Upcoming Trips to Ireland and Cuba – 2014
I get real pleasure from travelling with folks who like to see the world. Going to Callaway Gardens was a real trip when I was a kid! Now I get to see the corners of the globe with gardeners (and spouses!) on trips I plan and host each year. We’re...
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...
Roundup – Using on Winter Weeds
It is tempting to spray glyphosate (click for sources) on green winter weeds when your lawn grass is brown and dormant. However, bermudagrass is the only turfgrass on which I’d recommend this practice – - and with much caution. The bermudagrass must be completely dormant. Get on your hands and...
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 unless it is severely pruned. Crapemyrtles do not HAVE TO...
Buy Garden Books!
As you probably know, I am the author or co-author of several books about gardening in Georgia. If you’d like to get one of my books for yourself or to give as a gift, click the link below. I’ll get the order immediately and will inscribe it as you wish...
Tomato – Catfacing
Q: My Brandywine tomatoes look like some kind of mutants. The plant started off looking very healthy and was mulched and fertilized as I have always done. The first tomato harvested looked ok but did not have a good taste...
Pre-emergent – Inhibit Thin Bermudagrass?
Q: When the label on a pre-emergent bag says it will prevent seeds from growing does that also mean it will keep bermudagrass from spreading into bare areas? A: Common pre-emergent herbicides labeled for use in turfgrass areas include benefin,...
Microgreens – Growing
What a great indoor spring project: grow microgreens as we wait for spring to arrive. These are seeds of different types of plants that we sprout indoors to add to salads, sandwiches, and what we cook to give us fresh-picked...
Callery Pear – Sprouting from Asian Pear
Q: We went to prune our 3-year-old Asian pear tree and found a locust tree growing out of it in two places. It’s really growing right out of the trunk! A: It’s not a locust tree, it’s a sprout from...
Upcoming Trips to Ireland and Cuba – 2014
I get real pleasure from travelling with folks who like to see the world. Going to Callaway Gardens was a real trip when I was a kid! Now I get to see the corners of the globe with gardeners (and...
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...
Clematis – Best Ones for Georgia
When you want the best plant, it’s great to have a local expert. Lyndy Broder is an internationally known clematis expert in Georgia. She recommends the following: C. ‘Arabella’ (integrifolia) blue-mauve, blooms April-Sept., use trailing on the ground C. ‘Betty...
Wisteria – Scattering Seed
Q: My office parking lot is near a wooded area. One afternoon as I was leaving I hear a short “pop” and then the sound of things dropping through the tree leaves nearby. It turned out to be wisteria seed...
Crapemyrtle – Shorter Types
Q: I have three crepe myrtles in my front yard and I prune them every year, following your recommendations, but the one next to my garage has just gotten too large. After the new branches grow out again in the...
Old Peach Tree – Rejuvenating
Q: I bought an old farm and I found a peach tree. I have removed the vines on it. I did find peach pits all on the ground so I hope it will still produce. Do you have any advice...
Finding Podcasts of Walter’s Radio Show
In early 2014 “The Lawn and Garden Show with Walter Reeves” changed from 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 am to 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. To offset this loss of air-time, the station began recording and posting podcasts of the show,...
Spring Fertilizer and Pre-emergent Application – This Year It’s Different
The cold weather of January 2014 may have made significant damage on bermudagrass, St. Augustinegrass and centipedegrass lawns. Though these grasses usually tolerate winter cold in the metro Atlanta area, all can suffer if temperatures drop low enough for long...
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,...
Diagnosing 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...
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....
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...
Lawn – Timing Pre-emergent Herbicide
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
