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...
Invasive Pampas Grass
I live in Hall county and drive to work in Forsyth county. I listen to you every Saturday morning on my drive to work. In early September 2006 I heard you and Teresa Schrum talking about renegade pampas grass on...
Air Potato
Q: I have a problem with a lovely but horribly invasive vine that grows little potatoes on its stem. It sprouts and spreads like a demon – nearly taking over a 3 acre lot! What is it and what can...
Pampas Grass
Pampas grass is striking in fall with its showy white seed heads. If not cut back each spring, though, it will look more like an overgrown haystack. Here are some tips: Q: When should I cut back my pampas grass...
Maiden Grass
Miscanthus sinensis Among the showiest and most beautiful of ornamental grasses, a clump of maiden grass grows to 7 feet by late summer. The top of a clump is wider than the bottom. The top may be 8 feet wide,...
Moss – Growing
More than a few gardeners have decided to switch rather than fight. They’re purposely growing moss rather than trying to eliminate it from their landscape. There are hundreds of lawn lovers who can demonstrate how easy it is to grow...
Liriope
Cold weather can leave liriope (commonly called monkey grass) in tatters. Flower bed edging and driveway borders can be come overgrown and unkempt if the liriope is not kept compact. The best time to trim monkey grass is January –...
Jackman clematis
Clematis jackmanii Big, bold, beautiful and deep purple, this summer clematis is hard to miss, especially when you see it adorning its usual spot -a mailbox. This is without a doubt one of the most popular clematis species on the...
Wisteria – No Blooms
Q: I have a 3-5 year old wisteria that has never bloomed. What is wrong with it and what should I do? I thought that there was nothing you could do to make wisterias not bloom! It has flourished as...
Allamanda
Q. I bought a vine with big, glossy leaves and yellow flowers last summer. The vine looks dead now. Is this normal? A. I think you purchased an allamanda vine. These are quite decorative in the summer, but they are...
Gourds
Lagenaria, Curcurbita, or Luffa spp. Gourds are perhaps the first crop to be grown on both sides of the Atlantic ocean; originating in Africa, they most likely floated to South America and beyond, and were quickly pressed into gardener service...
Lawn – Leveling Low Spots
Despite your best efforts, your lawn may have spots that are lower than their surroundings. The best time to level lawns is while they are growing rapidly (fescue: fall; warm-season grasses: early summer). There are two ways to correct low...
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...
Soil Temperatures – Apply Pre-emergent
Summer weeds, like crabgrass, must have several consecutive days of temperatures above 55 degrees before they germinate. If the seed is right on the surface of your soil, it becomes warm quickly. If the seed is buried a bit deeper,...
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...
Nutsedge (Nutgrass) – Identification
Nutsedge is one of the toughest weeds to control in a lawn or landscape. To further confuse matters, there are two kinds: purple nutsedge and yellow nutsedge. The kind of nutsedge you have might determine how you’ll control it. Here...
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...
Take All Disease
I am very pleased with my St. Augustine lawn. Despite dire predictions, it has not yet frozen in winter but it has spread handily in moderate shade. A problem that was discovered in 1991 by folks in Florida and Texas...
Mowing Height – Calculating
When a homeowner complained that his bermudagrass was showing lots of scalped areas in fall, I turned to Dr. Clint Waltz, my turf specialist friend. —————————-“There are several things working here but the primary issue is mowing frequency. In the...
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...
