Posts Tagged ‘birds’
Oaks – Worm Infestation
Q: We are overrun with worms in our oaks. They are totally defoliating large trees around my house. A: We’re enduring a big outbreak of common oak moth this year. This small gray/brown moth lays her eggs on oak tree...
Bluebird Boxes – Cleaning
Q: I know cleaning bluebird boxes is important, but doesn’t this contradict the law about not disturbing native bird habitat? A: Birding expert Georgann Schmalz http://www.birdingadventuresinc.com says it’s highly recommended to clean out and throw away the old nests in...
Beautyberry plant – General Information
Q: While visiting my daughter in Texas I noticed beautyberry plants growing wild in the area. My daughter has two beautiful ones in her back yard and she thought they were trash plants. Could you give me some information so...
Strawberry Planting – Square Pyramids
Q: Are you familiar with the square pyramids that garden catalogs sell for strawberry planting? Can I make one myself? What kind of soil do I use? A: A pyramid allows you to put more plants into a given space....
Orange Striped Oak Worm
Q: Dozens of these little 2″ critters have invaded an oak tree that overhangs my deck, and are systematically stripping a big branch of its leaves. In the process, they are pooping all over the deck. What are they, and...
Cicada – Skins on Tree
Q: My wife and I found some empty shells of what we thought was some sort of beetle. Our first thought was that they were pine beetles from hell. We looked on the Web and now believe them to be...
Porcelain Berry Vine
Q: We have a vine (not kudzu) that has killed a dogwood tree in our yard and is about to do the same to several magnolias. The leaves look like grape leaves (but smaller) and it has small blue-black berries....
Purple Beautyberry – Identification
Q: Can you please tell me the name of this plant? It’s growing off Lindberg Drive, near Peachtree Creek. It has these beautiful purple berries even now. I think it’s a good one for color in the fall. A: You...
Doublefile Viburnum
Q: I love this tree! I know of three in LaFayette, and I have seen one near the carousel at the Grant Park Zoo. The flowers bloom about the same time as dogwoods, and they are strung out all along...
Mahonia- Propagation from Seed
Q: How would you go about growing mahonias from seeds of volunteer plants? A: I’d just push the seeds an inch into the soil after they fall from the plant in early summer (you may have to bag them to...
Chickens – How to Catch
Q: There is a roving flock of chickens that likes to search for food in my yard, ruining my grass from scratching and disturbing the mulch in the plant beds. Is there anything I can do to stop them from...
Deer – Eating Bird Seed
Q: I’m sending a photo of a doe that I caught in the act of helping herself to one of the feeders in our backyard. We thought a flying squirrel (which we had seen) had been cleaning the feeder out...
Euonymus – American
Q: Do you have any idea what this is? A: It’s American euonymus, Euonymus americanus….commonly called “Hearts-a-Busting”. You can tell it’s a euonymus because it has green stems (rather than brown ones) coming from the main trunk. The seed pods...
Privet Hedge – Transplanting
Q: I have some of the famous University of Georgia hedges (salvaged after the Auburn game in ’95) that I would like to transplant to a new house. My plant is thirty inches wide and five feet tall. What should...
Wildlife – Trees and Shrubs to Attract
Q: We recently moved here from New Mexico, so I could teach at Georgia Tech, and bought a new house. What small trees should we consider planting under our tall pines that will attract birds? Are there special guidelines for...
Privet – Control
Q: I am clearing three acres that was full of mature blackberries and privet. Some of the privet was in tree form. The privet is continuing to pop up because of the root system. Am I going to have to...
