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...
Trip to Italy – 2013
I’m hosting a trip to southern Italy on May 12 – 24, 2013. Whenever I’ve mentioned to seasoned travelers a trip to Italy, they get a dreamy look in their eyes and insist “You MUST go to southern Italy in...
Tree Planted Too Deep – Examples
It’s heartbreaking to have an attractive young tree in your landscape begin to decline. When you examine the trunk, you may see bark at the base peeling off, splitting, or generally looking unhealthy. In my observation, these are symptoms of...
Bare Area – Covering With Fabric and Stone
Q: We want to cover the ground in our island with something that weeds won’t grow up into and through. We have considered gravel on top of landscape fabric. A friend did something similar with rubber mulch but the grass...
Sansivieria Cylindrica – Rhizome
Q: What the heck is this growing out of my sansevieria. I know it isn’t a bloom or a leaf, but I am very perplexed. A: It’s a rhizome: a thick root that grows away from the original clump. Eventually...
White Deposits on Hydrangea Leaves
Q: I went out to water my hydrangeas today and noticed white spots all around the edges of the leaves. This was not there yesterday so it happened sometime during the night. The leaves don’t seem damaged and the plants...
Oystershell Scale – Identification and Control
Q: I have noticed many insect eggs located on the bark of my Japanese zelkova trees.. I have also noticed these to a lesser degree on various types of maple trees. You can notice small a hole where an insect...
Flowering Pear – Improved Varieties
Q: I want to plant some flowering pears in my yard to provide cover from houses across the street. What do you recommend? A: I’d look for ‘Chanticleer’ or ‘Aristocrat’ flowering pear. ‘Bradford’ pear is commonly sold but it has...
Basic Slag – Sources
Q: My relatives in Alabama swear by something called “basic swag” for their gardens. They say it’s a nutrient that comes in powdered form and you broadcast it over your green vegetables. Can you help me find some? A: I...
Sweet Potato – Growing Slips
Q: Do you know where between Atlanta and Lake Burton I can find sweet potato plants? A: My dad used to buy them from Travis Hardware in Fayetteville but that emporium and its genial owner are no longer with us....
What Happens When Celebrity Insects Die?
I consider myself reasonably imperturbable when it comes to Internet pictures…but this one made me...
Mother’s Day Garden Tours
Who doesn’t want to honor that special woman in their life? There are several local venues that would be very enjoyable to visit with her! Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour - Atlanta Callaway Gardens – Pine Mountain The State Botanical Garden of...
Gardening – Apps for Your Smartphone
Way back in 2003 I wrote a newspaper article about using a Palm PDA (personal digital assistant). In the years since, Palm has gone out of business and many of us use smartphones daily. I use mine all the time:...
Japanese Maple – White Spots on Leaves
Q: What are the “white spots” on my Japanese maple leaves? Just noticed them this week. A: It’s a fungal disease called phyllosticta. It is unsightly but is rarely a big problem on Japanese maples. Only under certain combinations of...
Snapdragon Rust – Identification
Q: A friend tells me that you might help identify this infestation on the back of my snapdragon leaves. It appeared as the plants were about to send up their flowering shoots and wilted them before most were able to...
Trap Door Spider – Identification
Q: I was digging in some mulch and this fine fellow emerged. I anesthetized it with carbon dioxide to get it to be still while I photographed its underside. After a few minutes it recovered just fine. Do you recognize...
Cherokee Rose – History
Q: I have to do a garden club program on our state flower, the Cherokee Rose. Do you have any historical information on its original selection and the later naming of a native azalea as Georgia’s flower? A: The Cherokee...
Cherokee Rose – Identification
Q: About ten years ago I planted what I thought was a Cherokee rose from an old grave yard. I have had a very had time controlling this running rose. It will almost double its size every year and the...
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...
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...
