Italy Trip Report – 2013
In May of 2013 I led a group of adventurous and inquisitive gardeners (and their spouses) to the southern coast of Italy and the island of Sicily. We had a wonderful time: lots of great food, beautiful gardens, historic sites and good companionship! Following is my report on the trip,...
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 – 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...
Holly Fern – Spots on Leaves (sori)
Q: The backs of my fern leaves are covered in spots, every plant is like this and they seem weak. We know they grow well here in Savannah because there are fabulous, huge ones in the squares. What could this...
Northern Water Snake – Identification
Q: We live next to a creek in Decatur. My son loves to explore the creek but we have found that there is a snake in residence. Can you help me identify it? A: I’m no snake expert but Jim...
Periodical Cicada – 2011
Periodical cicada hatched by the millions in 2011. UGA’s Nancy Hinkle mapped the emergence of this insect in Georgia. She received e-mails from over 500 people and had cicadas reported from 50 counties. In general, these cicadas seem to do...
Maple – Pruning to Make Taller
Q: I had a sugar maple planted about 9 to 11 years ago. I personally want a Maple tree to grow tall first. From what I understand, if you top a tree, you stunt its height. If you trim some of...
Kudzu Bug – On Wisteria
The kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria, has quickly become a nuisance in Georgia. While it seems to lightly damage kudzu, the creatures wander into homes by the dozens (if not hundreds) in fall and spring. Now they have been caught damaging...
Azalea – Pruning Large Ones
Q: I have a couple of azaleas that have become monsters! I did not cut them back for years and they now dominate my front landscape. In recent years, I have taken out large, too me, alternating branches in an...
Camellia – Freeze Damage vs Petal Blight
Q: Are you able to tell from this photo if my camellia has petal blight? I have cut all the remaining buds and flowers from the plant cleaned up the leaves. If it is petal blight, what should I do...
Mayapple – Identification
Q: Fifteen years ago I found several of these plants in the woods before everything was bulldozed to start a house. Over the years they have multiplied and are an ongoing source of pleasure for me every spring. I call...
Tulip – Diseased
Q: Back in the spring I observed these tulips growing in a bed not far from my house in Atlanta. The petal damage was so severe I took several pictures. Do you recognize this problem? Could it be damage from...
Japanese Maple – Pruning
Q: The ‘Bloodgood’ maple in my front yard is visually too big for the front of the house. I would like to reduce the size by one-third. I called a Japanese maple expert but he refuses to reduce the size,...
Dogwood – Bleeding Orange Sap
Q: I have a dogwood that was injured with snow load and we cut off the broken branch. I put prunning sealer on the cut and now it looks like this. It looks like it is bleeding to death. A:...
Dirt Dauber Wasp – Identification
Q: I don’t know what animal(s) built these “shelters”, but am curious if you can provide any guidance. Do you have any ideas what built these? A: You are the host of dirt dauber wasps. They are considered beneficial because...
Chaste Tree (Vitex) – Pruning
Q: Last year my husband I planted a chaste tree. Somehow my husband did not keep it in check and now we are at a loss on how to prune it. My husband wants it to have three to four...
Zoysia – Seedheads
Q: For the last several years my Emerald Zoysia lawn has apparently gone to seed mid-summer or later. This year it is greening up in April and has already gone to seed. The lawn is twelve years old. It appears...
Zoysia – Variety Lineage
Zoysiagrass is an excellent lawn grass for Georgia but there is much confusion over the different varieties. Dr. Tim Bowyer, with Patten Seed, made a reference table for me to sort out the lineage of the different zoysia...
Planting Perfectly for Spring
In March, I presented a free hour-long webinar “Planting Perfectly for Spring”. It’s a “live” presentation on how to plant shrubs, trees, flowers and lawns the right way. You watch it on your computer after completing a short registration. The...
Iron – Used as herbicide
Q: What do you know about the new organic weed kilers that contain chelated iron as the active ingredient? A: Several products use chelated iron (iron in plant-available form) to kill weeds. I’m familiar with Ortho Elementals Lawn Weed Killer...
Morel Mushrooms – Identifying
Q: My German in-laws are visiting and want to go hunting morel mushrooms in the woods by our house. They seem to know what to look for but I don’t want our American morels to confuse them. Is there 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...
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...
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...
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...
