IPM for Landscape Plants

A Technical Report from The Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories

Maintaining the health and vigor of trees and ornamental plants is the best defense against insects, mites, disease, and other plant stresses. To protect the health of ornamental plants using environmentally sound techniques, a scientific approach to plant care and pest suppression has been developed, commonly called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Components of a typical IPM program include professional monitoring, safe treatments, and detailed reporting.

Diseases and insects are often not the true cause of declining plant health. Instead, cultural problems such as soil compaction, poor pruning methods, and incorrect plant selection lead to poor plant condition. These are problems that are often overlooked when a routine spray program alone is implemented. With IPM, properties are visited frequently and these problems can be identified while there is time for corrective action. In many cases, fixing cultural problems will eliminate secondary disease and insect issues without any additional treatments.