Gardening Q and A
Thermal Blue – Seed Sources
Q: Where can I find pure ‘Thermal Blue’ bluegrass seed. I would like to overseed my fescue lawn. A: ‘Thermal Blue’ is just one of the new heat tolerant bluegrasses introduced in the last year by Scotts Seed. Others include...
Pampas Grass – Plumes with Disease
Q: My pampas has a fungal look on it that is keeping the plumes from opening up. I have had the same problem for a couple of years. I have drenched it with fungicide early in the growing season and...
Mistletoe – Identification and Control
Q: I have a big clump of mistletoe at the top of one of my trees. I’ve heard there is something you can spread at the bottom of the tree that will kill the mistletoe but not hurt the tree....
Cherry Tree – Bleeding
Q: I was cutting my grass around my cherry tree, and noticed an oozing from a place at the bottom of the trunk. Can I fill in the hole with anything to prevent disease from infecting the tree? A: Gummy...
Salt Damaged Lawn
Q: I am a realtor in Indiana and have searched the web for this problem with no success. My clients did a walk through the day before closing on their new condo and noticed a huge spot of dead grass....
Lizard Eggs
Q: I was working in my flower garden, digging up Easter lilies, and unearthed these tiny eggs. They are white and about the size of candy jellybeans. At first I thought they were snake eggs but my husband said snakes...
Sicklepod (Coffeebean, Coffeeweed) – Identification
Q: This interesting plant came up in my flower bed. I let it grow to see what it would be and it continues to grow! The leaves have a soft touch and around sunset the leaves begin to close and...
Leafcutter Bee – In Branch
Q: I’ve never seen anything like this. A small branch, about as thick as a man’s finger, fell from our mature oak tree. When my husband went to pick it up, he saw a small pile of sawdust at the...
Asian Ambrosia Beetle – On Crapemyrtle
Q: I have toothpicks of sawdust coming out of the trunk of one of my crapemyrtles. The other one looks OK but this one can’t put out much new growth. A: I feel sure you have an infestation of Asian...
Rustic Sphinx Moth
Q: I found a caterpillar hanging upside down on my lantana. Can you please tell me what kind it is and what those white things are attached to its back? A: It looks like Rustic sphinx moth caterpillar. The moth...
Maple – Bark Splits
Q: Nine years ago I planted 4 red maples . I am concerned about two of the trees. Their bark has long cracks in it. Why? A: My initial answer is “That’s just what they do sometimes!” Notice how the...
Crapemyrtle – Sprouts in Lawn
Q: Last year I had a very old crepe myrtle tree removed. The stump was removed but now the plant is coming up everywhere. Many of these sprouts are coming from various roots left from the removal. Other than digging...
Squirrel – Chewing on Deck
Q: This past June we helped my son and his wife refinish their deck with Olympic water base stain. Since then the squirrels are chewing the edges of the boards. She has witnessed a squirrel tearing a stick off the...
Hercules Beetle Grub
Q: I’ve seen grubs in my yard from time to time, but yesterday, I ran across a big one. This rascal has to be almost 4″ long when fully stretched out! Normally, grubs are about 3/4″, right? What is it...
Naranjilla – Identification
Q: I took this picture at the North Carolina State Fair horticulture exhibit last fall. I’m curious what it is. It was a decent sized shrub – about 3 feet in height with a wider diameter. A: Despite its fierce...
Jerusalem Cherry – Identification
Q: This shrub “volunteered” at the base of a large sweetgum two years ago. I have never seen anything like it. It has small white flowers in the spring and the fruit is as shown; a bright, tomato red, sphere...
Pecan Phylloxera
Q: We have an enormous old pecan tree on our property. While planting some vegetables in mid-summer, we noticed some horrible looking leaves on the ground. We aren’t sure if it’s scab or something worse. Our main concern is if...
Crapemyrtle – Roundup Damage
Q: OK, lets be up front about this, I did a stupid thing. I have made just about every mistake in the gardeners manual, but I make them only once. I forgot to purge my lawn tractor sprayer of Roundup...
