Posts Tagged ‘drought’
Deer invasion – Spring leaves
Q: We love the mountains and woods but we are having a constant problem with deer. They have severely eaten my ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly and ligustrums, both of which we were told “Deer do not eat!”. How do I...
Drought – Supplemental watering
Q: You recently wrote that even with our drought, supplemental watering isn’t generally needed in the winter. What are some guidelines as to when I should re-start watering my camellias and azaleas? A: Water loss from the soil is caused...
Fertilizing – Drought
Q: Should we skip fertilizing our lawn this year since we are likely to continue our drought conditions? A: Don’t skip the lawn feeding. I am certain that rain will come this spring. All you have to do is time...
Japanese beetles – Life cycle
Q: What’s become of the Japanese beetles? (Not that I miss them, mind you!) So far I’ve not seen any on our roses, magnolia blossoms, plum and cherry trees. Did I do something last year which interrupted their life cycle?...
Horticulturist – Alpharetta school
Q: I am a thirty eight year old medical sales professional and want to pursue a career in horticulture. Can you recommend a school in Alpharetta or nearby where I can obtain the credentials as a qualified horticulturist? A: The...
Purple-leaf plums – Edible
Q: My old purple-leaf plum trees unexpectedly have lots of red skinned fruit on them. Since it’s fashionable to grow edibles in our landscape, how I can tell whether these plums are edible for humans (I don’t want to be...
Drought – Pine trees
Q: I’ve noticed since the drought that when it rains more trees seem to be falling over. Pine trees seem to break at weak points, but the broad leaf trees seem to be pulled out of the ground by their...
Outdoor ferns – North Ga
Q: Please tell me the names of ferns that will grow outdoors in north Georgia A: I’m particularly fond of Christmas fern and autumn fern because they are evergreen. I like southern shield fern because it is deciduous but very...
Seeding – Topsoil
Q: We are planning to seed our all clay backyard with fescue and know that we will have to add topsoil. Do we need to break up the clay before we add topsoil? Is two inches of topsoil enough to...
Persimmon tree – Companion tree effects
Q: I have a native persimmon tree at my home and my Golden Retrievers love the fruit. I noticed recently there wasn’t any fruit on it this year. I had a gnarly companion tree cut down this spring and was...
Centipede Lawn – Compaction Damage
Q: I am having an unusual problem with my centipede lawn. Our lawn was planted in the spring of 2008. It appears to be healthy. But purple streaks begin to appear a few days after I mow. The streaks are...
Mondo Grass – Making a Lawn
Q: I have heard you talk about how hard it is to grow grass in deep shade. On a recent garden tour, one gardener had a spectacular “lawn” of mondo grass. The gardener said that she sprigged the yard with...
Hydrangea – Not Blooming
Q: My purple hydrangea has not bloomed for two years now. It used to be beautiful. Do I need to prune it to the ground or what? A: Bigleaf hydrangeas were hit with a 1-2-3 flurry of punches during the...
Lawn – Potash Helping Roots
Q: My lawn is in fair to good condition but I recently heard about pot ash and how it helps lawns to have deeper roots and better drought resistance. Is this true? A: Pot ash is more correctly spelled potash,...
Birch Tree – For North Georgia?
Q: I would love to plant a white birch, also known as “clump birch”. They display a wonderful white bark. Will it grow well north of Athens? A: Gray birch, Betula populifolia, is commonly known as clump birch but paper...
Ponytail Palm – Propagating
Q: I have a ponytail palm that has a couple of “pups” at the bottom. There’s one on the bulb and one shooting off of the main stem of the plant. How do I propagate these into new plants? A:...
