Hydrangea – Identification and Pruning
Q: I have hydrangeas on some new property. I would like to prune them but am unsure which hydrangeas I have, and therefore when to prune them. How do I tell them apart? A: In my garden, the color and shape of the faded bloom helps me identify hydrangeas. Common...
Organic Herbicides (Weed Killer)
Many homeowners want “organic” choices when it comes to selecting weed killers. Fortunately, there are several choices for both selective and non-selective weed control. Vinegar has been touted as a herbicide but the kitchen version is too weak to do much damage. Industrial acetic acid will kill weeds but I...
UGA Vegetable Gardening Publications
With food prices high, folks have been thinking about growing some of their own food. Food gardening is not hard and it doesn’t have to take much room in your landscape. You can even do it in containers! These gardening publications are available on the Internet or ask for a...
Yellowjackets – Control
Yellowjackets are extremely aggressive and will attack if their nest is threatened. When stung, an intruder is marked with a special scent that encourages other yellow jackets to attack. As with fire ants, some people can have severe reactions to yellow jacket stings. These insects are actually beneficial because they...
Tree Pruning
Pruning a tree sometimes invokes more worry than it should. You wonder if removing a tree limb is analogous to cutting off your leg (does it hurt? will I kill it?). Fortunately, if you take your time, pruning can be easily done, with no harm to your tree. TIMING: You can remove...
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Home-made Mosquito Repellents Do Not Work
Q: I have been told that a mixture of mouthwash, Epsom salts and stale beer can be sprayed around your landscape to keep mosquitoes away. What do you think? A: I think this is an excellent recipe for hogwash. For...
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Hydrangea – Identification and Pruning
Q: I have hydrangeas on some new property. I would like to prune them but am unsure which hydrangeas I have, and therefore when to prune them. How do I tell them apart? A: In my garden, the color and...
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Weed killer spilled on shrub (holly) roots
Q: I had a little accident with either undiluted Weed-B-Gon or Roundup about 6 weeks ago. While I was behind my Robin hollies at the water spigot, the bottle turned over and about a quart of product went into the...
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Hornet nest found in attic
Q: I was changing a vent fan in a bathroom when I found this is the ceiling. Do you have any idea what type insect this is? A: Let’s use logic and the process of elimination: Only three insects build...
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Ziz-zag Tracks Left by Snail on Crapemyrtle
Excellent photo...
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How to Identify Water Oak
This link has great...
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Recommendations For A Bat House
Q: Can you recommend a good bat house? How best to install? Is it a good method of mosquito control? A: From my observation, successful bat houses are a minimum of 24 inches high and wide. The best ones are...
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Best Time To Seed My Lawn With TifTuf Bermuda?
Q: When is the best time over seed my lawn with TifTuf bermuda? A: You can’t overseed with TifTuf because it is a hybrid plant. It does not produce seeds. TifTuf bermudagrass was hybridized by University of Georgia researchers. It...
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Creating A Shade Garden Where Soil Is Clay
Q: I am trying to create a shade garden under several large white oaks where the soil is dense clay. How can I amend it? I have seen something called an air spade that injects compressed air to break up...
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When Is The Best Time To Trim A Snowball Bush?
Q: When is the best time of year to trim a snowball bush? My bush is ten feet tall and I want it shorter. A: The best time to prune snowball bush, Viburnum macrocephalum, is after it finishes blooming and...
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How To Cure Cedar Rust
Q: My cedar developed cedar rust. I can pull the brown walnut-like things off but is there any way to cure the disease? A: There is no way to cure cedar trees that have cedar-apple rust. You can pick off...
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Fan Palm With Seed Pods On It
Q: I have a twelve-year-old fan palm outside. The tree has seed pods on it. How and when can I take the seed pods off and plant them? A: There are several different plants that are called fan palm. In...
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Diagnosing (Identifying) Holes in the Yard
Sometimes many heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem. Wade Hutcheson, my Extension colleague in Spalding county, gets plenty of calls from the citizens of his area asking his help in identifying various holes in...
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Weeds – Identification with Pictures
Weed control in the landscape is a tough business. You have to know a lot about the weed in question just to get started! As in most situations, a picture is worth a thousand words. Go through the sites below,...
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Bermuda – Weed Control
BASIC INFORMATION: Weed Identification Pictures General Turf and Weed Info Lawn Care Calendars THREE METHODS There are three primary methods of controlling weeds. Any one method, when used alone, will not usually control all of your weeds. To consistently control...
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Brown Patch – Diagnosing
You have brown patches of dead grass in your lawn. Is it the common lawn disease ‘brown patch’ or is it something else? The answer is important: if it is brown patch you probably need to spray with a fungicide....
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Timing Spring Pre-emergent Herbicide Application on Lawn
One of the sourest phrases that can be directed at a child or adult is “I told you so!” Whether you touch a hot match, leave tools out in the rain, or lift cinder blocks all afternoon, someone is usually...
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Bermuda Grass – Disease – Brown Patch
Brown patch is most prevalent on bermudagrass which has been heavily fertilized when night temperatures are above 68 degrees and day temperature are above 80 degrees. Dead patches of grass may start small but can grow and join together to...
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Lawn – Growing in Shade
OK. I admit it. I have given up. I came to the conclusion that grass just would not grow in the corner of my lawn near the ornamental cherry trees. The shade there is so dense that my grass, no...
