By Emily How, Horticulture agent

NDSU Extension – Ward County

While cleaning out a cabinet at my house, I stumbled across an old newspaper from the 1990s. I love finding things like this because it shows a glimpse of what was happening in the community at the time. As I paged through this paper, I found a Hortiscope column written by Ronald Smith, a former NDSU horticulturist. Seeing the contrast between then and now is one of the most interesting things about looking back at those old columns.

In the early 1990s, a submitted question like “I sent you this leaf with weird dots — what is it?” would be a one-on-one diagnostic. The value lives entirely with the person who mailed in the leaf. Without a photo archive, searchable database or instant image sharing, that exchange could not easily help anyone else who was facing similar problems. Today, that same interaction would look completely different. A single photo could be shared online, tagged and reused by thousands of gardeners dealing with identical symptoms. What used to be a private answer has become a public, reusable reference.

By contrast, questions like “How do I get rid of creeping jenny in my tree row?” have aged much better. The question describes a recurring problem rather than a single mystery leaf. The answer depends on things that still matter now — the tree species, the age of the planting, soil disturbance, herbicide tolerance, mulch, mowing and how much labor someone can invest. Those kinds of questions do not go stale because they’re really about management decisions, not just identification.

All of this led me down a rabbit trail, wondering what other kinds of horticulture questions were published in the past and what advice was given. The way we seek answers has changed, and we see that gardening practices have also changed over time. New research and technologies change the advice offered. This can include something as basic as innovations in water practices, like drip irrigation, or something more complex, like soil sciences and no-till practices.

While meandering down the rabbit trail, I also discovered that some changes come out of pure necessity. In the ‘90s, green ash was a recommended tree variety in North Dakota as an excellent replacement tree for the elm trees plagued by Dutch elm disease. Today, neither of these trees are recommended because both are linked to the spread of a serious disease and invasive insects.

Practices also change due to new varieties being introduced into the market. Tomato varieties, for instance, change frequently. Advancements in disease research have led to more resistance, so varieties like the Big Beef Plus tomato is resistant to 10 different diseases, whereas the popular ‘90s tomato variety Fantastic is only resistant to three diseases. With these advancements, gardeners will often have better yields, fewer diseases and hopefully less need for pesticides, which is an all-around win, saving gardeners both time and money.

Some things never change, though. Take powdery mildew, for example. It is handled in the same way now as it was in the ‘90s. Also, the likelihood of someone over- or underwatering a houseplant is the same now as it was back then. Most (and best) of all, the connections we make with others through gardening remain constant.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Jan. 20, 2026

Source: Emily How, 701-857-6444, emily.how@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu