Gardening Q and A
Money Plant- Growing
Q: I was given a bag full of silver dollar money plant seeds but don’t know anything about them. When is the best time to plant them and how? A: Money plant is lots of fun to grow. The silvery...
Dog Urine – Control Smell
Q: I have a dog run area adjacent to my back patio. It is covered with cypress mulch. The mulch is absorbing urine and this time of year the mulch is not drying out. Do you have any suggestions for...
Shrubs – Replanting
Q: We are about to embark on a basement project which will require a good deal of regrading in our back yard. We have a twelve foot tall osmanthus, three very large azaleas and nine well-established roses, plus some hostas,...
European Hornet- Damage to Plant
Q: I have a row of ten foot tall ‘Nellie Stevens’ hollies. Last summer I noticed severe yellowing of the leaves on two of them. Recently I crawled under these large shrubs and discovered on the trunks concentric rings where...
Plumbago – Hardiness
Q: I planted several blue plumbago plants last spring. Their blue and white flowers were outstanding all spring and summer until the first frost. Will they make it through the winter? A: Plumbago is also known as leadwort. However, confusingly,...
Open Meadow- Creating
Q: I have several acres of fallow farm land that I am trying to keep as an open meadow. It is a constant battle to keep the sweetgum trees out. We have mowed them down twice a year for several...
Wet Soil- Recommended Plants and Ground Cover
Q: We have a water detention facility running through our backyard. A lot of our yard is unusable due to soggy soil. Can you suggest a ground cover that we could use to soak up water enough to walk and...
Soil- Solarization
Q: I want to sterilize a 100′ x 50′ soil area to plant wildflowers. The spot is now covered with coastal bermudagrass. I’d like to use a plastic covering on the ground to kill unwanted plants.Will this sterilize the soil?...
Crape Myrtle – Straightening
Q: I need some advice on what to do about a crepe myrtle that was partially uprooted by recent winds. It is leaning about 30 degrees and is about 20 feet tall. My plan is to dig under where it...
Limb – Repairing Broken
Q: I need help. A big pecan limb split away from a similar-sized limb way up in the tree. Do you think I should cut off the whole limb to which both are attached? A: Someone brave is going to...
Yellowjackets – Nest Dug Up
Q: We have noticed some bees in a corner of our property. After a recent rain, it looked as if an animal dug up several flat bee combs. There were four of them, about the size of a six-inch pancake,...
Fungus on Tree Root
Q: I have had a lot of erosion in my back yard so there are a lot of exposed roots. I’ve seen a couple of them that have this hard, white crust on them, sort of like a rubber coating....
Caterpillars – Which Ones are Poisonous
Q: My friends and I have found dozens of caterpillars under the trees in our school playground. How can you tell if a caterpillar is poisonous? Are there girl and boy caterpillars? I am nine years old. Nick East, Candler...
Bamboo – Fiberglass Barrier
Q: My neighbor and I are trying to control the bamboo he planted along his property line. The patch was planted three years ago. Today I was out cleaning up my landscape and found runners about one-half inch in diameter...
Yellow necked Caterpillars – On Blueberry
Q: Some very large, fuzzy, black caterpillars with yellow stripes are devouring the leaves of my blueberries. Should steps be taken to eliminate them? A: You are seeing yellow neck caterpillars. Notice how they lift their front and hind quarters...
Rat and Mouse – Identification
Q: We found the droppings of an animal in our kitchen. My husband thinks it is a mouse, I think it is a rat. Is it possible to tell the difference? A: It may be distasteful, but it is possible...
Jack (Sword) Bean
Q: A friend got some bean seed from his Dad, who told him to plant them and they would do great. I think the word “great” is an understatement. The Dad said they are called “Fala beans”. I’m thinking he...
Tomato – Roots on Stem
Q: This year I decided to try my luck at growing a few tomato plants. They are in containers and have done quite well since Easter. However, now the lower leaves are turning yellow and on one of them strange...
