Another Garden Expo (this year officially “PBS Wisconsin’s Garden & Green Living Expo”) has come and passed.  The event was Friday, February 7 (noon until 7 pm), Saturday, February 8 (9 am until 6 pm) and Sunday, February 9 (10 am until 4 pm).  Yesterday, I finished my final tallies for the event and put my display materials to bed for another year.  It was a great show with total attendance just shy of 13,000. 

As in previous years, I sponsored the UW-Madison Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic (PDDC) booth at Garden Expo.  Event organizers Amanda Balistreri and Lacey Richgels generously provided me with a double booth for my display at no charge.   I was located directly across from the large UW-Madison Division of Extension Horticulture booth, right near the entrance to the exhibit hall.  This year my booth had a LEGO theme to highlight the building block plant disease models that I formally launched at the end of 2024.  I displayed 10 of the models that I designed (apple scab, Armillaria root disease, bacterial soft rot, bird’s nest fungi, black knot, blossom end rot, cedar-apple rust, corn smut, powdery mildew, and silver leaf) and provided a flier on how to access online information on the models. 

In addition to my custom-designed models, I used official LEGO long-stem roses to decorate the booth and had a bouquet of LEGO sunflowers and daffodils as part of a memorial to Shelley Ryan.  Shelley is the former host of Wisconsin Public Television’s “The Wisconsin Gardener” and the reason Garden Expo exists.  I also used a LEGO poinsettia to discuss how these popular plants are actually diseased.  Poinsettias are infected with a bacterium-like organism called a phytoplasma, which gives the plants their compact, bushy look.  Non-infected poinsettias are lanky and tree-like. 

In my booth, I also provided free UW Plant Disease Facts fact sheets (118 titles) and used these to promote my collectable plant disease medallions (“Read a Fact Sheet!  Take a Quiz!  Earn a Medallion!  Collect Them All!”).  People could also check out my plant disease-themed limerick book (Limerickettsia) and pick up a flier on how to order the book to help support PDDC activities.  I also provided fliers on my department (the UW-Madison Department of Plant Pathology), my monthly “PDDC Plant Disease Talks”, and the “Ask Your Gardening Questions-Live” Q&A sessions that I participate in with colleagues from the UW-Madison Division of Extension Horticulture.  Finally, I provided brochures on how to submit samples to my clinic and brochures that summarize PDDC outreach efforts, as well as brochures from the UW Turf Diagnostic Lab and the UW Soil and Forage Lab. 

My Garden Expo odyssey this year began with set up on Thursday, February 6 (a 4-hour task).  I was back on Friday at 9 am to complete the final touches on my booth and to prep to answer questions (with Lisa Johnson of Extension Dane County) in a live broadcast of “Garden Talk with Larry Meiller” at 11 am.  This was the first time that Larry’s show had ever been broadcast from Garden Expo.  In addition to the radio show, I gave three talks:  “New and Emerging Plant Diseases”, “Growing Healthy Plants:  Basics in Plant Disease Management”, and “Top Ten Plant Diseases of 2024”.  Thanks to Lisa Johnson, as well as Laura Jull and Derrick Grunwald of the UW-Madison Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, and Jared Hanken, a recent graduate of the UW-Madison’s Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, who helped staff my booth when I was off giving presentations.  While I was hanging out at the PDDC booth, I had a constant stream of visitors and pretty much talked with and answered questions for visitors the entire time.  Adding to the festivities, I participated in Garden Expo’s Kid’s Passport program.  Kids could pick up a booklet in the exhibit hall and get their booklet stamped at select Garden Expo booths (including mine).  In addition to the stamp, I gave kids a specially designed, 3D-printed medallion (check out the icon at the beginning of this article to see what the medallion looked like).  A huge shout out to Ted Geibel for frantically printing 400 of these medallions in the two weeks prior to Garden Expo. 

By the end of the Garden Expo, I had distributed 2,829 fact sheets, 701 brochures/informational handouts of various kinds, 199 handouts for my talks, and 270 medallions.  All of the fact sheets, fliers, and brochures were not only educational in nature but were branded with the UW-Madison Division of Extension logo and/or the UW-Madison CALS logo, thus providing advertising for the UW-Madison. 

Overall, I had a wonderful weekend and feel like I provided a valuable service to the public.  I heard numerous positive comments about, and thanks for the services that I provide.  The building block plant diseases appeared to make a particular splash.  All of this positive feedback mentally refreshes me and is part of what keeps me motivated to do the work that I do.  PBS Wisconsin’s Garden & Green Living Expo continues to be, by far, the most important and enjoyable in-person outreach event that I do every year. 

If you’d like to learn more about the PDDC and all of the crazy projects I work on as I try to get people excited about plant diseases, feel free to check out the clinic website at https://pddc.wisc.edu.  Also, feel free to follow the clinic on Facebook, Twitter (X), or Bluesky (@UWPDDC), or subscribe to the clinic’s listserv (UWPDDCLearn) by emailing me at pddc@wisc.edu or (608) 262-2863. 

