UGA Vegetable Gardening Publications
With food prices high, folks have been thinking about growing some of their own food. Food gardening is not hard and it doesn’t have to take much room in your landscape. You can even do it in containers! These gardening publications are available on the Internet or ask for a...
Shrub – Transplanting 1-2-3
Most shrubs and trees should be transplanted when the demand for water is least, in late fall or winter. Since many roots will inevitably be lost, they need many weeks to regenerate themselves before the hot, dry blasts of summer arrive. If you are contemplating moving a plant that would...
Shrub – Pruning Calendar
The Home & Garden section of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution published a very nice pruning calendar several years ago. When viewed on a sheet of newsprint, it was gorgeous. When reduced to fit onto a sheet of typing paper it was impossible to read. I imagine you didn’t keep...
South Africa Adventure – 2014
As many of you know, I led a group of gardeners and spouses to South Africa in 2010. The memories of that vibrant, beautiful, surprising country still linger in my brain! We had such a good time I’ve decided to lead another group trip there in January, 2014. Want to...
New Gardening Books
I regularly receive interesting-looking gardening books from publishers. I don’t have time to read them all or give an intelligent review but I know they would appeal to many gardeners. These are some of the books I’ve gotten recently. You can click the link under the book cover images to...
Papaya – in Georgia
Q: I am sending you a picture of my papaya tree. I planted the seed in my garden last year. It was about 2 feet high when I transplanted it to a large pot and put it in the garage...
Chinch Bug – Control
Q: We put in new St Augustine lawn in May. In September, I noticed some yellow patches. At first I thought chinch bugs so I put out insecticide. The spots are not solid yellow but have some green in it....
Mosquitoes – Using Yard Sprays
Q: I’ve just read your website information on mosquitoes, but it was articles from 2002–before the new yard sprays that I see in the garden centers this summer. Most of these sprays claim to work for 4 weeks! What I...
Tree Limb – Grafted to Trunk
Q: Attached is a photo of a tree (maple, I believe) that is in the woods in my front yard in Buford, Georgia. Apparently, a branch grew out of the tree, then somehow reversed course and actually grew back into...
Hummingbird Feeder – Bee Control
Q: How can I keep honeybees from my hummingbird feeders? They are driving the hummers away. A: These Hummzingersseem to have a good reputation for thwarting bees, hornets and...
Bermuda – Removing from Zoysia Lawn
Q: How do I remove Bermuda grass that is growing in my Emerald Zoysia lawn? A: I found this on the Web: “The postemergence herbicide Fusilade II (active ingredient fluazifop, fluazifop-P-butyl) is labeled by Zeneca (Syngenta) for control of bermudagrass...
Groundcover – For Dry Shade
Q: I would like to put a ground cover in dry shade under an oak but my husband thinks all ground covers are invasive. Are there any evergreen groundcovers that would work? If they had a blooming period that would...
Lespedeza – Growing
Q: I bought fifty lespedeza plants and some tree seedlings as part of a “Wildlife Package” from the Georgia Forestry Service (1-800-GATREES). When I looked up lespedeza on the Internet I found that it can overrun your property and choke...
Tree Roots – When do They Grow
Q: During mild Atlanta winters are the roots of my young oak trees active during dormancy or does the entire tree shut down? Put another way, would a dry winter or a wet winter make any difference in a tree’s...
Tomato – Planting in Same Spot
Q: I’ve always heard that you shouldn’t plant tomatoes in the same spot two years in a row. I had a great, sunny spot for tomatoes last year and they were plentiful. I’m limited in space and would like to...
Heirloom Plants – Using
Q: I’ve been pondering your recent reply to the person who planted the one hundred year old plum variety. You mentioned that he wouldn’t wear clothes that were a century old, so why plant a plum variety that’s so ancient....
Plants – Basic Needs
Q: I attend middle school. I have come to ask u a question about my science fair project. the question is: what are the five basic things a plant needs to grow, no matter what kind of plant it is....
Mockorange sawfly – Identification
Q: Can you tell me what type of worm this is and why does it attack my mockorange bush? A: It’s a “worm” – but it’s not a caterpillar. I counted his fleshy back legs (prolegs) and can distinguish more...
Black-eyed Susan Vine – Identification
Q: I was in Boston last week and saw this yellow-flowered, vine-like container plant which I can’t identify. Can this be grown here? A: I believe it’s a climbing black-eyed Susan vine, Thunbergia alata. It’s perennial in south Florida but...
Bagworm
Q: I have four Leyland cypress trees that are six feet tall. They all have little pods, containing some sort of worm, hanging from almost every branch. One of the trees died and the others aren’t looking too good. What...
Tree – Roots in Pipes
Q: Do river birch trees act like weeping willow trees regarding water pipes? I have a river birch approximately three years old over my water pipes coming into my house. Is this of great concern? A: All trees act the...
Tomato – Bacterial Wilt
Q: I need information on tomato bacterial wilt. Specifically, how to contain it, how contagious is it, what else it can affect, how I can keep from spreading it to the rest of my garden. A: Bacterial wilt is a...
Bermudagrass – Killing with Solarization
Q: I am trying to kill bermudagrass that is spreading thru the centipedegrass in my lawn. I have been told that putting black plastic over the area for two weeks will kill what bermudagrass remains after spraying with herbicide. A:...
Weeds – Identification with Pictures
Weed control in the landscape is a tough business. You have to know a lot about the weed in question just to get started! As in most situations, a picture is worth a thousand words. Websites Preen has terrific weed...
Diagnosing Holes in the Yard
Sometimes many heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem. Wade Hutcheson, my Extension colleague in Spalding county, gets plenty of calls from the citizens of his area asking his help in identifying various holes in...
Brown Patch – Diagnosing
You have brown patches of dead grass in your lawn. Is it the common lawn disease ‘brown patch’ or is it something else? The answer is important: if it is brown patch you probably need to spray with a fungicide....
Bermuda – Weed Control
BASIC INFORMATION: Weed Identification Pictures General Turf and Weed Info Lawn Care Calendars THREE METHODS There are three primary methods of controlling weeds. Any one method, when used alone, will not usually control all of your weeds. To consistently control...
Lawn – Timing Pre-emergent Herbicide
One of the sourest phrases that can be directed at a child or adult is “I told you so!” Whether you touch a hot match, leave tools out in the rain or lift cinder blocks all afternoon, someone is usually...
Crapemyrtle – Pruning
One of the most confounding arguments I face is whether and how to prune crapemyrtles. They are mercilessly “murdered” by unaware landscapers and homeowners each winter… yet they still bloom in summer. Some people even believe a crapemyrtle won’t bloom...
Lawn – Growing in Shade
OK. I admit it. I have given up. I came to the conclusion that grass just would not grow in the corner of my lawn near the ornamental cherry trees. The shade there is so dense that my grass, no...
Lawn – Leveling
A new home in my neighborhood had bermudagrass sod planted in March. By May, one area was a perfect checkerboard of straight lines, composed of weedy plants, surrounding the individual squares of sod. Evidently the sod installers were in such...
Bermuda Grass – Disease – Brown Patch
Brown patch is most prevalent on bermudagrass which has been heavily fertilized when night temperatures are above 68 degrees and day temperature are above 80 degrees. Dead patches of grass may start small but can grow and join together to...
St. Augustine Grass Seed – Where to Buy
Q: Please tell me where I can buy St. Augustine grass seeds. Our lawn has some now and we like it a lot, but we’re having trouble finding seeds. A: You can’t buy St. Augustinegrass seed. The plant is very...
