Gardening Q and A
Chickweed – Identification
Q: Recently, a pretty little groundcover has sprung up among my bulbs and I can’t identify it. It’s low-growing (about 3-4″ at its highest), with spade-shaped leaves about 1/2″ long and tiny white flowers about 1/8″ in diameter. It seems...
Pecan Weevil – Control
Q: We have two large pecan trees that are too large to spray. Every year the pecans have a small hole with a white worm in them. What can be done to prevent this? A: You have pecan weevils in...
Poisonous Trees
Q: In my work as a lawyer, I am familiar with a legal search and seizure doctrine known as “The fruit of the poisonous tree.” If the police do an illegal search, any evidence they are led to as a...
Leyland Cypress – Dying in Shade
Q: We have a row of Leyland Cypress that is starting to die off one at a time. They are about 10 years old and we have lost two on the left side of the row. I thought the first...
Bluebells – Identification
Q: Can you tell me the name of this? It comes up in the spring and has a bulb that looks like a wild onion. A: Bluebells are a certain harbinger of spring in many parts of the world. The...
Star of Bethlehem – Identification
Q: This is a flower that has come up in my bed. Could you please help me identify it? A: It’s called Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum. Although the flowers are pretty. Some folks consider the plant a weed in...
Peach – Pruning
Q: What does the open center system of pruning consist of? We have a peach tree that is 3-7 years old and need to know how to best prune it. A: The “open center” method of pruning a peach tree...
Holly – Male vs Female Flowers
Q: I have three ‘Sparkleberry’ hollies that I planted about a year ago. They were leafless when I bought them. The foliage this past season was wimpish at best and no berries formed. I understand pollination is required to form...
Banana – Bee Damage to Flowers
Q: I have banana trees, the large type, in Eatonton. They are in a sunny protected place on the side of our house. This year we had a crop of more than 200 bananas off 3 trees. Needless to say...
Sago Palm – Scale
Q: What can I do about scale insects on my sago palm? A: Insect specialist Gretchen Pettis says: “Catharine Mannion at the University of Florida has done a significant amount of research with the Cycad Scale. It is devastating the...
Corkscrew Rush – Care
Q: Two years ago I bought this beautiful, unusual grass at a nursery. Overwintering it inside was unsuccessful, as you can see. It still looks beautiful even when it’s dead as a doornail. Can you identify it for me so...
Poisonous Plants
Q: We have pets and a young child who play in our back yard. Is there a compilation of poisonous plants we should avoid planting? A: It is true that some common plants are considered “poisonous”…but that doesn’t mean you...
Wood Rots
Q: I have a tree with several mushrooms growing out of the trunk and out of the roots. What causes this? A: UGA Disease Specialist Holly Thornton wrote an excellent overview of the topic. Read Wood Rots and see if...
Trees – Behavior in Ice Storms
Q: I had a lot of tree damage from an ice storm several years ago. Are some trees more likely to be hurt than others? A: The University of Illinois has a fine publication that covers all aspects of how...
Managing Pine Timberlands
Q: I have a 48 acre tree farm of year-old loblolly pine trees. The land was previously pastures that were sprayed a year and half ago with chicken manure as a fertilizer. What chemical can I spray on the trees...
Gardenia Whitefly – Identification
Q: I have been plagued by a black, sooty substance that covers the leaves on my gardenia bushes. In the summer it is accompanied by tiny white flies. They seem to be related: if I kill the flies with insecticide...
Smilax – Identification
Q: What is this vine and how can I eliminate it from my yard? Or should I? Maybe it serves some useful purpose I don’t know about. It has miserable thorns and appears everywhere I want to be. They seem...
Mahonia – Pruning
Q: I need some assistance with how to care for leatherleaf mahonia plants. I have some very large samples in my yard. I recently purchased this home and I do not have any experience with them. Should I trim them?...
