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...
Aucuba – Wilting
Q: We live on a shady lot and have a lot of aucuba plants around our small lawn. Some of the aucuba have leaves that are turning black and wilting. Does this mean they are dying? A: If it makes...
Poinsettia – Forcing
Q: I have three poinsettia plants which I’ve kept for four years. Last year, they changed color in the summer. How can I get them to change color at Christmas? A: Your poinsettias were only doing what comes naturally when...
Poinsettia – Care After Winter
Q: I have successfully held over three poinsettia plants in a window greenhouse for four years. Every year they get bright red bracts. Needless to say they are now very leggy. When is a good time to cut them back...
Amaranth – Summer Poinsettia
Q: This plant grows in the garden in front of Crawford Long Hospital. Is it a coleus? The leaves and stem look similar but only the top leaves are bright red … almost like a poinsettia. It’s very showy, whatever...
Hornet – Small Nest
Q: Attached are photos of what we believe to be the start of a hornet’s nest on the side of our home. How do we get rid of it? Unfortunately, all of us have pretty severe allergies so these guys...
Predatory Bugs – Young
Q: I am not sure that you are the person who can help me with identifying these ants but I thought I would at least start with you. We noticed the colony on our rain gauge on our deck yesterday....
Cattail – Control
Q: I have a small pond with cattails growing in it. Is there any way to get rid of them? There is a duck nesting in the pond so I do not want to disturb her. A: The ducklings should...
Blueberry – Growing in Bark
Q: Just south of me, folks in Alma are growing blueberry bushes directly in pine bark. Some grow them in fifty-gallon plastic drums cut in half, using drip irrigation. Is pine bark the only ingredient in the soil or is...
Squirrel – Eating Pine Cones
Q: I have several tall pine trees in my back yard. I’ve been having a large amount of pine tree debris coming down for about a month. A lot of long, skinny tan and green pine cones are falling plus...
Bald Cypress – Galls
Q: We have three large bald cypress trees. This year we noticed hundreds of white, dime-sized galls on the very ends of the limbs. Please don’t tell us we have to get out the chain saw! A: The galls are...
Seed Law – Planting by Professionals
Q: You mentioned the Georgia Seed Law in your column last week. Did you know that everyone who plants a fescue lawn for hire this fall must have a seed license? A: I had just found out about it before...
Rabbit Tobacco
Q: I grew up knowing about the wild plant we called rabbit tobacco but I have just now discovered how to use it in decorations. It’s fragrance is amazing! What more can you tell me about this wild herb? A:...
Pepper – Purple
Q: I recently purchased an attractive plant from a hardware store. The clerk knew nothing more than that it was a pepper. It has dark green leaves, purple flowers and purple fruit. I’ve tried to research it on the Internet...
Rose – Seed
Q: I just picked the rose hips off of my climbing ‘Fourth of July’ rose. Are the hips actually the seeds of the plant? If so what do I do with them? When and how should they be planted? A:...
Seed – Saving and Drying
Q: I am saving seed for next year. I know that moisture is a big enemy to these seeds and I’ve seen desiccant packs for sale in seed catalogs. I’m wondering if I can simply use those little desiccant packs...
Cactus – Control
Q: I have cactus all over my back yard. I am guessing that a long time ago someone dumped a “dead” pot of pricklypear cactus out back and it rooted. Then, every time someone mowed the lawn, the cactus pieces...
Phosphorus – Adding to Soil
Q: Why does the University of Georgia Extension service recommend adding phosphorus at the time of planting regardless of soil test results? A: Because the phosphorus that plants require is so often chemically unavailable to plant root hairs and because...
Kiwi – Growing
Q: I have had a kiwi vine for five years. Last summer, it had its first bloom. Is there anything I can do to make it bloom and bear fruit? A: Growing a kiwi is surely a task for 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...
