New basil varieties resist downy mildew
Ordering seeds for your 2020 garden? Try a new variety of basil with resistance to downy mildew — an increasingly common disease of basil in Virginia. Did your basil 
plants turn brown and die early in the summer last year? There’s a good chance it was downy mildew. In this Facebook video Virginia Cooperative Extension Tech Plant Pathologist Mary Ann Hansen discusses basil downy mildew and the new resistant varieties developed by Rutgers University.
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‘Crape Murder’
Though it is a common practice, “topping” crape myrtles ruins the natural form of the plant and can lead to stem decay and dead branches in the canopy.
It is a misconception that crape myrtles need to be severely cut back in late winter or early spring. More …