I’m smiling as I write this article and already planning ahead for Garden & Green Living Expo 2026!

Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and people are always looking for gifts to buy for their sweethearts.  Even if you don’t have a significant other, Valentine’s Day can be a time to buy something fun for yourself!  But, what to buy?  Tired of the typical and somewhat cliché chocolates and red roses?  If so, consider a novel plant disease-related gift that will hopefully put a smile on your or your loved one’s face. 

Floral bouquets

I just dissed rose bouquets, but there are options for making plant-disease inspired floral arrangements for Valentine’s Day. 

First, I suggest that you include fantail willow.  Every time I see this plant, I wonder if it is infected with a phytoplasma of some kind.  Phytoplasmas are bacteria-like organisms (often moved from plant to plant by leafhoppers) that colonize a plant’s phloem (i.e., food-conducting tissue).  Symptoms associated with phytoplasma infections can include flattening and curlicuing of branches, both of which are characteristics of fantail willow.  Someday, I’m going to buy some branches of this plant and test them for phytoplasmas in my clinic. 

Next, I would include tulips with striped, puckered, and/or fringed petals.  Nowadays, these floral characteristics are likely due to the genetics of specific tulip varieties.   However, these features pay homage to the Rembrandt and parrot tulips of the past that were infected with Tulip mosaic virus (an aphid-transmitted plant virus).  Virus-infected tulips contributed to “tulip mania” in The Netherlands in the 1600s.  People went gaga over tulip bulbs that produced these unusual flowers, paid way too much for single bulbs (e.g., the equivalent of the purchase price of a house or a seafaring vessel), and subsequently lost their shirts when the market for these bulbs crashed. 

Finally, I’d throw in a few snapdragons.  There’s nothing specifically plant pathological about snapdragons, but if you ever grow them in your garden and let them go to seed, you’ll notice that the mature seed pods look like tiny human skulls!  So, as Dr. Death, I find this plant very “on brand”. 

Nobel rot wines

Need a bottle of wine to go with your plant disease bouquet?  If so, consider noble rot wines.  These wines are produced from grapes that have been infected by Botrytis cinerea.  If growing conditions are wet for an extended period, then this fungus can devastate a grape crop, rotting the fruits on the vine.  However, if there is only a short wet period (which promotes infection), followed by drier conditions, then the fungus causes a dehydration of the grapes without destructive decay.  This raisining of the grapes causes a concentration of sugars, and wines produced from noble rot grapes tend to be sweeter wines.  The presence of Botrytis cinerea also adds to the flavor profile of the wine, giving noble rot wines subtle hints of honey, beeswax and/or ginger.  Common noble rot wines include (but are not limited to) Tokaji (from Hungary/Slovania), Sauternes (from France) and Beerenauslese (from Germany/Austria).

Oud perfumes and colognes

Perfumes are a traditional Valentine’s Day gift, and oud perfumes are the plant disease versions that you can enjoy.  Oud (also spelled oudh) refers to a dark, fragrant resin that is produced in the heartwood of agarwood trees (Aquilaria spp.) in response to infection by the fungus Phialophora parasitica.  Only a small percentage of agarwood trees (maybe 2%) become infected.  The combination of sap and fungus has a scent that evokes leather, saffron and smoke.  Unfortunately, oud has historically has been so valued (for a variety of purposes in addition to perfume production) that agarwood trees have been overharvested to the point where many species are endangered.  There is now a move afoot to more sustainably produce oud by cultivating agarwood trees and artificially inoculating them.  So, if you decide that an oud perfume is your gift of choice, I suggest making sure the oud therein is from a sustainable source.

Artisan wood bowls

If you know of someone who really loves cherry wood (a reddish wood appropriate for Valentine’s Day), then consider finding a local woodworker who makes bowls from burls that form on the trunks of cherry trees.  These masses of wood (galls) are often the result of a fungal infection by Apiosporina morbosa, the black knot pathogen.  When infections occur on smaller branches, I affectionately refer to this disease as poop-on-a-stick, and the galls are not of much use.  However, larger black knot trunk galls are highly prized for their amazing grain patterns and can be used to make distinctive one-of-a-kind bowls that unfortunately, while beautiful, can be a bit pricey. 

Other types of bowls (or wooden art objects) that are made from diseased trees are those exhibiting spalting.  These wooden objects are produced from trees that are typically suffering from white rot, a kind of fungal wood rot.  As the fungus colonizes the wood and begins to degrade it, dark lines can form at the interface between healthy and diseased wood.  If caught at the right time (before substantial degradation has occurred), the diseased wood can be shaped into stunning artisan pieces with the decorative line patterns intact. 

Wood accessories and furniture

Do you or your significant other like to hike?  If so, then consider a diamond willow walking stick.  Diamond willow is not a type of willow tree, but the result of certain species of willows being infected by canker-causing fungi (in particular the fungus Valsa).  Infection leads the formation of diamond-shaped sunken areas (cankers) on affected branches.  These sunken areas have a Valentine’s day vibe as they exhibit a distinctive light and dark (often reddish) contrast between healthy and diseased tissue.  The diamond shapes and color combination make the infected branches highly prized for making not only walking sticks but also furniture.  Fancy a diamond willow love seat anyone? 

