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...
Fertilizer – Substitutes
Q: I usually use 16-4-8 on my lawn but this year I can’t find this fertilizer. Do you have any substitutes? A: Any fertilizer that is sold for lawn use should work fine when applied at label directions. But you...
Trees – Shedding Bark in Summer
Q: Several trees in my front yard have the bark coming off. They are lush and full of leaves. I hope the trees are not sick. A: I’ve heard reports that several tree species, hickory and oak in particular, seem...
Plant Anchoring – Leyland Cypress
Q: During a heavy rain my Leyland cypress fell over. This has happened twice before. Each time, I anchored it with rope and thought roots would grow and stabilize the tree. What else should I do? A: It’s hard to...
Snakes – Identification
Q: I often see snakes sunning near my backyard creek. I don’t want to harm them but I sure would like to identify them. Are there any simple guides? A: You’re likely seeing various kinds of non-poisonous water snakes but...
Root Cellar – Practical?
Q: Is a root cellar practical in the deep South? A: I doubt it. In order to keep vegetables from rotting, the temperature in a root cellar needs to be 50 degrees or less with great air circulation. Deep soil...
Roses – Garden Designs
Q: I have a large but bare backyard. I’ve fallen in love with roses and want to start planting them but how do I design or decide where to put them? A: You need the services of a consulting rosarian....
St. Augustine Grass – Seed Stalks
Q: I have St. Augustine grass and it has grown seed stalks. Which part is the seed and can I plant them? A: Unfortunately, St Augustinegrass does not produce fertile seed from those seed stalks. The St. Augustine grass we...
Thorny Plants – For Property Lines
Q: Our HOA is trying to keep people from climbing over the fence to get through our property. Can you give us the names of some thorny, sticky, prickly shrubs to make it unappealing? A: Chinese holly, barberry, Knock Out...
Rose Rosette Disease – Identification
Q: What do you know about rose rosette disease? A: I know it can be devastating to roses and will be extremely hard to control if it becomes widespread in Georgia. The disease causes very red foliage and stems, copious...
Rattlebox (Crotalaria) – Identification
Q: What is this plant with brown seed pods that look like English pea pods? A: Native plant expert Theresa Schrum says this is showy rattlebox, Crotalaria spectabilis. If you shake the dry pods you’ll immediately hear why it got...
Panicle Hydrangea – Identification
Q: I have a house with this hydrangea looking tree. The flower looks like a hydrangea’s flower. Do you know what it is? A: It is indeed a hydrangea: Hydrangea paniculata. There is one particular variety of panicle hydrangea called...
Flying Aphids – In Fall
Q: I have gnat-type flying insect swarming in my backyard. What type of insect would be flying this late in the year? A: My bet, based on experience from previous years, is that the things are the winged form of...
Tomato – Grafting
Q: What do you know about grafting tomatoes? I hear you can graft an heirloom variety to a disease-resistant modern variety and get good results. A: You are exactly correct on the good results from grafting. The process has been...
Sasanqua Camellia and Japanese Camellia – Identification
Q: What is the difference between sasanqua camellia and Japanese camellia? A: Sasanqua camellia, Camellia sasanqua and Japanese camellia, Camellia japonica, are the two camellia species most often cultivated in the South. There are more than 200 species of camellia,...
Holiday Book Sale – 2011!
If you’re looking for a great gift for a gardener, why not a book that will help them achieve success?! I have authored or co-authored several books that are specific for Georgia….perfect for the first time gardener or someone who...
Dogfennel – Identification
Q: Please identify this 3 – 4’ tall stuff. How do you get rid of a lot of it? A: It’s dogfennel, Eupatorium capillifolium. Don’t confuse it with Anthemis cotula, which is also known as dog fennel or Mayweed. I...
Bird’s Nest Fungi
Q:There are little white cones things that come up in my garden. Then four little dots seems to just appear in the cone. Any suggestions? A: These are called birds nest fungi. The cup-like structure contains “eggs” that have fungal...
Raccoon Damage – To Dead Sod
Q: We had fescue sod laid last year in a small garden area in our back yard but it died during the drought. In the past week or so some nocturnal animal has been ‘”unrolling” the sod looking for something....
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...