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St. Augustine Grass Seed – Where to Buy
Q: Please tell me where I can buy St. Augustine grass seeds. Our lawn has some now and we like it a lot, but we’re having trouble finding seeds. A: You can’t buy St. Augustinegrass seed. The plant is very...
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Lawn – Leveling
A new home in my neighborhood had bermudagrass sod planted in March. By May, one area was a perfect checkerboard of straight lines, composed of weedy plants, surrounding the individual squares of sod. Evidently the sod installers were in such...
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Crapemyrtle – Pruning
One of the most confounding arguments I face is whether and how to prune crapemyrtles. They are mercilessly “murdered” by unaware landscapers and homeowners each winter… yet they still bloom in summer. Some people even believe a crapemyrtle won’t bloom...
Home-made Mosquito Repellents Do Not Work
Q: I have been told that a mixture of mouthwash, Epsom salts and stale beer can be sprayed around your landscape to keep mosquitoes away. What do you think? A: I think this is an excellent recipe for hogwash. For...
Hydrangea – Identification and Pruning
Q: I have hydrangeas on some new property. I would like to prune them but am unsure which hydrangeas I have, and therefore when to prune them. How do I tell them apart? A: In my garden, the color and...
Weed killer spilled on shrub (holly) roots
Q: I had a little accident with either undiluted Weed-B-Gon or Roundup about 6 weeks ago. While I was behind my Robin hollies at the water spigot, the bottle turned over and about a quart of product went into the...
Hornet nest found in attic
Q: I was changing a vent fan in a bathroom when I found this is the ceiling. Do you have any idea what type insect this is? A: Let’s use logic and the process of elimination: Only three insects build...
Recommendations For A Bat House
Q: Can you recommend a good bat house? How best to install? Is it a good method of mosquito control? A: From my observation, successful bat houses are a minimum of 24 inches high and wide. The best ones are...
Best Time To Seed My Lawn With TifTuf Bermuda?
Q: When is the best time over seed my lawn with TifTuf bermuda? A: You can’t overseed with TifTuf because it is a hybrid plant. It does not produce seeds. TifTuf bermudagrass was hybridized by University of Georgia researchers. It...
Creating A Shade Garden Where Soil Is Clay
Q: I am trying to create a shade garden under several large white oaks where the soil is dense clay. How can I amend it? I have seen something called an air spade that injects compressed air to break up...
When Is The Best Time To Trim A Snowball Bush?
Q: When is the best time of year to trim a snowball bush? My bush is ten feet tall and I want it shorter. A: The best time to prune snowball bush, Viburnum macrocephalum, is after it finishes blooming and...
How To Cure Cedar Rust
Q: My cedar developed cedar rust. I can pull the brown walnut-like things off but is there any way to cure the disease? A: There is no way to cure cedar trees that have cedar-apple rust. You can pick off...
Fan Palm With Seed Pods On It
Q: I have a twelve-year-old fan palm outside. The tree has seed pods on it. How and when can I take the seed pods off and plant them? A: There are several different plants that are called fan palm. In...
Diagnosing (Identifying) Holes in the Yard
Sometimes many heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem. Wade Hutcheson, my Extension colleague in Spalding county, gets plenty of calls from the citizens of his area asking his help in identifying various holes in...
Weeds – Identification with Pictures
Weed control in the landscape is a tough business. You have to know a lot about the weed in question just to get started! As in most situations, a picture is worth a thousand words. Go through the sites below,...
Bermuda – Weed Control
BASIC INFORMATION: Weed Identification Pictures General Turf and Weed Info Lawn Care Calendars THREE METHODS There are three primary methods of controlling weeds. Any one method, when used alone, will not usually control all of your weeds. To consistently control...
Brown Patch – Diagnosing
You have brown patches of dead grass in your lawn. Is it the common lawn disease ‘brown patch’ or is it something else? The answer is important: if it is brown patch you probably need to spray with a fungicide....
Timing Spring Pre-emergent Herbicide Application on Lawn
One of the sourest phrases that can be directed at a child or adult is “I told you so!” Whether you touch a hot match, leave tools out in the rain, or lift cinder blocks all afternoon, someone is usually...
Bermuda Grass – Disease – Brown Patch
Brown patch is most prevalent on bermudagrass which has been heavily fertilized when night temperatures are above 68 degrees and day temperature are above 80 degrees. Dead patches of grass may start small but can grow and join together to...
Lawn – Growing in Shade
OK. I admit it. I have given up. I came to the conclusion that grass just would not grow in the corner of my lawn near the ornamental cherry trees. The shade there is so dense that my grass, no...
St. Augustine Grass Seed – Where to Buy
Q: Please tell me where I can buy St. Augustine grass seeds. Our lawn has some now and we like it a lot, but we’re having trouble finding seeds. A: You can’t buy St. Augustinegrass seed. The plant is very...
Lawn – Leveling
A new home in my neighborhood had bermudagrass sod planted in March. By May, one area was a perfect checkerboard of straight lines, composed of weedy plants, surrounding the individual squares of sod. Evidently the sod installers were in such...
Crapemyrtle – Pruning
One of the most confounding arguments I face is whether and how to prune crapemyrtles. They are mercilessly “murdered” by unaware landscapers and homeowners each winter… yet they still bloom in summer. Some people even believe a crapemyrtle won’t bloom...
