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...
Rustic Sphinx Moth
Q: I found a caterpillar hanging upside down on my lantana. Can you please tell me what kind it is and what those white things are attached to its back? A: It looks like Rustic sphinx moth caterpillar. The moth...
Leafcutter Bee – In Branch
Q: I’ve never seen anything like this. A small branch, about as thick as a man’s finger, fell from our mature oak tree. When my husband went to pick it up, he saw a small pile of sawdust at the...
Cottony Maple Scale
Q: I have what I think is a fungus on the underside of my red maple. It looks like white puffs of rice with a black spot on one side of the puff. The fungus is on almost every leaf....
Pecan Phylloxera
Q: We have an enormous old pecan tree on our property. While planting some vegetables in mid-summer, we noticed some horrible looking leaves on the ground. We aren’t sure if it’s scab or something worse. Our main concern is if...
Naranjilla – Identification
Q: I took this picture at the North Carolina State Fair horticulture exhibit last fall. I’m curious what it is. It was a decent sized shrub – about 3 feet in height with a wider diameter. A: Despite its fierce...
Hercules Beetle Grub
Q: I’ve seen grubs in my yard from time to time, but yesterday, I ran across a big one. This rascal has to be almost 4″ long when fully stretched out! Normally, grubs are about 3/4″, right? What is it...
Squirrel – Chewing on Deck
Q: This past June we helped my son and his wife refinish their deck with Olympic water base stain. Since then the squirrels are chewing the edges of the boards. She has witnessed a squirrel tearing a stick off the...
Crapemyrtle – Sprouts in Lawn
Q: Last year I had a very old crepe myrtle tree removed. The stump was removed but now the plant is coming up everywhere. Many of these sprouts are coming from various roots left from the removal. Other than digging...
Maple – Bark Splits
Q: Nine years ago I planted 4 red maples . I am concerned about two of the trees. Their bark has long cracks in it. Why? A: My initial answer is “That’s just what they do sometimes!” Notice how the...
Asian Ambrosia Beetle – On Crapemyrtle
Q: I have toothpicks of sawdust coming out of the trunk of one of my crapemyrtles. The other one looks OK but this one can’t put out much new growth. A: I feel sure you have an infestation of Asian...
Rabbit – Eating Ornamental Sweet Potato
Q: I planted several ornamental sweet potatoes in planters around my house. Immediately, something started gnawing them to the bare stems. I thought it was a chipmunk. Today I caught the actual muncher with a mouth full! A: CAUGHT IN...
Crapemyrtle – Roundup Damage
Q: OK, lets be up front about this, I did a stupid thing. I have made just about every mistake in the gardeners manual, but I make them only once. I forgot to purge my lawn tractor sprayer of Roundup...
Jerusalem Cherry – Identification
Q: This shrub “volunteered” at the base of a large sweetgum two years ago. I have never seen anything like it. It has small white flowers in the spring and the fruit is as shown; a bright, tomato red, sphere...
Shining Flea Beetle
Q: I found the identity of this critter in a garden forum but I have not been able to find out if it is a friend or foe. About 10 of them were on my chaste tree, Vitex agnus-castus. A:...
Hornet Nest – Huge
Q: We have a bass lake and “cook-house” that is about 300 yards from our house in Lafayette, Alabama. We have just noticed this hornet nest, about 2-3 feet in diameter.Do any of you know how to get rid of...
Aspartame – As Ant Poison
Q: Do you know anything about the Internet rumor that says aspartame artificial sweetner kills ants? A: Yes I do….and I consider it false. It’s funny that the email right before yours was from a guy advising me that chewing...
Geese – Control in Lawn
Q: I have a small pond in my backyard. Geese have taken up residence and are making a mess of our lawn. Any ideas on how to get rid of them? A: Geese molt in late summer so they can’t...
Crapemyrtle – ‘Acoma’
Q: When is the best time to plant an ‘Acoma’ crepemyrtle? What is its mature height? A: ‘Acoma’ is an excellent choice for a white-flowering crapemyrtle when space won’t accommodate a ‘Natchez’. ‘Acoma’ grows to 15 feet tall in ten...
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...
