Shrubs
Gardenia – When to Prune
Gardenias can often get too large for their spot. Their flowers are so beautiful and fragrant, many gardeners don’t want to do anything that retards blooming. These notes from Ted Stephens at Nurseries Caroliniana, Inc. should help: “Gardenias flower on...
Daphne – Special Soil
The smell from the daphne shrubs growing near my front door has been intoxicating this year. I have two there, in front of three small gardenias, assuring my family of a perfumed entry each day for months. I have three...
Crapemyrtle, Crape Myrtle, Crepe Myrtle – Which is Correct?
When I exhorted my radio listeners to check out my web pages on how to prune crapemyrtles, several sent plaintive notes that they simply could not find the correct pages on my website. The reason is that I spell the...
Crapemyrtle Pruning – Steve Pettis’ Comments
I like the description here. Dr. Ed Gillman describes pollarding at his site linked here that “Pollarding is an old technique for maintaining trees at a small size. It has proven itself as a reliable, durable method of maintaining trees...
Crapemyrtle Pruning – Art Morris’ Comments
I think we all agree that the preferable treatment for a crape is to plant in the right place and let it go. Pollarding is intended to remove only the annual sprouts from a pollard head, and is done correctly...
Crapemyrtle Pruning – Shannon Pable’s Comments
“Here’s how I look at it: “For pollarding, you cut above the last pollarded cut; i.e. cut the newer wood and avoid cutting into the older wood…leaving some existing lateral branching. By cutting into the older wood you would increase...
Crapemyrtle Varieties and Cultivars
Crapemyrtles are one of the most beautiful and carefree flowering plants of the Southern landscape. There are many different cultivars, with different flower colors and growing heights. This publication from the University of Georgia gives information on crapemyrtle care and...
Crapemyrtle – Pruned Poorly – Pictures
A poorly-pruned crapemyrtle is one where the top has been thoughtlessly hacked back to a...
Crapemyrtle – Pruned Correctly – Pictures
In my view, a well-pruned crapemyrtle has architectural form and a graceful...
Boxwood – Warts on Stem
Not long ago I discussed the symptoms of boxwood leaf miners. If your boxwood leaves do not have the characteristic reddish-yellow mottling caused by the miner, what else could cause a thinning, unhealthy shrub? Taft Eaker runs the homeowner landscape...
Boxwood – Varieties
In the nursery trade there are basically two species of Boxwood available, English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) and Japanese Boxwood (Buxus microphylla). English Boxwood is native to southern Europe, northern Africa and western Asia and sometimes is referred to as Common...
Bamboo – Clumping
A reader recently asked me “Is there a recommended clumping bamboo for Atlanta? I need one that grows to sixteen feet or more.” Though it grows tall like a tree, bamboo is actually a giant grass. It spreads by means...
Azaleas – Late Spring/Early Summer Pruning
If your azalea has been growing in a spot for a few years, it has likely reached the size you want. But the size an azalea would like to achieve might not agree with the size you’d like. If your...
Azalea – Planting Properly
In high dudgeon, Dave Hudak wrote me recently: “Last year I planted twenty one azaleas. They were inexpensive one gallon plants. Eight died within seven months. I’ve noticed that the others are struggling but still trying to grow. When I...
Azalea Pruning and Lace Bugs
Azalea blooms are only a memory in June but there are still things to do for their care. If the shrubs are threatening to grow too tall, now is the perfect time to remove some of the taller branches. Use...
Azalea and Rhododendron – Difference
According to David C. Zlesak at the University of Minnesota: “Rhododendrons and azaleas are spectacular flowering shrubs that add splashes of bright color to the landscape. What are commonly known as rhododendrons and azaleas are genetically distinct, but are both...
Azalea – Growing, Pests and Propagating
Few plants are as beautiful and as varied as the azalea. These shrubs are emblematic of spring in Georgia. A recent University of Georgia publication provides all you need to know to have success with this great plant. Selecting and...
Buttonbush
Q: Along a creek bed near Yatesville, Georgia, I came upon a low growing plant with a pretty white flower that I cannot identify. The bloom was a little smaller than a golf ball. It looked like tiny honeysuckle blooms...
