of landscape plants either, though high numbers stress plants and are an annoyance.


- You can collect the insect in a vial of rubbing alcohol or take a (clear) photo and report the sighting at https://agriculture.ny.gov/spottedlanternfly. The NYS Dept. of Agriculture already knows it’s widespread around central and western Long Island, if not in every neighborhood (yet). The Dept. is mostly interested in new reports from eastern Long Island (Yaphank and east).


- Learn more spotted lanternfly! What it is, where it is, what it does and how to manage it: https://tinyurl.com/NY-IPM-SLF .

Photo credit: Eric Day, Virginia Tech

05/15/2023

Cleaning up around the Griffing Ave office.
If anyone has any plants they'd like to donate, let us know!

05/11/2023

ALERT! Tomato Seed and Plants Potentially Contaminated with Virus of Concern.

It was brought to our attention earlier this week that seeds purchased from an organic seed company this season may have been contaminated with the new virus, Tomato brown rugose fruit virus.

https://linktr.ee/ccesuffolkgardening see the alert for additional info

04/28/2023

Pollinator Protection Guides

Whether you're a beekeeper, a farmer, homeowner, or a land manager, you care about maintaining diverse pollinator communities. These Pollinator Protection Guides , written by experts from across Cornell University, will help anyone looking to implement best management practices to protect pollinator health. They assist diverse stakeholder groups from across New York and around the world in working together with the common goal of conserving pollinators.

https://cals.cornell.edu/pollinator-network/conservation/pollinator-protection-guides

04/20/2023

Happy accidents! When the rootstock and the grafted scion both compete for your attention, you get a very pretty display!

Many ornamental cherries in the landscape are grafted trees. You have a hardy rootstock which is your trunk and roots, and a scion grafted on which provides ornamental properties: double flowers, colorful varieties, weeping habits, etc.

In the case of this tree , the rootstock is providing the white flowers while the scion provides the pink.