Helpful Links

The Internet has a wealth of information for gardeners but not all of it is reliable. Consider the following websites to find dependable information on the Web to answer lawn and garden questions.

Google Search Purdue.edu

Purdue University is a leader in Horticulture related studies and hosts a huge array of resources. Specific areas of interest can be found in the links below, but if you know what you're looking for, use this link to search Purdue's huge website for what you're looking for using Google's infamous search engine.

Google Search University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Like, Purdue, University of Illinois is also a terrific leader in Horticulture related studies and hosts a huge array of resources. Use this link to search the University of Illinois website for what you're looking for using Google's infamous search engine.

University of Florida's Tree Selector

This web site is designed to help guide you through the process of tree selection, and provide a list of possible trees for your project in the northeast United States, hardiness zones 2 - 7. It is also designed to provide extensive cultural and maintenance information, and many photographs.

Plant Information Online

Use Plant Information Online to discover sources in 930 North American nurseries for 100948 plants, find 348856 citations to 132726 plants in science and garden literature, link to selected websites for images and regional information about 9924 plants, and access information on 2293 North American seed and nursery firms. Plant Information Online is a free service of the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Google Search Ohio State University

And Ohio State University is another great resource for Horticulture related studies and hosts a huge array of resources. Use this link to search the OSU website for what you're looking for using Google's infamous search engine.

Purdue Consumer Horticulture Website

This website has a good search feature at the top of the page. Useful web pages and links include: Purdue Gardening News Articles, Purdue Gardening Publications (website #3), Indiana Master Gardener Program, Upcoming Gardening Events, Prairie Wildflowers, Gardens to Visit in Indiana, Purdue Plant & Pest Diagnostic Lab, Purdue Extension Garden TIPS, Purdue’s Turf Tips, the Purdue vegetable insect website and others.

Purdue Cooperative Extension Marion County Office

The mission of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service is education of Indiana citizens through the application of land-grant university research and knowledge base to develop youth and strengthen agriculture, families and communities.

TreeCareTips.org

Consumer Information website where tree owners can find information about caring for trees and protecting their landscapes. Learn about tree stressors such as diseases, floods, hurricanes, pests, and other threats to tree health. Information about feeding, pruning, transplanting, mulching and other topics.

The Weather Underground

"The Weather Underground is committed to delivering the most reliable, accurate weather information possible. Our state-of-the-art technology monitors conditions and forecasts for over 60,000 U.S. and international cities, so you'll always find the online weather information that you need."

The Old Farmer's Almanac

This is the Old Farmer's Almanac website. They have a lot of history on predicting various weather conditions. This includes snow, rainfall and drought.

Purdue Lawn Publications

All of the current lawn publications are found here. The web page also includes information on turf insects, diseases and moles in addition to the publications on turfgrass establishment and maintenance (AY publication series). Click on Turf Tips at the top to find timely tips. The turfgrass home page (Home) also provides additional useful information such as the Midwestern Weed ID and Control link. The Purdue class links also have additional information.

Purdue Horticulture Publications

This is from the Purdue Consumer Horticulture website. Check this website if you cannot find an appropriate HO publication in website #1. This listing of primarily Purdue gardening publications by topic gives the latest revision or review date of the HO publications.

Purdue Entomology Publications (insects and related pests)

This is from the Purdue Entomology website. Publications are grouped by subject matter and publication series (E=entomology, GM=gypsy moth, ADM=animal damage management). The most current publication revision date is given.

Purdue Botany and Plant Pathology Publications (plant diseases)

This is from the Botany and Plant Pathology website. Publications are grouped by subject matter and publication series (BP=botany and plant pathology, PPP=Purdue pesticide programs). Current publication dates are given.

Purdue Extension Entomology

Click on the subject matter topic at the right for links to more information. For example, Animal Damage Management takes you to the Wildlife Conflicts Information Hotline and Biological Control links you to ACORN, the Gypsy Moth Website and Landscape Entomology while Vegetable takes you to the insect website on that topic. Click on Publications at the bottom of the page for publications grouped by subject matter and publication series (ADM, E and GM).

Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab

At the top of the page you can search the entire website for insect, disease, weed and other plant problem information. The P&PDL Updates provide current plant and pest information during the growing season. Check out the Picture of the Week during the growing season and the Frequently Asked Questions link.

Purdue P.L.A.N.T.

This is the Purdue Landscape and Nursery Thesaurus (PLANT). It is primarily intended for professional landscape contractors/managers and commercial nursery growers in the Midwest and northeast U.S. Numerous links from other states are available on ornamental plant selection and maintenance. Click on the specific category for links to the desired topic.

Purdue Extension Emerald Ash Borer Information

Emerald ash borers (agrilus planipennis) are pests of ash trees which belong to a group of insects known as metallic wood boring beetles (or buprestids). Immature borers damage and eventually kill ash trees by feeding under tree bark. topic. Learn more by visiting this informative website.

Purdue Applied Meteorology Group

A diverse range of research problems are addressed by the Purdue Applied Meteorology Group. Extensive interaction between researchers in agriculture and science provides opportunities for the application of meteorology to further understand the environmental problems in society.

OSU Extension Internet Resources for the Green Industry

A collection helpful web links.

