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...
Africanized Honeybees Now in Georgia – What to Do
The Georgia Department of Agriculture announced in Oct, 2010 that Africanized honeybees had definitely been identified in Georgia (near Albany, in Dougherty County). This means that it is even more important to support local beekeepers. Basically, the more European (domesticated...
Imidacloprid will not control spider mites
Imidacloprid will not control spider mites. Why not? The fact that an effective insecticide will usually not harm a mite seems counter intuitive. After all they are both Arthropods i.e. small creatures with exoskeletons and jointed appendages. Although following this...
Fig – Pruning a Large One
Past years have produced bumper crops of figs for home gardeners. There were enough for birds, yellow jackets, kids and adults to share without dispute. Along with blueberries and raspberries, figs are almost carefree. The biggest problem that a fig...
Bedbugs – Control
On a recent trip to New York, we were very aware of the possibility of bedbugs being present in our hotel room. Our luggage went into the bathroom as soon as we entered. We thoroughly inspected the mattresses, box springs...
Fescue – Killed by Overwatering
Q: The fescue at our subdivision entryway has suffered greatly, even though the sprinkler system waters every Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, for 10 minutes and fertilize it. I see similar damage to fescue lawns throughout our area. Have you any thoughts...
Crabgrass – Dying in Fall
Q: Look at what happened to my crabgrass: couple of weeks ago it just died. Whataya think happened? A: This is a natural phenomenon. Crabgrass is sensitive to day length, so as days get shorter after June the plants set...
Fescue FAQ
Fall is the best season to plant fescue seed. Nights are cool, days are warm….and best of all, you don’t have to sweat as much as you work! I’ve assembled some of my most helpful pages of fescue planting information:...
Bacterial Leaf Scorch – On Oak
Q: My oak is turning brown and dropping leaves earlier than normal (late September). What could cause this beside drought? A: Art Morrist, a certified Arborist with Bartlett Tree Experts, says: “It’s possible that late-season browning on oaks could be...
Costa Rica Trip – 2012
I had a great time with a group of 38 folks, including gardeners, spouses and friends, on a trip to Costa Rica in January 2012. We visited gardens, rode zip lines, stayed in fabulous hotels and saw innumerable bromeliads and...
Hebe – Growing in Georgia
Q: I saw a plant in Germany which I would like to grow here. The label from the plant named it “Hebe buxifolia”. Is it locally available? A: Hebe is native to New Zealand, where it is grown as an...
Japanese Beetle – Plants Resistant to Them
Q: Are there any plants that Japanese beetles DON’T eat? A: Sure – I never see them on pine, lamb’s ear, lantana or holly! On the other hand, the list of plants they DO eat is quite long. Here’s a...
Lawns – Planting from Seed
If you have a lawn, you want it to look nice….but you also don’t want to spend a fortune getting it established. For this reason, many homeowners decide to plant a lawn from seed. The process is do-able by one...
Sugarcane – In Georgia
Q: Can I grow sugarcane in Georgia? A: My Dad tried to grow it in Fayette county one year. It grew tall but wasn’t very sweet…..my guess is there were not enough sunshine or hot days. It needs a LONG...
Daylily – Dividing
Few garden tasks are as enjoyable as dividing overgrown flowering plants. Where once there was a single clump, you might have the potential for a half-dozen. Daylilies are among the easiest to divide. Simply slide the point of you shovel...
Sumac Gall – Identification
Q: I noticed a “gall” on a sumac sapling today. As I looked closer, I saw that several branches (leaflet clusters) had a number of the things on them, and the leaves were turning yellow and then red. I pulled...
Puss Caterpillar – Identification
Q: These critters are on my Japanese maple and English laurel. They are not bagworms but what are they? A: Don’t touch them!! They are puss caterpillars, Megalopyge opercularis. What looks like soft hair actually covers a mass of poison-tipped...
Kudzu Bug – On Fig
Q: I found hundreds of these insects on my fig. Are they the kudzu bugs discovered in 2009? A: You are exactly correct – you have a great memory! The bug is the globular stinkbug (aka kudzu bug), Megacopta cribraria....
The Bugs Above Us
When I see a bee or beetle in my garden, I rarely think deeply about how they got there. They just flew in from my neighbor’s garden or from another spot in my yard, right? They never got higher than...
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...
