Rapid growth and development occurs during the preschool years, ages 2 through 5. A child grows about 2 to 3 inches and gains 4 to 5 pounds each year. Proper nutrition and opportunities to play and be physically active are critical to ensuring your child grows properly, learns to enjoy nutritious foods, and adopts healthy behaviors for maximum development and lifelong health. This publication covers various topics of interest to parents and caregivers of young children and gives an overview of optimal feeding practices.

Annual pruning is a critical management practice for producing easily harvested, heavy crops of high quality peaches. However, pruning is not a substitute for other orchard practices such as fertilization, irrigation, and pest control. Pruning practices vary slightly in different regions of the United States, but have changed little in the East during the past 70 years. Although pruning may vary slightly for different varieties and localities, certain general practices should be followed. The successful pruner must understand the principles of plant growth, the natural growth habit of the tree, and how the tree will respond to certain types of pruning cuts. Improper pruning will reduce yield and fruit quality.

The most effective form of plant disease control in the landscape is prevention. Disease prevention can be as simple as choosing the right plant for the right place at planting time. This fact sheet was developed as a guide to shrubs that generally experience few problems in Virginia landscapes. Using these species for new plantings should help you avoid troublesome disease and insect problems in your landscape.

Many of the tree species commonly planted in Virginia landscapes suffer from disease problems. Although some diseases can be cured, most must be controlled on a preventative basis. The best option for new plantings is to choose species that have a low risk of developing disease. Listed below, in alphabetical order, are some choices of problem-free trees for Virginia landscapes.

Rose rosette disease (RRD), a disease believed to be caused by the recently identified Rose rosette virus, has been spreading through much of the wild rose population of the Midwestern, Southern, and Eastern United States for years.

Family forest owners ask themselves many questions about their properties, such as if and when to cut timber, what types of wildlife to manage for, how to control exotic invasive species, and how to protect water quality. An increasingly common question that forest owners ask is whether they should certify their forests. This publication can help forest owners determine if certification is an appropriate option. It defines certification, as well as its benefits and costs, and describes three common certification programs in Virginia. It also covers how family forest owners can begin the certification process, lists sources of additional information, and answers frequently asked questions.

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are chemicals that are designed to affect plant growth and/or development (figure 1). They are applied for specific purposes to elicit specific plant responses. Although there is much scientific information on using PGRs in the greenhouse, it is not an exact science. Achieving the best results with PGRs is a combination of art and science — science tempered with a lot of trial and error and a good understanding of plant growth and development. good understanding of plant growth and development.

Gardening is a great activity to help maintain physical and emotional well-being. However, it is not without its challenges, even for the able bodied. With a little creativity, gardening can be an accessible activity and can have therapeutic value. As a therapy, gardening is unique in that a living medium, plants, are used. This allows the gardener to be anchored in reality. When gardeners realize that they have an effect on something else that is living there are often positive changes in their behavior and feelings. The term therapeutic gardening means that the activity of gardening is designed to assure positive health outcomes and minimize negative outcomes.

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is a wood-boring beetle native to eastern Asia and is now considered the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America. Since its discovery in Michigan in 2002, it has killed tens of millions of native ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees in the United States and Canada. This destruction has already cost municipalities, property owners, and businesses tens of millions of dollars in damages.

This publication features small, medium, and large flowering shrubs (five of each category) with photos. All photos are by the author. There are at least eight shrubs from each category noted in a table (without photos) at the end of this publication. All shrubs — featured or in the table — are landscape worthy and are especially suited to landscapes in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic States.