Gardening Q and A
Velvet Ant – Severity of Stings
Q: The velvet ant question in one of your recent newspaper articles brought back a wonderful memory, and I thought you might enjoy it: When I was five years old, we visited my great-grandparents on their farm a few miles...
Fritillary Butterfly – Identification
Q: Recently my son noticed some orange, spiked caterpillars in our backyard. He wanted to see what they would turn into so he set up a habitat for them and then waited. Sure enough they hatched not long after into...
Lawn – Killed by Overfertilization
Q: I had my fescue lawn soil tested and got detailed results from my Extension Service office. It instructed me to use a 15-0-15 fertilizer. While my lawn is fescue, the only 15-0-15 I could find was for centipedegrass. Thinking...
Bougainvillaea – Care
Q: Last year I planted two beautiful bougainvillaeas in my garden. I cut them back before the first frost, hoping they would return. I have yet to see any regrowth though they were well covered with pine straw. Do you...
Amaranth – Summer Poinsettia
Q: This plant grows in the garden in front of Crawford Long Hospital. Is it a coleus? The leaves and stem look similar but only the top leaves are bright red … almost like a poinsettia. It’s very showy, whatever...
Pepper – Purple
Q: I recently purchased an attractive plant from a hardware store. The clerk knew nothing more than that it was a pepper. It has dark green leaves, purple flowers and purple fruit. I’ve tried to research it on the Internet...
Rabbit Tobacco
Q: I grew up knowing about the wild plant we called rabbit tobacco but I have just now discovered how to use it in decorations. It’s fragrance is amazing! What more can you tell me about this wild herb? A:...
Seed Law – Planting by Professionals
Q: You mentioned the Georgia Seed Law in your column last week. Did you know that everyone who plants a fescue lawn for hire this fall must have a seed license? A: I had just found out about it before...
Bald Cypress – Galls
Q: We have three large bald cypress trees. This year we noticed hundreds of white, dime-sized galls on the very ends of the limbs. Please don’t tell us we have to get out the chain saw! A: The galls are...
Squirrel – Eating Pine Cones
Q: I have several tall pine trees in my back yard. I’ve been having a large amount of pine tree debris coming down for about a month. A lot of long, skinny tan and green pine cones are falling plus...
Blueberry – Growing in Bark
Q: Just south of me, folks in Alma are growing blueberry bushes directly in pine bark. Some grow them in fifty-gallon plastic drums cut in half, using drip irrigation. Is pine bark the only ingredient in the soil or is...
Cattail – Control
Q: I have a small pond with cattails growing in it. Is there any way to get rid of them? There is a duck nesting in the pond so I do not want to disturb her. A: The ducklings should...
Predatory Bugs – Young
Q: I am not sure that you are the person who can help me with identifying these ants but I thought I would at least start with you. We noticed the colony on our rain gauge on our deck yesterday....
Hornet – Small Nest
Q: Attached are photos of what we believe to be the start of a hornet’s nest on the side of our home. How do we get rid of it? Unfortunately, all of us have pretty severe allergies so these guys...
Rose – Seed
Q: I just picked the rose hips off of my climbing ‘Fourth of July’ rose. Are the hips actually the seeds of the plant? If so what do I do with them? When and how should they be planted? A:...
Phosphorus – Adding to Soil
Q: Why does the University of Georgia Extension service recommend adding phosphorus at the time of planting regardless of soil test results? A: Because the phosphorus that plants require is so often chemically unavailable to plant root hairs and because...
Cactus – Control
Q: I have cactus all over my back yard. I am guessing that a long time ago someone dumped a “dead” pot of pricklypear cactus out back and it rooted. Then, every time someone mowed the lawn, the cactus pieces...
Seed – Saving and Drying
Q: I am saving seed for next year. I know that moisture is a big enemy to these seeds and I’ve seen desiccant packs for sale in seed catalogs. I’m wondering if I can simply use those little desiccant packs...
