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 links below to check out what others...
Travel With Walter!
I have two garden trips coming up: Cuba in Oct. 2012 and Southern Italy in May, 2013. Both promise to be visually stunning, but most of all, fun! If you want to travel with a group of interesting people who love seeing new things and visiting the world, click these...
Lawn Fertilizing – Summary
The amount of fertilizer to apply to your lawn should be determined by a soil test (www.georgiasoiltest.com or by calling 1-800-ASKUGA-1. If you have not had your soil tested, or don’t have time to do the test, following are some rule-of-thumb recommendations for using lawn fertilizers found at garden centers....
Lawn Care Calendars and Factsheets
Knowing that a piece of paper in your hand is much more helpful than a computer screen in the house, I have compiled basic cultivation information and care calendars for each of the common lawn grasses. You can get and print the calendar for each lawn grass by clicking the...
Join Walter on Facebook
See that little blue Facebook icon over to the right? If you click on it you will be taken to the Facebook homepage. I’ve found Facebook to be a great way to send you quick garden tips during the week. I try to send one every day or so. If...
Clay Pots – Cleaning
Q: Regular water removes only the lightest salt deposits on my clay pots. Is there a better way of cleaning pots? A: White salt deposits are common on clay pots. The crusty stuff is the remnants of fertilizer you applied...
Azaleas – Overgrown
Q: My home has azaleas as foundation plants that are overgrown, totally covering the windows. Visitors tell me ‘I’d better do something about those azaleas’. What is the best thing to do? A: The best option is to cut them...
Bermuda Sod – Too Thin
Q: I laid 500 sq. ft. of bermuda sod on July 1 in a very sunny area. I watered deep twice a week all summer. The grass is very thin; how do I get it plush and full? A: I...
Pomegranate Bushes – Planting
Q: When is the best time to plant a pomegranate bush? A: The best time for planting all fruit plants is fall. These shrubs, vines and trees are able to begin developing a good root system long before summer heat...
Hemlock Trees – Fertilizing
Q: We have five-year old hemlock trees. How do I fertilize them? A: Hemlocks do best with slow-release fertilizers like cottonseed meal or composted chicken manure. For cottonseed meal (6-2-1 analysis), spread eight pounds per 100 sq. ft. over the...
Dwarf Palmetto – Separating
Q: I bought a potted dwarf palmetto and noticed there are three plants in the container. Can these be separated? A: I don’t see why not. Soak the rootball in a bucket of water and gentle pull the stems apart....
Landscaping Plans- Help
Q: We would like to do much of the work for our landscaping but we need a solid plan. How do we get someone to make up a plan and refer us to someone to do the really heavy work?...
Lenten Rose – Outdoor Pots
Q: Would Lenten rose thrive through winter in pots outside on covered porch? A: Lenten rose should be fine in a 12″ or larger pot. Be sure the pot is supported off the porch floor so it drains after watering....
Compost – Growing In
Q: I use the free compost from DeKalb County in my landscape. Could I actually grow things in the compost by itself? A: I wish more counties would see the benefits of composting yard waste to give to their citizens....
Elderberry – Growing
Q: I would love to grow elderberries to eat for my health and to make wine. Any hints? A: Native plant expert Theresa Schrum says to collect the fruits of wild/roadside elderberries when they turn dark purple. Extract the seed...
Sassafras – Cause Cancer?
Q: I’ve heard that sassafras can cause cancer. Should I pull up all that’s growing in my yard? A: I wouldn’t pull the plants up unless you have an uncontrolled urge to chew the roots. The harmful component in sassafras...
Songbirds – Attracted to Hummingbird Feeders
Q: What songbirds would be attracted to the nectar of a hummingbird feeder? I see one or two each day perched on my feeder, dipping their beaks into the feeding holes. A: Naturalist Charles Seabrook says many songbirds have a...
‘Miss Huff’ Lantana – Fertilizing
Q: I have “Miss Huff” lantanas that seem to have gone into a decline. They’re half the height of last year. I pruned in spring but did not fertilize. A: I’ve noticed the same thing with my mother’s plant near...
Vidalia Onions – Buy Online
Q: I am coming for a Savannah vacation and was wondering if I could find big bags of Vidalia onions now. A: The fresh Vidalia onion season ends in early summer in Georgia but some producers have special storage facilities...
Pruning Perennials – In Fall
Q: In general, is it best to cut down perennial plants after they have finished flowering for the season when they appear to have “died out”? A: My rule of thumb is that if it is green, it is good....
Mulberry Weed – Identification
Q: I have a weed with flowers along the stem which grows in my flower bed in late summer. How do I get rid of it? A: The most common fall weed I see is mulberry weed, so named due...
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 The University of Georgia...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Ultrasonic – Pest Repelling Devices
It seems ingrained in the genes of mankind to invent ways accomplish a useful task while expending very little physical effort. The TV remote control is the epitome of this enterprise in my home but microwave ovens, automatic ice makers...
