Walter’s Books Make Great Gifts!
Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas coming up, a gardener in your life would surely appreciate a book that describes exactly how to be successful. Consider giving a signed copy of one of Walter’s books! Click here to go to book sales...
Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam) – Trip Announcement
I have always been curious about Southeast Asia. My only exposure so far has been the disturbing nightly news on TV in the late ‘60’s and National Geographic magazine articles. I have wondered how Vietnam has changed from our national foe to a valued trading partner. How do people along...
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...
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...
Timing and Choosing Pre-emergent Weed Preventers, Spring and Fall
Pre-emergents (weed preventers) are applied to the landscape to prevent seeds from germinating. The key is the timing. Pre-emergent herbicides MUST be applied BEFORE summer weeds (crabgrass, etc) seed germinate. In general, to get good summer weed control in Atlanta you should apply a pre-emergent on March 1. For winter...
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Pentas – Caterpillar Damage
Q: This thing destroyed a pot of pentas. Do you recognize this unneighborly guy? A: It’s the caterpillar of a tersa sphinx moth. The moth itself is relatively large. When it flies, the wings don’t flutter like most moths, they...
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Fringe Tree – Lacebug Damage
Q: What has attacked my fringe tree? I am hoping you can help me decipher the problem. A: The damage along the midvein indicates some sort of piercing/sucking insect. I think your tree is hosting a hungry population of fringe...
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Canna – Holes in Leaves
Q: Any idea what could be eating these? Only one caterpillar was found on one leaf. A: I think the culprit is the larger canna leaf roller. Its adult form is a small skipper moth, which lays eggs on the...
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Painting Lawn Green in Winter
Q: Can I use paint to make my bermuda lawn green in winter? A: It is possible…as long as you don’t set your expectations too high. There are several kinds of products used to color turf, including paints, pigments and...
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Cold Tolerance of Vegetables
Q: My cabbage and lettuce crops are looking great even though we have had colder than normal weather. What range can they stand before being frozen out? A: It is tough to predict how cold temperatures will affect vegetables. Much...
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Young Maple – Corrective Pruning
Q: I received a red maple sapling as part of the Georgia Power Arbor Day program. It is growing well in the back yard but it has a split trunk. Should I trim the two limbs forming the “Y” ?...
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Walter’s Books Make Great Gifts!
Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas coming up, a gardener in your life would surely appreciate a book that describes exactly how to be successful. Consider giving a signed copy of one of Walter’s books! Click here to go...
-
Chinese Quince (Quincedonia) – Description
Q: I grew up in East Atlanta on the old Confederate Soldiers Home streetcar/bus line. In my grandmother’s back yard stood a gorgeous tree that she alternately referred to as a “quincedonia” tree and a quince tree. It was 20-25...
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Armadillo Damage to Lawn
Q: Something damaged my mother’s lawn in Roswell. My tentative assessment is armadillo, as I reside in north Florida and the pits are similar. A: I think you are exactly right. Armadillos are present in your Mom’s area and the...
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Fungus Growing From Retaining Wall
Q: I have this fungus growing on this retaining wall. It has been there 10 years but this is the first time this has shown up. Do you know of anything I can use to kill it? I power washed...
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Weeds in New Fescue – Controlling
Q: I have new fescue seeds growing along with small weeds. I planted the fescue seeds in early Oct. Is there anything that I can treat the lawn with that will kill the weed and not the grass at this...
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Beginning Landscaping for a New House
Q: We just bought a lovely house in Atlanta’s Edgewood neighborhood. The house has a big back yard but we’ve run into a couple of landscape challenges. We don’t really know where to start. We’ve recently learned that people used...
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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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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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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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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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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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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...
Pentas – Caterpillar Damage
Q: This thing destroyed a pot of pentas. Do you recognize this unneighborly guy? A: It’s the caterpillar of a tersa sphinx moth. The moth itself is relatively large. When it flies, the wings don’t flutter like most moths, they...
Fringe Tree – Lacebug Damage
Q: What has attacked my fringe tree? I am hoping you can help me decipher the problem. A: The damage along the midvein indicates some sort of piercing/sucking insect. I think your tree is hosting a hungry population of fringe...
Canna – Holes in Leaves
Q: Any idea what could be eating these? Only one caterpillar was found on one leaf. A: I think the culprit is the larger canna leaf roller. Its adult form is a small skipper moth, which lays eggs on the...
Painting Lawn Green in Winter
Q: Can I use paint to make my bermuda lawn green in winter? A: It is possible…as long as you don’t set your expectations too high. There are several kinds of products used to color turf, including paints, pigments and...
Cold Tolerance of Vegetables
Q: My cabbage and lettuce crops are looking great even though we have had colder than normal weather. What range can they stand before being frozen out? A: It is tough to predict how cold temperatures will affect vegetables. Much...
Young Maple – Corrective Pruning
Q: I received a red maple sapling as part of the Georgia Power Arbor Day program. It is growing well in the back yard but it has a split trunk. Should I trim the two limbs forming the “Y” ?...
Walter’s Books Make Great Gifts!
Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas coming up, a gardener in your life would surely appreciate a book that describes exactly how to be successful. Consider giving a signed copy of one of Walter’s books! Click here to go...
Chinese Quince (Quincedonia) – Description
Q: I grew up in East Atlanta on the old Confederate Soldiers Home streetcar/bus line. In my grandmother’s back yard stood a gorgeous tree that she alternately referred to as a “quincedonia” tree and a quince tree. It was 20-25...
Armadillo Damage to Lawn
Q: Something damaged my mother’s lawn in Roswell. My tentative assessment is armadillo, as I reside in north Florida and the pits are similar. A: I think you are exactly right. Armadillos are present in your Mom’s area and the...
Fungus Growing From Retaining Wall
Q: I have this fungus growing on this retaining wall. It has been there 10 years but this is the first time this has shown up. Do you know of anything I can use to kill it? I power washed...
Weeds in New Fescue – Controlling
Q: I have new fescue seeds growing along with small weeds. I planted the fescue seeds in early Oct. Is there anything that I can treat the lawn with that will kill the weed and not the grass at this...
Beginning Landscaping for a New House
Q: We just bought a lovely house in Atlanta’s Edgewood neighborhood. The house has a big back yard but we’ve run into a couple of landscape challenges. We don’t really know where to start. We’ve recently learned that people used...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
