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, then choose your method of weed control. Remember: healthy, vigorous...
“English Ivy Kills Trees” Sign – Who Places Them?
OK – my curiosity is killing me! Who puts up these signs at random spots around Atlanta? I’ve asked a number of arborists: No knowledge. I’ve posted it on Facebook; 21,000 people saw the post: lots of comments, but no answer. If you know, please email...
Come With Me to Cuba – Oct 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. In...
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...
Shrub – Pruning Calendar
The Home & Garden section of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution published a very nice pruning calendar several years ago. When viewed on a sheet of newsprint, it was gorgeous. When reduced to fit onto a sheet of typing paper it was impossible to read. I imagine you didn’t keep...
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Squash – Green and Yellow Two-toned
Q: We have a strange vine growing under our porch that we did not plant. Can you please help us identify what it is? A: It’s a squash that came up from a seed that some animal dropped there. The...
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Verbena – Slug Damage
If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it! Diana W. asked me “Have you ever had a blooming verbena plant on which all the flowers disappear overnight?” “Sure.” I acknowledged. I’d noticed my new red...
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Oak – Leaf Scorch
Q: This is a picture of a leaf from an oak tree that is shedding leaves now. This tree is among the last to shed in the fall. Any ideas? A: It’s bacterial leaf scorch. Sadly, there is nothing you...
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Hickory Horned Devil – Immature Form
Q: My son moved to Raleigh, NC and sent me a picture of this caterpillar. It’s about 6 inches long. A: It’s a very handsome hickory horned devil, discovered just before it grows its typical orange horns. You might see...
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Knock Out Roses – Pruning In Fall
Q: Is it OK to prune Knock Out roses in the fall? A: This is a fine time to tidy yours up. Remove empty sprays of flower buds, clip out long branches and remove any dead wood. Your plant won’t...
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Landscaping – Saving Old Plants
Q: We’ve just moved into a new home with nice landscaping. We’d would like to redo the landscape but I don’t want to clear cut everything. Are there any companies that would come and harvest existing plants for their own...
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Caterpillars – Removal From Sweetgum
Q: We have noticed lots of caterpillars nesting in the sweetgum trees. Is it worth trying to control this infestation with insecticides or will they disappear by themselves? A: I think you’re seeing fall webworms. They build their protective webs...
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Bermuda – Drastic Cutting
Q: At my new home the bermuda grass was mowed three inches high. The first time I cut it, I set my mower at 2.5 inches. The grass seemed to lose a lot of green. Your website says a good...
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Lilac – Planting In Georgia
Q: I’m trying to find a heat-hardy lilac for my New York state friend who lives in Forsyth County. A: The key element that lilacs lack in the South is chilling hours during the winter. Most lilacs require over two...
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Caterpillar – Products For Removal
Q: While weeding my wife discovered the hard way that we have a tussock moth caterpillar problem. What can I do to treat the issue before either of my kids comes up close and personal with these fuzzy little pests?...
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Fescue – Spray Before Mowing?
Q: Is it best to spray weed control on a fescue lawn before or after the lawn is cut? A: Great question! You’ll get best results spraying weed killer a couple of days after the lawn has been mowed, when...
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Black Mulch – Sun Is Not A Problem
Q: I want to mulch the beds in my yard and we really like black mulch because it makes the plants and flowers stand out. A neighbor said that black mulch is a bad idea because it absorbs heat from...
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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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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...
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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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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...
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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...
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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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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...
Squash – Green and Yellow Two-toned
Q: We have a strange vine growing under our porch that we did not plant. Can you please help us identify what it is? A: It’s a squash that came up from a seed that some animal dropped there. The...
Verbena – Slug Damage
If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it! Diana W. asked me “Have you ever had a blooming verbena plant on which all the flowers disappear overnight?” “Sure.” I acknowledged. I’d noticed my new red...
Oak – Leaf Scorch
Q: This is a picture of a leaf from an oak tree that is shedding leaves now. This tree is among the last to shed in the fall. Any ideas? A: It’s bacterial leaf scorch. Sadly, there is nothing you...
Hickory Horned Devil – Immature Form
Q: My son moved to Raleigh, NC and sent me a picture of this caterpillar. It’s about 6 inches long. A: It’s a very handsome hickory horned devil, discovered just before it grows its typical orange horns. You might see...
Knock Out Roses – Pruning In Fall
Q: Is it OK to prune Knock Out roses in the fall? A: This is a fine time to tidy yours up. Remove empty sprays of flower buds, clip out long branches and remove any dead wood. Your plant won’t...
Landscaping – Saving Old Plants
Q: We’ve just moved into a new home with nice landscaping. We’d would like to redo the landscape but I don’t want to clear cut everything. Are there any companies that would come and harvest existing plants for their own...
Caterpillars – Removal From Sweetgum
Q: We have noticed lots of caterpillars nesting in the sweetgum trees. Is it worth trying to control this infestation with insecticides or will they disappear by themselves? A: I think you’re seeing fall webworms. They build their protective webs...
Bermuda – Drastic Cutting
Q: At my new home the bermuda grass was mowed three inches high. The first time I cut it, I set my mower at 2.5 inches. The grass seemed to lose a lot of green. Your website says a good...
Lilac – Planting In Georgia
Q: I’m trying to find a heat-hardy lilac for my New York state friend who lives in Forsyth County. A: The key element that lilacs lack in the South is chilling hours during the winter. Most lilacs require over two...
Caterpillar – Products For Removal
Q: While weeding my wife discovered the hard way that we have a tussock moth caterpillar problem. What can I do to treat the issue before either of my kids comes up close and personal with these fuzzy little pests?...
Fescue – Spray Before Mowing?
Q: Is it best to spray weed control on a fescue lawn before or after the lawn is cut? A: Great question! You’ll get best results spraying weed killer a couple of days after the lawn has been mowed, when...
Black Mulch – Sun Is Not A Problem
Q: I want to mulch the beds in my yard and we really like black mulch because it makes the plants and flowers stand out. A neighbor said that black mulch is a bad idea because it absorbs heat from...
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...
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...
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...
