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...
Compost – Using Fertilizer
Q: In attempting to make compost, I have no difficulty in rounding up plenty of brown material such as dried leaves and wood chips but I can’t seem to find enough green material to make up a 2:1 green:brown ratio....
Scotch Broom – Invasiveness
Q: In reading a 1996 “Horticulture” magazine I came across an article listing Scotch broom, Cytisus scoparius, as an invasive/noxious plant. I know it is a problem in California and the Northwest, but I want to make sure it would...
Greenhouse – Watering
Q: We need your help on the timing and frequency of our new water sprinkler system for our greenhouse. My husband is in the process of installing it. We need to know how often and how long to set the...
Summer Tanager – Identification
Q: Can you help me identify this bird? It’s seems too yellow for a gold finch. The photo was taken at my brother’s home in Newton county. A: Local naturalist Charles Seabrook says it is a female summer...
Dwarf Fescue – Care
Q: What can you tell me about dwarf fescue grass? Does it grow and thrive in Atlanta? I read something about it in a magazine and want to know about using it here. A: Extension turf expert Clint Waltz says...
Pine Straw – Replacing old
Q: A family discussion is left for you to resolve: A pine straw island surrounded with liriope has fall leaves on it along with the clippings from cutting back the liriope. I say to leave the clippings and leaves and...
Dogwood – Club Gall Midge
Q: Many of our dogwood trees seem to be ‘afflicted’ and have no bloom buds on them this year. There are many swollen nodules toward the tips of the branches where the blooms should be. What is the problem and...
Persimmon (young tree) – Identification
Q: My daughter lives near Washington DC. Her new home has this tree in the back yard. It has just sprouted little bell-shaped flowers. Her husband thinks I might be a fruit tree. A: Her husband is right! My genius...
Huckleberry – Identification and Growing
Q: When I was growing up, my mother used to make huckleberry jam. The taste was quite different from blueberries. She was from East Tennessee, but I don’t remember if she gathered the huckleberries there or in Georgia. Do you...
Bermudagrass – Removing Thatch
Q: We have a bermudagrass lawn. The thatch is terribly thick. My husband doesn’t use a bag with the lawn mower, so the thatch has built up. Could a professional company dethatch our lawn? A: Thatch is a layer of...
Bulbs – Storing for Winter
Most of us enjoy the cooler weather ushered in by October. Fall is approaching and we anticipate with pleasure the crisp days to come. Our landscape plants, though, have different reactions to the advent of cooler temperatures and shorter days....
Hydrangea – Identification and Pruning
Q: I have hydrangeas on some new property. I would like to prune them but am unsure which hydrangeas I have, and therefore when to prune them. How do I tell them apart? A: In my garden, the color and...
Forsythia – Crown Gall
Q: As I inspected my forsythia recently, I saw several odd-looking knots on stems that had few flowers. Can you tell me what this is? A: Crown gall is caused by a bacteria. It induces the host plant to produce...
Citrus Plants – Protecting from Cold
Q: I am buying several citrus plants from a grower in South Carolina. He has recommended the best citrus trees for my 7b hardiness zone, including ‘Changsha’ mandarin orange, bitter lemon and pummelo. He says they need a “protected” 7b...
Joseph’s Coat – Care
Q: Can you identify this small plant for me? I purchased it last spring. There was no information tag attached. All the garden center could tell me was that it’s a good border plant. It’s now 18″ wide and 10″...
Mulch – Pine Straw vs. Nuggets
Q: Which do you recommend: pine straw mulch or pine mini-nuggets for putting around plants. I know mulch serves two purposes: appearance and retaining water. A: I think it’s more your judgement of appearance than anything else. Some people like...
Aucuba – Identifying Seed
Q: Last year I bought a bunch of aucuba plants. In with them was a plant a lot like the rest but with a different leaf. The leaf is seven inches long and two inches wide and is a dark...
Bougainvillea – Winter Hardiness
Q: My wife and I bought a bougainvillea at a recent flower show. Is possible to plant bougainvillea in the ground? Will it come back next year? A: Bougainvillea definitely won’t live outdoors in the winter in Atlanta. You have...
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...
