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...
Eucalyptus – Success Stories
When I replied to a newspaper reader about his chances of success with eucalyptus (low, in my opinion), I invited readers to share their eucalyptus stories. To my chagrin, at least a few folks have succeeded with this tree. Here...
Dogwood – Diseases
Nothing can panic a homeowner like the threat of disease to their prized dogwoods. Dogwood trees in Atlanta have had several problems this spring. Brown, distorted leaves and severe leaf drop are common complaints. Fortunately, the problems are probably not...
Crapemyrtle – Which is the Right Way to Prune
There are many opinions on which is the “correct” way to prune a crapemyrtle. A landscape owner may want a smaller tree, more blooms, or less work….all of which demand a different kind of pruning. Dr. Gary Knox at the...
Christmas Tree – Selecting
When the winter holidays approach, you want your tree to look its best. Here are my tips for choosing the best tree: 1. Choose a fresh tree. It is simple to say but hard to do! Most of the trees...
Cherry – Bleeding
Ah, what a beautiful thing is the marriage of intelligent minds! In early June, 2002 I received three questions in one week asking about cherry trees that were oozing sap. Sensing an incipient problem, I queried my Extension Service colleagues...
Categories of Tree Damage from Storms
Ice, snow and wind storms can cause extensive damage to trees. Snow and ice add tons of extra weight to individual trees. Stems and branches break, while some trees may be completely bent over. Storms may kill some trees, but...
Bradford Pear – Pruning
I recently received a query that has been repeated over and over this spring. A gardener in Roswell asks for my advice on the proper pruning of her Bradford pear tree in order to avoid limbs breaking as it gets...
Bleeding Cherry Tree – Gum on Bark
In the world of humans, bleeding is a serious and troubling thing. If something causes us to bleed we immediately take action because we understand that the loss of excessive amounts of blood can cause us great harm. Therefore, it’s...
Black Walnut – Allelopathy
Black Walnut trees have a chemical known as juglone in their roots, husks, leaves and bark. Juglone inhibits the growth of many plants which may be growing in your garden or landscape. This inhibition of plant growth is called allelopathy....
Wildflowers
Many readers have noticed the beautiful wildflowers in the median strips of Ga. 400 and Ga. 316. They are so striking now that dreams of repeating the process enter the thoughts of the gardener/motor traveler. Will Corley, Extension Specialist at...
Using Chrysanthemums
Gardeners have two sources of chrysanthemum flowers: from plants that have grown large in their landscape during the summer and from potted specimens that can be planted now. An eight inch potted mum will have hundreds of buds on it,...
Tulip
A mass of red tulips behind a bed of blooming pansies can be a real traffic-stopper in March. Apartment and office complexes use hybrid tulips to showcase their landscapes as spring begins. The tall tulips have been hybridized for centuries...
Tropical Hibiscus – Bringing Indoors
Though several members of the hibiscus family are perfectly content outdoors in an Atlanta winter, the tropical hibiscus is not. If yours has grown vigorously outdoors, you’ll have to prune it back somewhat to a smaller, more manageable size. Preserve...
The Earth-Kind® Rose Program
Roses are one of the most desired of garden flowers. Yet today’s hurried lifestyles often prevent gardeners from tending their roses as they should. The Earth-Kind® Rose Program has been very successful in identifying and promoting low-care roses. The program...
Roses – Varieties for the South
The rose is known as “The Queen of Flowers”. For this reason, every gardener attempts to grow a rose or two. Some gardeners succeed, some gardeners fail. Why? One factor is that they failed to choose the correct variety for...
Roses – Black Spot Resistant
Georgia rose growers know all too well the devastation that black spot can wreak on roses. Planting roses resistant to black spot is the best way to avoid problems. The following article lists some of the most disease-resistant roses for...
Rose – Pruning Climbing Types
Most climbing roses bloom on old growth, that is, the growth from previous years. The best time to prune these roses is right after they finish blooming (typically in May). If they are repeat bloomers, then prune them right after...
Rose – General Care
No flower in the world is as popular as the rose. Gardeners can choose from hundreds, perhaps thousands of different types of roses. For this discussion, roses will be simply divided into bush roses and climbing roses. General culture is...
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...
