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...
Japanese Loquat Tree – Cold Tolerance
Q: I have a lovely Japanese loquat tree. Will it survive the winter here? A: I know of several loquats that grow in sheltered locations inside the Perimeter in NE Atlanta. They occasionally get winter damage but don’t die from...
Pelletized vs. Fast-Acting Lime
Q: I followed your recommendation to get my lawn soil tested. The results say I need to add 90 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet. Is there a difference in pelletized lime and fast-acting lime? A: University of Georgia...
Pigeon – Cold Tolerance
Q: Two months ago a white dove came to live on our porch. We’ve been feeding him and giving him water. Now that it is getting colder I worry that he will freeze. He is very friendly, walking with me...
Hickory Twig Girdler
Q: I have a young pecan tree. Over the last week we have found small limbs on the ground and the cut ends look like being chewed by a beaver. A: You have an infestation of hickory twig girdler. This...
Liriope – Propogation
Q: Can I propagate liriope from the fruit it produces ? A: Propagating liriope from seed is slow but it can be done. Soak the berries in warm water overnight then rub them in your hands to expel the seeds...
Stone Pine – Viability in East Cobb
Q: Can stone pine thrive in East Cobb County? Do any nurseries in this area sell them? A: Stone pine, Pinus pinea, has been an important source of food for humans and animals for thousands of years. It grows widely...
Nellie Stevens – Pollination
Q: You say on your website that Nellie Stevens holly needs a close-at-hand Edward Stevens pollinator for more fruit. How many feet away does Edward have to be from all my Nellies? A: Since hollies are pollinated by insects, “within...
Formosa Azaleas – Cold Tolerance
Q: Our landscape designer wants to put a hedge of Formosa azaleas in our back yard. Will they withstand our cold? A: There does seem to be a winter warming trend for Atlanta and environs. But just because it is...
Goldenrain Trees – Invasive Seed Pods
Q: We have five goldenrain trees across the front of our yard. They have beautiful seed pods but they are so light they blow all over, dropping seed as they go, and the seeds sprout in our flower beds. A:...
Witch Hazel – Telling if it’s Dried Out/Dead
Q: I have a witch hazel plant in a container. This summer while I was away the soil became completely dry and the leaves all turned brown. The leaves have not fallen off, but I haven’t seen any new growth,...
Abyssian Banana – Winterizing
Q: I have three Abyssinian banana trees in my yard. One of them is now ten feet tall alongside two smaller sprouts. I have a greenhouse that will hold the smaller two but not the tall one. How can I...
Kiwi Fruit – Ripening
Q: I have male and female kiwi vines and there’s a lot of fruit! How long does it take for them to ripen? A. The kiwi fruit you see in a grocery reach almost full size in August but are...
Crapemyrtle Aphids
Q: What ails my crepe myrtles? The leaves are already falling and those left on the trees are covered with a charcoal powder that stains everything underneath. A: You have crapemyrtle aphids. These tiny insects slowly build their population during...
Asiastic Jasmine – Invasive?
Q: We are trying to determine if Asiatic jasmine would be a suitable ground cover for the area between the trees that line our streets. It’s too shady and dry for grass. Is Asiatic jasmine deer-resistant? A: If left untended,...
Roots Around Plumbing Pipes – Invasive?
Q: A plumber told us we should move our tea olive tree, which is six feet from a joint in the sewer line. Are the roots very invasive? A: If the plumbing joint is plastic or cast iron, it should...
Praying Mantis – Feeding
Q: My husband found a baby praying mantis on his windshield. This guy is only an inch long; what can we feed this little critter? A: It needs soft-bodied insects like fruit flies or aphids. Try putting banana or apple...
Self-Watering Pots – Cold Weather Tolerance
Q: I use plastic self-watering pots inside copper decorative pots during the summer for my annual flowers. Can I plant pansies and ivy in the planters during the winter or will the pots freeze and crack? A: My guess is...
Seeds – How to Save
Q: In years past I have waited to harvest hosta and Siberian iris seed until after the pods have opened. How do you recommend saving them? A: There are lots of easy-to-collect seeds now. I have pods on my iris,...
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...