Wildlife Conflicts Information Hotline (USDA, IDNR, Purdue)

Here is information on how to deal with nuisance wildlife. A toll-free telephone hotline is listed (1-800-893-4116). Click on Wildlife Conflicts Information, Leaflets or some of the other links.

CDMS

CDMS is an information services company that maintains an extensive database of agricultural chemical information from over 80 manufacturers. Continually updated, you should find the MSDS you're looking for here.

Pesticide Database Searches (OISC)

This website of the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) provides a database to search for registered pesticides by active ingredient, pest, application site (plant) and other factors. Click on Pesticide Registration Search to begin and find out the various ways you can search.

Ohio State Extension Ohioline

This site contains many Extension publications suitable for Indiana and has an excellent search function. Click on: Yard and Garden, Fact Sheets, Bulletins (for more extensive publications) or Search. This may be the best website outside of Indiana for central Indiana. It includes many fact sheets on residential and/or nuisance pests.

University of Illinois Extension

To find information on this website, click on Horticulture & Home Garden or Publications. By clicking on Horticulture & Home Garden, you will find: Home Yard and Garden Pest Newsletter; Hort Corner; Horticulture Solutions Series; International Society of Arboriculture (search by zip code for a certified arborist); Illinois Virtual Forest; Integrated Pest Management and IPLANT. After going to Publications, click on VISTA Publications and then Publications for RPD’s (i.e. Reports on Plant Disease).

Michigan State University Extension

Click on Search to search all MSU Extension web pages or click on Informational Resources. Look in Informational Resources for the MSU Extension Database, the Information Access Center and AgNIC. Useful databases include Ornamental Plants Plus Version 3.0 and the Landscape CAT (Crop Advisory Team) Alerts. For a complete list of topics in Ornamental Plants Plus Version 3.0, use the search feature in that section and type KEYWORDS. Use the home page Search feature to find Problem Identification Aids and Green Tips.

University of Kentucky Extension Publications

Use the Search mechanism or click on one of the following: Entomology, Horticulture, Plant Pathology, or Agriculture and Natural Resources. A complete listing of links is on the Site Index. Note the entomology department section including Kentucky Pest News. Valuable publications include the Midwest Tree Fruit and Small Fruit Pest Management Handbooks. The home page for the College of Agriculture is at: http://www.ca.uky.edu/.

Ohio State Extension PlantFacts

Click on Web to access an OSU database that allows you to search over 60,000 pages of Extension fact sheets and bulletins from 46 different universities and government institutions across the United States and Canada. Be sure the information you find is suitable for Indiana. By going to Images, you find a searchable database of images featuring insects and diseases, fruit and vegetables, ornamental plants and turf. At the FAQ’S link you can search by keyword, specific topic or season to find answers to gardening questions. Additional information is available at WebGarden.

E-answers

E-answers is a searchable website that provides reliable, research-based information on a wide range of Extension or Outreach-oriented subjects. From this source you access the knowledge of Land Grant universities around the nation or by region. Search E-answers for info on a variety of topics including: agriculture, forestry, fishing, family/consumer issues, lawn and garden, child development, 4-H/youth, environment, public policy, economics, water quality and communities.

Extension Publications and Videos from Other States (Kansas State)

Thousands of Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station publications and video tape presentations are available from other states. A very convenient list of links is provided here by state. Also click on Directory of land-grant universities for the website on State Partners of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

North Carolina Extension Consumer Horticulture

Among the extensive pages to check out on this website are the Plant Fact Sheets. In addition, Hort on the Internet provides over 5000 links to websites arranged in over 50 categories.

University of Minnesota Extension Information

Use the search engine at the top of the page for a variety of online information.

Horticulture and Home Pest News Newsletter Database (Iowa State)

Use the Search feature or the subject matter categories to find information. Clicking on Iowa State University Extension Specialists takes you to links in horticulture, forestry, entomology and plant pathology.

Clemson University Public Service (South Carolina)

Use the Search function or Click on Home & Garden Information Center. In the latter, click on the topics of: Landscape, Garden & Indoor Plants and Insects, Diseases & Other Problems or use the Search. A lot more information is available in the Related Links on the Information Center page..

University of Missouri Extension Publications

Use the search engine at the top of the page or click on Agriculture for a variety of information.

Google (general search engine)

This general search engine can help you two ways if you narrow your focus in your searches. To quickly find information from Purdue on a topic, type Purdue along with the topic of interest (for example: Purdue bagworms). This quickly takes you to an appropriate Purdue publication or other website. To expand your search to include the Cooperative Extension Service in all states, type Extension along with the topic of interest (example: Extension mushrooms). Many, but not all, links will direct you to useful information on the topic from the Extension Service in different states.

The second way to use this search engine is to click on Images and then type words to search. This specifically searches various photos and images on the topic. You may find this helpful if you want to know what a certain plant looks like. Type in the name of a plant (ideally the scientific name) and plant photos will appear with links to the websites of the photos. This search feature may also help in the diagnosis of plant problems. For example, if you search for Bagworms, images of the insect will appear from various sources including Purdue. If you search for Apple Scab, images of this disease will appear. On non-Purdue web pages (and especially non-Extension web pages), use your judgment to determine the reliability of the information and/or images.