Archive for July, 2010
Month by Month Gardening in Georgia
by Walter Reeves & Erica Glasener Second Edition – color photos and slightly updated plant varieties Includes chapters on Trees, Shrubs, Annuals, Perennials, Lawns, Vines & Groundcovers, Bulbs, Vines, and Edibles. Also contains descriptions of basic garden skills and knowledge....
The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Book
by Walter Reeves & Felder Rushing Every landscape has room for edible plants. They could be small herbs or large trees but the joy of eating something YOU’VE grown can be bigger than admiring a flower or a newly mown...
50 Great Trees for Georgia
by Walter Reeves & Erica Glasener We’ve collected 50 of the best trees for Georgia, from American Holly to Yoshino Cherry. Each tree is fully described, with specific notes on its care and culture. The book also contains tips on...
50 Great Shrubs for Georgia
by Walter Reeves & Erica Glasener We’ve collected 50 of the best shrubs for Georgia, from Anise to Yaupon Holly. Each shrub is fully described, with specific notes on its care and culture. The book also contains tips on shrub...
Lawn Insecticides
Lawn insecticides are labeled for controlling insects in a lawn. The insecticide may be a bait or a broadcast product. Synthetic (non-organic) insecticides are usually pyrethroid chemicals. These chemicals originated in the organic insecticide pyrethrin. Pyrethroids are chemivals that have...
Echeveria – Identification
Q: Can you identify this plant? The base (the rosette looking part) is about 9 inches across. A: Tropical plant expert Winston Eason says it initially looked like Aeonium ‘Garnet’. However, on further reflection we now think it is Echeveria ‘Duchess...
Plants for Shade
These plants tolerate some amount of shade but a host of other factors (soil type, exposure, soil moisture, etc) determine long term success. Do research before you plant. Shrubs: azalea, aucuba, mahonia, Japanese plum yew, hydrangea, fatsia, cherrylaurel, corylopsis, mountain...
Finding Walter’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution Articles Online
Q: How can I find your gardening questions and answers articles in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution? A: Unfortunately, the AJC does not post all of my articles. Here is their official statement: Thanks for taking time to write. I’m sorry you...
Crabapples – Resistant to Fireblight
Q: Our favorite crab apple tree has finally succumbed to fireblight. We will be cutting it down and looking to replace it with another tree. Due to the difficulty of getting rid of the blight, is it safe to replace...
Jewels of Opar – Identification
Q: Can you identify this plant? A: Garden coach Daryl Pulis says Jewels of Opar: Talinum paniculatum. Generally considered a nasty weed unfortunately sold as an ornamental. Jewels of...
Agapanthus – Blister Beetle
Q: I live in Levy County, Florida, near Gainesville. We have agapanthus under live oak trees and in beds with hydrangeas and azaleas mulched with pine straw and nightly irrigation, as we have high, dry sandy soil. Yesterday the agapanthus...
Extension Offices – Odd Questions
University of Georgia Extension offices are sometimes the place of last resort for people with odd questions. Extension agents and their assistants sometimes, however, get questions just a bit beyond the pale. Aaron Lancaster, Extension agent in Bibb county, posed...
Rat – Chewing Tree Bark
Paul H. solved his own tree mystery. I’ll allow his words to tell the tale: “In August I sent you an e-mail concerning a problem I was experiencing with my Yoshino cherry trees. As I explained, the bark was being...
Mulch Myths
One day he’ll finally crack. My across-the-street neighbor, Carl, has a roof covered with pine needles. I need pine needles right now to mulch my newly-planted shrubs, trees and pansies. My hope is that Carl will make the decision to...
Drought – A Brief History in Georgia
Each year that Georgia suffers through a dry summer, we proclaim that it is an unusual occurrence…a “Drought of the Century”! Would you believe that we’ve had five “Droughts of the Century” since 1924? Master Gardener Maria Helena Dolan collected...
Mulch – More Myths
It is hard to mess up making macaroni and cheese from a box, but somehow I did it. During a recent kitchen foray, I mixed in a handful of my son’s other favorite food, bacon. This immediately rendered the entree...
Why I Weed By Hand
(written in 1993) Those warm days around the first of March nearly killed me! I raked leaves, mowed the lawn, dug a carrot bed, pruned figs, sprayed weed killer, spread fertilizer and planted raspberries – all in one weekend! Those...
CD’s Yield 3.5% – Plants Yield 400%
My mother explained it to me carefully: I should give her my newly earned $5.00 and we would open a savings account for me. In nine years (double my age at that time!) it would “grow” and I could use...
Best Management Practices to Protect Water
Georgia will have to make some hard choices about water management in the next several years. We have plenty of water – it’s just the location and distribution that gives fits to water planners and water system operators in the...
Mysterious Clay Particles – Reader Theories
Reader theories on the origin of clay particles from the sky. Scroll to the bottom to find an answer.—————– Dirt rain. Gotta be. Amelia P.————– * red dust from comet/meteor tail, red due to charged particles of iron oxide -occurring...
