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...
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....
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...
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...
