White Puss Caterpillar: Beautiful but Venomous—Do Not Touch

That Fluffy White Caterpillar Is a Stinging Hazard If youve found a caterpillar that looks like a tiny angora kitten—white, furry, and irresistibly touchable—do not touch it. Its the puss moth caterpillar (Megalopyge ope

DeKalb County Chicken Ordinance: Current Rules and Pending Changes

What You Need to Know About Keeping Chickens in DeKalb County, GA DeKalb County has been revising its zoning ordinances, including chicken-keeping rules. As of the latest draft (not yet officially adopted), here are the

Moving Large Japanese Maples: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Determined

Transplanting 3-Foot and 6-Foot Japanese Maples in Fall Moving established Japanese maples (3 with 3 trunk, and 6 with 6 trunk) is a massive undertaking with no survival guarantee. But if youre committed—heres the most t

Black Spots on Muscadines: Disease Identification Guide

Diagnosing Spot Diseases on Muscadine Grapes Several fungal diseases cause black or dark spots on muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) fruit and foliage. Without a lab test, visual diagnosis is tricky—but a good pictorial guid

Sweetgum with Deeply Lobed Leaves: A Potential Cultivar Discovery

When a Sweetgum Doesnt Look Like a Sweetgum A homeowner in southern Alabama found a tree with sweetgum-like leaves but unusually deep lobes—and no gumballs (spiky fruit) underneath. They were convinced it wasnt a sweetgu

Growing Tomatoes in Cinder Blocks: A Clever Container Method

An Innovative Way to Garden in Small Spaces Using concrete cinder blocks as planters for tomatoes is a space-efficient, well-draining technique that works surprisingly well. The method: stand blocks on end, fill the cavi

Squirrel Damage to Bluebird Houses: Metal Guard Fix

Flying or gray squirrels enlarge entrance holes. Fix: install a metal outlet cover (slightly under 1.5) over the wooden hole. Squirrels cant chew metal; bluebirds still enter. One gardeners successful retrofit shown.

Winterizing Bermuda Lawns: Why It's Usually a Waste of Money

The Truth About Winterizer Fertilizer for Warm-Season Grasses If youve been told to apply a winterizer to your bermudagrass lawn in fall, you may be wasting money—and potentially harming your turf. Heres the science behi

Pandorus Sphinx Moth Caterpillar: A Striking Garden Visitor

Identifying This Unusual Caterpillar If youve found a large, smooth caterpillar with prominent false eyes and a distinctive tail horn, youve likely encountered the Pandorus sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus). This native species

Callery Pear Fruit: What Those Tiny Pears Really Are

Your Bradford Pear Is Fruiting—Heres Why If your ornamental pear tree is loaded with marble-sized, hard fruits, youre seeing the reproductive reality of Callery pear cultivars like Bradford, Aristocrat, and Cleveland Sel

Repairing Broken Apple Tree Limbs: Why It Doesn't Work

When Your Dog Breaks Apple Branches—Cut, Dont Mend Its tempting to prop up a broken limb, wrap it with tape or cable, and hope it heals. But for apple trees (and most fruit trees), broken limbs are not repairable. The va

Selling or Transplanting a Large Japanese Maple: What's It Worth?

Can You Get a Landscaper to Remove Your Japanese Maple for Free? Homeowners often hope a landscaper will dig up and transplant a mature Japanese maple at no cost in exchange for the tree. The reality? It depends entirely

Camellia 'Samantha': The Reticulata Difference

Not Your Typical Camellia If youre growing Samantha and wondering why it looks different from the common sasanqua or japonica camellias, theres a good reason: its a Camellia reticulata hybrid. This species stands apart w

Green June Beetle Grubs: Why They're Crossing Your Road (and Driveway)

Those Large, Crawling Grubs on the Pavement If youve seen plump, white grubs with a distinctive crawling on their backs motion crossing streets or driveways at night, youre witnessing the larvae of the Green June Beetle

Horntail Woodwasp: Identification and Why Control Is Rarely Needed

What Is That Large, Wasp-Like Insect in Your Yard? If youve spotted a striking, elongated insect with a prominent stinger (actually an ovipositor) hovering around trees or lumber, youre likely seeing a horntail—also call

Dogwood Twig Borer: Identification, Life Cycle, and Control

Spotting Dogwood Twig Borer Damage If youve found a single wilted branch on your kousa dogwood with sawdust-like frass and a small worm inside, youve likely encountered the dogwood twig borer (Oberea tripunctata)—a relat

Growing Kudzu Indoors: A Challenging but Possible Project

Can You Grow Kudzu as a Houseplant? Kudzu (Pueraria montana) is infamous across the Southeast as the vine that ate the South. But for gardeners in colder climates like Nevada, growing it indoors as a curiosity is theoret

Identifying and Removing Bat Droppings from Your Home's Siding

Bat Guano on Siding: What Youre Seeing and What to Do If youve noticed small, sticky spatter marks appearing just below the roofline on multiple sides of your cabin or home, youre likely dealing with bats roosting behind

Fertilizer Burn on Vegetable Seedlings: Too Much, Too Close

Why Your Seedlings Wilted After Fertilizing Applying a teaspoon of 10-10-10 fertilizer per plant—especially close to the stem of small seedlings—is a classic case of fertilizer burn. The high salt concentration draws wat

Boxwood Blight: A Spreading Threat in Georgia—How to Diagnose and Respond

Boxwood Blight: Identification, Spread, and Management Boxwood blight (Calonectria pseudonaviculata) is a serious fungal disease spreading in Georgia, affecting American and English boxwoods. Korean boxwood shows some re