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...
River Birch – Sawfly
Q: Last summer I called your radio show and asked how to get rid of caterpillars on several river birch trees in my back yard near my goldfish pond. Your answer was to get an organic product, and spray it...
Fountain Grass – Overwintering
Q: I planted purple fountain grass this year. Will it come back next year? A: Purple fountain grass is a perennial in south Florida but it doesn’t have a chance of surviving an Atlanta winter outdoors. That is actually a...
Pomegranate – Growing
Q: I am keeping a pomegranate plant in a large pot. During winter I move it indoors. I love this plant and want to see it grow in my garden. Please advise if the plant would be tolerant of the...
Tree – Straightening
Q: The rain earlier this month softened the soil in my yard. Because of high winds, a twelve foot pine tree is leaning at about fifteen degrees from vertical. A small portion of the root ball is six inches above...
African Violet – No Blooms
Q: My African violets will not bloom but they are huge! What can be wrong? They just keep getting bigger and bigger but without flowers. A: The most common reason for African violets to fail to bloom is lack of...
Sunroom – Plant Health
Q: I recently built a sunroom on the south side of my house and used Low-E glass because it keeps out most of the heat from the sun. I didn’t think about it at the time but will it also...
Oak – Gouty Gall
Q: I would like to know what these potato-looking things are. They fell from an oak tree in my brother’s backyard in New Jersey. They look like a honeycomb inside and the tree is full of them. A: It’s a...
Grape – Recommended Varieties
Q: What grapes varieties would you recommend growing in the Atlanta area for eating, jellies, and jams? Also, where can they be purchased? A: There are two types of grapes from which to choose: muscadines and bunch grapes. Muscadines are...
Dog – Repellants
Q: My neighbors allow their dogs to defecate in a front yard nature area we put in last year. Could you tell me something I could use to keep them from doing that? I don’t want to hurt the dogs,...
Iris – Flowers Turn White
Q: I have planted many types and colors of iris over the years. However, a problem arises after I have separated the roots. The next year when these flowers bloom, they have lost their color and bloom white. Do you...
Annual Bluegrass (Poa Annua) – Control
Q: How do I control annual bluegrass? A: The annual nature of this weed supplies its most noxious habit: it re-seeds itself prolifically! Annual bluegrass is outwardly attractive in the winter but just wait until spring! The thick mat of...
Trifoliate Orange
Q: Walking in the woods a few days ago I found a small rangy tree with which I’m not familiar. It has a small yellow fruit about the size of a golf ball. When cut open it looks like citrus...
Composting – Fruit Flies
Q: I am a recent convert to composting. I began my compost pile during the summer and the material is now looking good for fall planting. My challenge is my covered kitchen waste receptacle. I put in fruit and vegetable...
Gardening – Allergies
Q: I’ve been told that people who have severe allergies should plant only female trees and shrubs because they produce the fruit but not the pollen which is produced by the male plants. If this is true, how do I...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
