Posts Tagged ‘Winter’
Fragrant Plants
I don’t think I appreciated the value of landscape fragrance until the last few years in my garden. I was delighted a few weeks ago when I discovered, by nose alone, a newly blooming shrub. Here is a list of...
Protecting Plants from Snow and Ice
Every family has a medicine chest where emergency medical supplies are kept. If you have children, they demand special supplies. Adhesive bandages, kid-strength pain reliever and medicated ointment are all part of the preparations for those accidental events of childhood....
Lawn – Fertilizing in Winter
Q: My lawn company wants to apply urea fertilizer to my bermuda lawn in January. Isn’t this too early? A: UGA turf expert Clint Waltz says: It’s best to withhold any nitrogen application to warm-season turfgrass species until soil temperatures...
Trees – Fertilizing in Winter
Q: A tree company wants to fertilize my trees with 30-7-9 fertilizer. Wouldn’t I be better off waiting until March or April? A: If your tree hasn’t been fed in a while, I don’t have a problem with fertilizing, even...
Cold weather – Protecting Plants
(written in 2000)The predictions of the weather forecasters have proven true this winter season. It has been COLD!! After December, Atlanta gardeners have begun to appreciate the travails their neighbors from the North talk about each winter. We now see...
Frost – Predicting First
Predicting the date of the first frost is tricky. And while it may not cause gnashing of landscapers’ teeth like an unexpected late spring frost, the first fall frost is important to some. Weather scientists have kept detailed records of...
Frost – Predicting Last
What do the records show about the last frost in the spring? Using 32 degrees as the reference point, the most likely date for a last frost is March 27. The earliest date for a last spring frost was February...
What to Do After the Easter 2007 Freeze
An extremely warm March in 2007 was followed by a two-day dip to 27 degrees on April 6 & 7. Many plants had made substantial new growth before the cold snap. After the cold, many shrubs and trees, including crapemyrtle,...
Freeze Damage – Identifying
The damage from cold weather sometimes doesn’t show up for several days or even weeks. Diagnosing the problem is part memory and part detective work. Suspect cold damage when branch tips do not leaf out but lower parts of the...
Shrubs – Protection in Winter
My thoughts on the various alternatives when attempting to protect shrubs from winter cold: BLACK PLASTIC Though it seems counterintuitive, black plastic is a better covering for plants than clear plastic. The object of covering a plant at all is...
Planting Winter Annuals in Drought
It’s daunting to consider planting winter annuals like pansies and cabbage when we have severe watering restrictions. But these plant have to be planted by November 1 so they have enough time to grow roots before winter sets in. Here’s...
Pansy – UGA Publication
Pansies are the most popular winter annual grown in Georgia. Professional landscapers plant them by the millions in office parks and apartment complexes. Their flower beds look great… and yours can too! Read the publication below to discover their secrets....
Lantana – Winter Hardiness
Most varieties of lantana, including ‘New Gold’, ‘Festival’ and ‘Tutti Fruiti’ are not winter-hardy in Atlanta. Rick Berry, the proprietor of Goodness Grows Nursery in Lexington, introduced ‘Miss Huff’ lantana several years ago because it can usually survive cold winters...
Geranium – Overwintering
Recently I was asked how to store dahlias and caladiums for the winter. Let’s continue the discussion and focus on another plant that is not reliably winter-hardy but which can be kept with a bit of effort. The bright red...
Night-blooming cereus – Information
Q: My neighbor has a plant she calls a night-blooming cereus. We stayed up until 1:00 a.m. one night watching the flower open, almost like waiting for a new baby to be born. It has the most heavenly scent. Can...
Creeping Fig
Q: I’m trying to identify a plant and determine if it would grow in Atlanta. I visited Charleston recently. One feature I saw a lot of was a vine that covered steps and walls. It was trimmed fairly tightly to...
Impatiens – Re-seeding
Q: I have a neighbor with a garden full of impatiens, in varying colors, that re-bloom every year. They disappear in winter then come back in summer. He says that they re-seed themselves. I would appreciate any knowledge that you...
Bird of Paradise – Growing
Q: We purchased a bird of paradise plant early last year and planted it in a large container. The plant looks VERY healthy, however it didn’t bloom last year and doesn’t look like it will this year. What could be...
