Browse Lawn and Garden Stories - Page 28

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There are two basic types of aerification, hollow and solid tine. With hollow tine a soil core is removed, while with solid tine aerification a hole is created and no core is removed. With both types, a void in the soil is created that allows air and water to more deeply penetrate the root zone. The aeration benefits are longer lasting with hollow tine (pictured) due to the removal of the core. CAES News
Room to Grow
Last year many lawns across the state didn’t receive enough rainfall for the grass to grow, photosynthesize and make carbohydrate reserves. Turfgrass that experienced this lack of rainfall will likely be slow to green up this spring. If rainfall totals return to normal this spring, lawns will recover, but they may do so at a slower rate because the production of reserves was compromised last fall. For example, a lawn that would typically be fully green and growing in mid-May might take until late May or June to green up. A two- to four-week delay in green-up of warm-season grasses may be common this spring.
Paloverde trees in bloom at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. CAES News
Mexican paloverde
The paloverde trees at the Coastal Botanical Gardens are completely covered in blossoms. The flowers have five yellow petals, but one petal has a honey gland and turns an orange-red, giving the blooms a distinctive bicolored look. The flowers are swarming with pollinators of all types.
The 'Wedding Dance' amaryllis is a hybrid amaryllis that produces stalks that exhibit several enormous, pristine white flowers measuring up to 7 inches in width. CAES News
Head of the Horse
Gardeners all over the country can enjoy the amaryllis, whether in the landscape or as one of the most-loved Christmas plants forced indoors. Outdoors they prefer fertile, well-drained soil. Ours get morning sun and late-afternoon shade. In the landscape, we treat them much like narcissi. We will deadhead flowers and leave foliage until it wants to go dormant.
Rosemary makes a terrific center or tall plant in mixed containers. The aromatic foliage does not go unnoticed. The green, fine-textured, needle-like leaves contrast with cool- or warm-season flowers like these violas. CAES News
Mother's Day Flowers
Every year, Americans spend about $2 billion on fresh flowers for Mother’s Day. While fresh flowers are gorgeous, they have a short shelf life. This year, why not skip the bouquet and make Mom a living collection of flowers and plants that may last for years?
Earthworms in a healthy compost bin in middle Georgia. CAES News
Compost Critters
Gardeners are likely to see a whole community of living things in their compost piles — from millipedes and roaches to worms and small mammals. While most of this activity is natural and great for compost, some uninvited guests can indicate a problem with the compost pile.
Perfect composting conditions require the perfect combination of materials — not too much brown matter, not too much green matter, not too cold and not too dry. CAES News
Perfecting the Pile
With higher temperatures across Georgia, May is the ideal time to consider building a compost bin. The second week of May, May 7–13, is International Compost Awareness Week. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offices across the state can supply advice for homeowners who want to start to make the most of their food and yard waste and improve their soil.
Fuzzy deutzia flowers are star shaped, lightly fragrant and bring an assortment of pollinators. CAES News
Fuzzy Deutzia
My friend Gerald Klingaman, retired horticulturist with the University of Arkansas, uses the term "deutzia renaissance" for the new love surrounding this fuzzy heirloom that has been around for ages. If you haven’t discovered the old-fashioned fuzzy deutzia, then make it a high priority.
Lady's slipper orchids are found in five genera. Paphiopedilum lady's slipper orchids are among the easiest to grow for the novice gardener. CAES News
Lady's Slipper Orchids
The beauty of lady's slipper orchids, coupled with what seems to be an unending array of colors, shapes and textures, make them an addicting group of plants for a potential collector.
'South Pacific Sipper' is a tropical hibiscus that produces enormous blooms all summer. Hummingbirds, swallowtail butterflies and sulphurs love to visit the tropical blooms. CAES News
Huge Blooms
‘South Pacific Sipper’ might best be described as a fancy hibiscus, and indeed it is. It is also one born to grow and produces flowers so large they defy logic. They are somewhat ruffled and though called “double,” they open up in a most exotic fashion. Though it sounds crazy, it is one of those plants that will have you taking photos of it every day because you think today’s blooms are even prettier than the blooms from the day before.
Thinning pine stands benefits the timber stand and the owner. Reducing stand density reduces competition for nutrients, space and light and improves the vigor, growth rate and overall quality of the remaining trees. CAES News
Thinning Pines
Proper management of a pine stand requires thinning in order to prevent disease and insect infestation and to maximize profit. Thinning is the process of cutting or removing certain trees from a stand to regulate the number, quality and distribution of the remaining trees.