Gardening Q and A
Trees – Fertilize to Improve Fall Leaf Color
Q: I haven’t been able to find any good info on ways to improve fall foliage colors, so I thought I’d ask the expert. My wife and I are now in our second fall in our home in Auburn, GA...
Brown Recluse Spider – Identification
Q: I have a spider I think is a brown recluse. How can I identify it? A: According to my exteemed colleague and insect expert, Dr. Paul Guillebeau, you may have a spider…but it probably isn’t a brown recluse. He...
Natural Pesticides – Effective?
Q: Are “natural” insecticides as effective as regular ones? A: Perhaps…..but certainly not always. And the companies that market “natural” pesticides aren’t required to prove that their products work because they are exempt from Federal law. Is this good for...
Pesticides – Stored Near Food
Q: Can pesticides be stored near food? A: Pesticide expert Dr. Paul Guillebeau recently saw something that gave him pause. “I took this picture at my local grocery store just to make our less intelligent readers feel better about themselves....
Donkey Manure – Using
Q: I know cow manure is good for a vegetable garden, but is donkey manure safe for growing food? A: Sure is – just let it age long enough so you don’t smell any ammonia in...
Deodar Cedar – Dying
Q: I have two large Cedar Deodora’s, planted around three years ago. They were probably ten feet tall when I planted them. They are located behind a large pond and are used as a “backdrop” for the pond. They are...
St. Augustine – Cold Tolerance
Q: I seem to remember you used to not recommend St. Augustine grass be grown north of Macon. Now when people call in with questions about planting it, you seem to even endorse it in sunny or semi shade areas...
Lake and Pond Management
Q: I am on a three acre lake in Roswell. A developer put in a road on the other side of the lake and in so doing, he in filled along about 400 feet of the shoreline. Fill is red...
Mountain Laurel – Fertilizing
Q: We have lived in Ellijay, on mountainous river property for approximately 12 years. The land is covered with mountain laurel and rhododendron. The mountain laurel looks scraggy, leggy and not well kept. I have lightly pruned, but admit I...
Bell Pepper – Growing from Seed
Q: I LOVE red bell peppers and have never been successful growing them. I just bought one last night from Publix for my salad and saved some of the seeds that fell out while I was slicing it. Would I...
Resurrection Fern
Q: We are considering purchasing a home with large, mature trees in the front yard that have ferns growing on the branches in a couple of places. Is this a sign of weakness/illness in the tree? A: The ferns are...
Strawberries – Keep Indoors for Winter
Q: I have strawberries planted in a strawberry clay pot. I let them stay in my basement over winter. When should I bring them out? A: Most folks just pull them close to the house where they don’t get much...
Winter Application of Horticultural Oil
Q: I have a customer that has scale on recently installed Magnolias.I want to spray horticultural oil; however, I understand that due to recently mild temperatures serious harm to plant can occur. Once temperatures resume to “winter like” conditions how...
Lawn – Flooded Occasionally
Q: I have an area that floods to about 0.25inch depth occasionally, to add top soil and level would be a huge task Is there an evergreen lawn seed that is water resistant you would recommend? A: Fescue is our...
Aralia – Prune and Propagate
Q: I am a lover of aralias, not the false aralia, but the “parsley” and “dinnerplate” ones…at least those are the names I know them by. I have a dinnerplate that really needs to be pruned and I would like...
Planting Where an Opossum has Died
Q: I have an area in my backyard that I planed on putting in a garden but a opossum died on that same spot. When I went to remove it, it had already started to decompose. My question to you...
Dye for Mulch – Sources
Q: My red mulch and red pine bark is fading. Do you know when I can buy the red dye to touch it up? A: Here’s one source I found:...
Orchid – Scale
Q: One of the orchids we are wintering over in the greenhouse has this recurring problem – reddish brown scales on the underside of the leaves. I suspect they are some kind of insect. They are somewhat sticky to the...
