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...
Pine Pollen – Predicting
Q: We are preparing to paint the outside trim of our house, and would like to avoid the peak time for pine pollen. Can you approximate when we can expect the “yellow curse” to appear? A: Yikes! Considering that a single tree can release 40 oz. of pollen, I can understand...
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...
Shrub – Transplanting 1-2-3
Most shrubs and trees should be transplanted when the demand for water is least, in late fall or winter. Since many roots will inevitably be lost, they need many weeks to regenerate themselves before the hot, dry blasts of summer arrive. If you are contemplating moving a plant that would...
English Ivy – Management and Control
Q: English ivy is taking over my back yard. It has probably been there for twenty-plus years. What’s the best way to control it? PULL IT UP Check out this great Web site about English ivy removal. The Ivy Removal Project (www.noivyleague.com) is based in Portland, Oregon. Over the past...
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Can I Crop Indeterminate Tomato? Distinguish Determinate from Indeterminate
Q: If I plant indeterminate tomatoes can I crop the top to keep them from growing tall? A: Pruning an indeterminate tomato to make it bushier is possible but you’ll be fighting Mother Nature. After planting, indeterminate tomatoes grow for...
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Slime Mold on Pine Straw
Q: I have looked and looked trying to see if this fungus is harmful to my roses. A: I am not an expert, but I think this is a slime mold, which is different from a fungus. Either way, it...
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Loropetalum – Yellow leaves
Q: Our four loropetalum bushes seem to have something wrong. They stay wet where they are planted, especially with all the rain. Just planted last year. A: Loropetalum is a tough shrub but, like a lot of woody plants, it...
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Planting Under Live oak
Q: I need help deciding what to plant around a pet’s grave. Her grave is near a huge live oak tree. A: Your challenge will be competition for light and water. My top picks for dry shade include hellebore, lungwort,...
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Young Pine Tree – Bending
Q: I’m working on a project where I want to make a curved ceiling out of wood. I have a lot of straight pine trees. I would like to take some of the smaller ones (4-6″ in diameter) and bend...
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Pine Cone Cluster
Q: While running at Cochran Shoals, I found this pine cone cluster. I thought it was unusual, as I have never seen more than two cones together. A: Wow, you are right, that is pretty unusual! Pine trees have two...
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“Wormy” Things on Driveway
Q: What are these brown wormy things on my driveway? I see them every April. A: They are the spent male flowers of a nearby pine tree. The majority of the yellow pollen we see blowing around Atlanta each spring...
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Ground Bees – Controlling
Q: My neighbor’s yard is covered in digger bee mounds. They are now spreading to my yard. I have at least over a hundred in just a few days. Do you have any suggestions to keep them away? A: I...
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Rabbit Damage to Holliy
Q: I planted five Nellie Stevens hollies two years ago. They grew very well last year and looked good this fall early winter. I was gone Jan-Feb, but when I returned I noticed all the leaves on the lower 1-2...
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Deer Damage to Leyland Cypress
Q: I have 3 Leyland cypress that the deer have chewed. They are continuing to grow tall but after a couple of years they still don’t seem to be filling in on the bottom. The guy who planted them said...
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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...
-
Pine Pollen – Predicting
Q: We are preparing to paint the outside trim of our house, and would like to avoid the peak time for pine pollen. Can you approximate when we can expect the “yellow curse” to appear? A: Yikes! Considering that a single...
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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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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 – 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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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 – 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...
Can I Crop Indeterminate Tomato? Distinguish Determinate from Indeterminate
Q: If I plant indeterminate tomatoes can I crop the top to keep them from growing tall? A: Pruning an indeterminate tomato to make it bushier is possible but you’ll be fighting Mother Nature. After planting, indeterminate tomatoes grow for...
Slime Mold on Pine Straw
Q: I have looked and looked trying to see if this fungus is harmful to my roses. A: I am not an expert, but I think this is a slime mold, which is different from a fungus. Either way, it...
Loropetalum – Yellow leaves
Q: Our four loropetalum bushes seem to have something wrong. They stay wet where they are planted, especially with all the rain. Just planted last year. A: Loropetalum is a tough shrub but, like a lot of woody plants, it...
Planting Under Live oak
Q: I need help deciding what to plant around a pet’s grave. Her grave is near a huge live oak tree. A: Your challenge will be competition for light and water. My top picks for dry shade include hellebore, lungwort,...
Young Pine Tree – Bending
Q: I’m working on a project where I want to make a curved ceiling out of wood. I have a lot of straight pine trees. I would like to take some of the smaller ones (4-6″ in diameter) and bend...
Pine Cone Cluster
Q: While running at Cochran Shoals, I found this pine cone cluster. I thought it was unusual, as I have never seen more than two cones together. A: Wow, you are right, that is pretty unusual! Pine trees have two...
“Wormy” Things on Driveway
Q: What are these brown wormy things on my driveway? I see them every April. A: They are the spent male flowers of a nearby pine tree. The majority of the yellow pollen we see blowing around Atlanta each spring...
Ground Bees – Controlling
Q: My neighbor’s yard is covered in digger bee mounds. They are now spreading to my yard. I have at least over a hundred in just a few days. Do you have any suggestions to keep them away? A: I...
Rabbit Damage to Holliy
Q: I planted five Nellie Stevens hollies two years ago. They grew very well last year and looked good this fall early winter. I was gone Jan-Feb, but when I returned I noticed all the leaves on the lower 1-2...
Deer Damage to Leyland Cypress
Q: I have 3 Leyland cypress that the deer have chewed. They are continuing to grow tall but after a couple of years they still don’t seem to be filling in on the bottom. The guy who planted them said...
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...
Pine Pollen – Predicting
Q: We are preparing to paint the outside trim of our house, and would like to avoid the peak time for pine pollen. Can you approximate when we can expect the “yellow curse” to appear? A: Yikes! Considering that a single...
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...
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 – 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...
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 – 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...