Some good reading

Finally, I’ll finish my list by shamelessly promoting my recently published book, “Limerickettsia:  A Plant Pathologist’s Book of Verse”.  Poetry is the language of love, is it not?  So, why not gift yourself or your loved one a book of 52 disease-themed limericks (including a Valentine’s Day appropriate one about Tobacco rattle virus on bleeding heart), with additional prose information, photographs, and original artwork. 

Questions?

If you have questions about any of the disease gifts discussed above, or have additional ideas for plant pathology-related gifts, feel free to contact the PDDC by email at pddc@wisc.edu or by phone at (608) 262-2863.  Also, feel free to check out the PDDC website (https://pddc.wisc.edu) for additional details on plant diseases and sample submission.  You can follow the PDDC on Facebook, Twitter (X), and Bluesky (@UWPDDC) or email me to subscribe to the PDDC listserv, UWPDDCLearn, to receive updates on clinic services and educational materials. 

Happy Valentine’s Day, and good luck in love and life!

Note

Links in this article lead to sites that are for illustrative purposes only and are not an endorsement of any particular vendor or item for sale.

Earlier this year, one of my colleagues called me “giddy” as I was happily expounding about all of the diseases that I was seeing this year due to our wet weather.  The pinnacle of my euphoria came this month when I received a sample of one of my all-time favorite diseases, zonate leaf spot.  This disease is caused by several species of the fungus Cristulariella/Grovesinia, and occurs on a wide range of plants.

My first encounter with zonate leaf spot was back in 2018.  Interestingly, I received two samples of the disease on the same day that year, from two different Wisconsin counties (Marathon and Buffalo), and on different hosts (maple and grape).  I subsequently saw the disease in 2019 on industrial hemp from Langlade County, and the sample I received this year was another maple leaf sample originating in Dunn County. 

In my initial encounter with zonate leaf spot in 2018, a UW-Extension county educator sent me photos of maple leaves with symptoms (roughly round spots with a pattern of concentric rings) that were typical of what I had seen in online photos of the disease.  I REALLY wanted to see a physical sample (and offered to do the diagnosis for free), as zonate leaf spot had been on my plant disease “bucket list” ever since I first saw drawings of the reproductive structures of Cristulariella/Grovesnia (called conidiomata) in one of my reference books.  The Extension educator was quite accommodating. 

Once the physical sample arrived, I again noted typical zonate leaf spot lesions.  I scanned the lesions under my dissecting microscope and relatively quickly found conidiomata of the pathogen.  These structures are HUGE, are multicellular, and are tannish and pyramidal in shape.  Quite frankly, they look like tiny, tan Christmas trees popping up from the leaf surface.  If you saw these (and they are readily visible using a 20X hand lens), you might think they are insect droppings of some kind.  I ended up incubating the maple leaves in a moist chamber for several days, hoping to stimulate additional sporulation.  Interestingly, the fungus eventually formed black sclerotia (resting structures) that were readily visible to the naked eye.  In the recent maple sample that I received, I immediately found both conidiomata and sclerotia as soon as I pulled the sample from the bag. 

When I encountered zonate leaf spot in 2019 on hemp, I decided to go a step further in the identification of the fungus, as I was not able to find any reports of zonate leaf spot occurring on this host plant.  I plucked one of the conidiomata from the leaf surface and placed it on the center of a petri-plate filled with a potato-based growth medium.  The grew quite quickly on this medium.  Sue Lueloff, the molecular diagnostician in my clinic at the time, was able to able obtain a DNA sequence for the fungus, which matched sequences from known isolates of Grovesinia moricola. 

While I tend to get very excited when I see zonate leaf spot, as a home gardener, there’s not much to worry about.  This disease is similar to most other, more common leaf diseases in terms of management.  You begin by making sure to collect up and dispose of any leaves from infected trees after they drop in the fall.  The leaves can be burned (where allowed), buried, or hot composted.  Maintenance pruning of susceptible woody species can help with control of the disease as well.  This pruning opens up the plant canopy and improves airflow, which helps speed drying when leaves get wet.  This drier environment is less favorable for Cristulariella/Grovesnia to infect.  To be honest, zonate leaf spot does not appear to be a serious disease in most instances, so don’t panic if you think you see the disease.  Just let me know if you do, as you will make my day!  

If you have questions about zonate leaf spot (or any other plant disease) feel free to contact me at (608) 262-2863 or pddc@wisc.edu.  As always, for more information on plant diseases and their management, be sure to check out the UW-Madison PDDC website (https://pddc.wisc.edu/).  To keep up to date on clinic activities and resources, follow the PDDC on Facebook or Twitter (@UWPDDC), or subscribe to the clinic’s listserv, UWPDDCLearn (by emailing or phoning the clinic to subscribe). 

Go forth and look for supercool, bizarre diseases.  They are out there waiting for you to discover!