Microstegium (Basketgrass, Stiltgrass, Eulalia) – Identification and Control

This grassy weed is common but it doesn't yet have a widely accepted common name. Most gardeners refer to it as "That summer weed that I can easily pull out by huge handfuls but it still comes back!&#

UGA Downloadable Plant List Publications

Finding the right plant for the right place can really be a chore! Fortunately, there are several excellent references that will help you find what you need. Try these University of Georgia publications first: L

Tree Removal Rules – Metro Atlanta

Removing a tree is not as simple as hiring a tree company or buying a chainsaw and seeing a pile of chips the next day. Counties and cities across the Atlanta metro area have adopted tree ordinances that determin

Ornamental Kale/Ornamental Cabbage

Ornamental kale and cabbage are some of the most popular (behind the pansy) winter annual plants. They lend a completely different texture to a winter landscape bed. The scientific name is Brassica oleracea Th

Deadheading

Since a plant’s goal is simply to reproduce itself, once it has produced mature flowers, it will often stop producing any more. You can eliminate the signals telling the plant to stop flowering by regularly r

Daylily – Dividing

Few garden tasks are as enjoyable as dividing overgrown flowering plants. Where once there was a single clump, you might have the potential for a half-dozen. Daylilies are among the easiest to divide. Simply slid

Planting a Living Christmas Tree – Songs

Sam Zamarripa is a parent, a financial advisor, and a former Georgia legislator. He began a tradition of planting living Christmas trees when his children were in grade school and led a group of neighbors who mad

Flowery Branch – History

When I remarked on the beautiful name of a local town, a caller promised to send me its history. Here it is! ——————————————̵

Compost Tea – Does It Work

Linda Chalker-Scott is a scientist at Washington State University who researches common garden claims and comments on their usefulness. Her thoughts on compost tea are printed below: WSU Master Gardeners are ofte

Microstegium (Basketgrass, Stiltgrass) – New Disease for Possible Control

Microstegium is a terribly invasive grass in shady gardens. The great news is that researchers have identified a disease that has potential to control it! News release: In 2009, a previously undescribed disease w

Tree Pruning

Pruning a tree sometimes invokes more worry than it should. You wonder if removing a tree limb is analogous to cutting off your leg (does it hurt? will I kill it?). Fortunately, if you take your time, pruning can

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

Planting Caladiums

Caladiums are old-fashioned bulbs that have become more popular in recent years. Plant breeders have developed varieties that can withstand much more sunshine than previous strains. Leaf colors from deep red to p

Arum – Propagation

I just can’t figure out why a certain plant I have in my garden is not used more frequently. It is commonly called by its scientific name Arum italicum ‘Pictum’, but the Home and Garden Encyclopedia says another

Frost Tolerance – Vegetables and Flowers

When frost is forecast, whether in spring or fall, some vegetables and flowers are more or less likely to be damaged. Here is a list of plants and their tolerance of light frost: Vegetables Hardy Slightly Tole

Trees – No Tap Roots

Driving to dinner with friends after a big storm, I came upon this. A big tree next to a driveway fell and flipped over the car on the driveway! Notice one particular point – trees growing in our clay soils

June Landscape Tips

Collect the seeds from foxglove stalks. Scratch the soil around the plant, scatter the seed and cover with a bit of earth. Water occasionally and the seedlings that sprout this year will bloom next year. Clip off

Espaliering

Espaliering is the art of training a plant to grow in a formal pattern, typically in a flat plane. Fans, double cordon, vertical cordon, palmetto, and Belgian Fence are common shapes but there is no reason to lim

Girdling Tree Roots

When a root closely circles a tree trunk rather than growing outward, it is called a “girdling root”. The situation usually starts when the tree is young. Somehow a root begins circling the trunk. As it grows lar

Patriotic Plants

In very early July I posted a comment on Hometalk that in honor of the holidays gardeners could consider planting ‘Fireworks' goldenrod, ‘Sparkler' cleome, ‘Bottle Rocket' ligu