Gardening Q and A
St. Augustine Grass – Growing
Q: I heard that you are cultivating a St. Augustine grass in your yard. I have had good success with it over the past forty years in a lawn near Stone Mountain. I have not seen any cold damage over...
Aerator Shoes
Q: Rather than contacting an aeration service to aerate our fescue lawn this fall, I was wondering your opinion of the “aeration shoes” sold by specialty stores/catalogs. Are they a substitute for core aeration? A: I know the shoes are...
Garlic – Growing
Q: I was wondering if you could give me some advice on growing garlic. What kind of soil do I need? A: Felder Rushing, author of the newly released “Tough Plants for Tough Places” is an eighth generation Southern garlic...
Crape Myrtle – Don’t Prune in Fall
Q: I have seven crape myrtles. I want to cut them back in October so I won’t have to clean up their shedding leaves. Plus, I think their leafless stems are ugly in the winter. How low can they be...
Geranium – Hardy Type
Q: On your radio show you mentioned hardy geraniums to use as a ground cover. I didn’t catch all of the conversation. Could you fill me in? A: In my opinion, hardy geraniums are vastly underused in Georgia gardens. Unlike...
Spider Lily – Where to Get
Q: I have been looking to buy spider lily bulbs for about a year now. Can you tell me where I might find them and at what time of year do you plant them? A: Red spider lilies (Lycoris radiata)...
Aphids – On Trees in Fall
Q: We have a tree in our front yard and it is covered with little gnats. There is a pile an inch or more deep at the base of the tree and they cover most of the limbs and trunk....
Maple – Making Syrup from Sap
Q: I have about ten large red maple trees. I have read that red maples can be “sugared” to make syrup. Is this true? Are ten trees enough to experiment with? A: In Vermont’s maple country, making syrup is time-consuming...
Zoysiagrass – Control
Q: I have a problem with zoysiagrass creeping into my asphalt driveway and ruining it. How do I get rid of the zoysiagrass? A: One option is to spray the zoysiagrass along the driveway with glyphosate (Roundup, etc) each month....
Redbud – Seed Pods
Q: I have a three year-old ‘Oklahoma’ redbud. This summer there appears to be something growing off a limb that looks like a small green bean. It is an inch in length and is black. What is it? A: It’s...
Pressure Washing – Harm to Plants
Q: I’m getting ready to pressure wash the outside of my home. I’m concerned that the plants near my house will be harmed by the chemicals I use to do the initial cleaning. I’m afraid that the bleach mixture will...
Zoysiagrass – Removing bermudagrass
Q: Removing one turfgrass from another is a tough assignment. Digging is one option but it is hard work. If you use a chemical, how will a herbicide tell one from the other? Here is one way: Q: I seeded...
Dahlia – Dividing Roots
Q: I have two dahlias that have grown well but I need to move them. They are pretty big. I don’t know how to cut them for division. Do I plant the divisions immediately? A: Keep in mind that most...
Spotted Spurge – Control
Q: I haven’t had any success in ridding my yard of this weed. I routinely spread a broadleaf pre-emergent in mid-September and a crabgrass pre-emergent in March, however, that hasn’t been very effective in curtailing the weed’s yearly appearance. Please...
Wheel Bug – Identification
Q: My husband sent me some cameraphone pictures of a very weird insect. He and his friends are calling it “the bad-ass bug”. From what I can gather through the pix he sent, it kind of resembles a praying mantis,...
Osage Orange – Identification
Q: We picked this strange fruit from the Confederate cemetery in Jonesboro and wondered if you could identify it for us and also tell us if it is edible. A: When I worked for the Extension service in Clayton county,...
Rain barrel/Cistern – Using
Q: Here is a link to a web site where I found a barrel/cistern for water retention and re-use. My question is, are these viable options for detaining water? Do these things work? A: All depends on how much water...
Chipmunk – Albino
Q: I found this critter in my backyard today. Don’t know what it is, but was able to get him in a cage trap using peanut butter. A: My wildlife friend Hal Coleman at North Fulton Exterminating says it’s a...
