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Garden Notes - 2022

Daffodils That Don’t Require Chilling

Most spring-blooming bulbs require winter chilling to form a flower for the next spring. But, Dale Skaggs, Director of Horticulture at Dixon Gallery and Gardens says Tazetta daffodils will bloom without winter chill.

Related Videos: 
Spring-Blooming Bulbs
Daffodils

Related Resources:
Narcissus Tazetta - Tazetta Daffodils
Paperwhite Narcissus

Schip Laurel Winter Damage

This Schip laurel was hit hard by unusually cold winter weather. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond talks about how to tell if it is still alive. She also says to leave the leaves on the plant. The new leaves this spring will push the dead ones off. Schip laurels can grow in zones 5-8.

Related Videos: 
Severe Winter Plant Damage and What to Do About It
My Schipp laurel got bad winter burn. How can I help it recover or should I replace it?

Related Resources:
Winter Damage on Landscape Plants
Winter Burn

Inflorescence

Retired MSU Extension Agent Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the gardening term inflorescence. An Inflorescence is the entire flower structure of a plant including the bracts and stems as well as the actual flower. There are many kinds of inflorescence and Lelia talks about a few kinds.

Related Videos:
Planting a Butterfly Garden
Planting Summer Flowers

Related Videos:
Inflorescence

Wet Feet

Horticulture expert Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the gardening term wet feet. A plant is said to have wet feet when it is growing in soil which is continually wet. Most plants do not do well with wet feet. The exception to this is bog plants or aquatic plants that are accustomed to growing in an area with lots of water. 

Related Videos:
Planting Shrubs in Wet Heavy Soils
What can I do to save my new dogwood from soggy soil?

Related Resources:
Identification of and Corrective Action for Poorly Drained Soils in the Landscape
Plants for Damp or Wet Areas

Desiccate

Horticulture expert Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the gardening term desiccate. This means to dry out. Desiccation happens when the plant can’t get enough water to keep the leaves hydrated. This can happen with dry soils in the summer or in the winter. This can be a problem with evergreen plants in the winter. When the soil is frozen the plants can’t take up water to keep the leaves hydrated especially if there is a dry wind blowing. The leaves dry out and die. Once a leaf is desiccated it is dead.

What is Extension?

Extension is an organization funded by certain public universities that does horticultural research and then shares the results freely with the public. Assistant Professor of Residential and Consumer Horticulture (and a member of Extension) Natalie Bumgarner talks about the organization and how it can help you, the home gardener.

Related Videos:
Tennessee Master Gardener Program
Getting Started with a New Yard

Related Resources:
University of Tennessee Horticulture Extension Service
Clemson Cooperative Extension

Blossom End Rot

Blossom end rot is caused by a lack of calcium in the plant.  UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper takes a look at a watermelon that has blossom end rot.  This is often caused by too much or not enough water. Also, a soil test can determine if the soil needs more calcium.

Related Videos:
How do you cure blossom end rot on tomatoes?
Watermelons In Raised Beds

Related Resources:
Blossom-End Rot of Tomato, Pepper, and Watermelon
Blossom End Rot

Tomato Early Blight

Early blight is a disease that people see every year on tomatoes. UT Assistant Professor of Residential and Consumer Horticulture Natalie Bumgarner shows some tomato leaves that have early blight and gives recommendations for control. If there are only a few spots you can just remove the affected leaves. You can also spray with conventional and organic fungicides.

Related Videos:
Stopping Tomato Blight
Growing Tomatoes

Related Resources:
Early Blight of Tomatoes
Early Blight of Tomato

Looking at the Compost Pile

Compost Fairy Mike Larrivee examines the Family Plot compost pile and makes suggestions of how to improve it.

Related Videos:
TWIG Turning a Compost Pile
Composting

Related Resources:
Composting for the Homeowner
Home Composting: A Guide for Home Gardeners

Chlorosis

Horticulture expert Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the gardening term chlorosis. Chlorosis is a yellowing or lack of chlorophyll in the leaves of a plant. Chlorosis can be caused by the incorrect amount of water, a nutrient deficiency, herbicide damage, air pollution, or not enough light. A related term is necrosis which is dead tissue.

Related Videos:
TWIG - Nutrient Deficient (Yellowing Leaves) Bean Fix
If my vegetables have herbicide damage are they still safe to eat?
TWIG Nutrient-Deficient Pepper Fix

Related Resources:
Chlorosis
Chlorosis

Winter Leafy Greens

Many people think you can’t grow vegetables in the winter. UT Extension Agent Celeste Scott says you can grow kale even in very cold climates. Kale tastes better when it has been frozen several times.

Related Videos:
Planting Spinach in the Square Foot Garden
All About Lettuce

Related Resources:
Growing Spinach, A Cool-Season Vegetable
Louisiana Super Plant Redbor Kale
Growing Collards and Kale in Home Gardens

Genus and Species

Horticulture expert Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the garden terms genus and species. This is what is called the binomial nomenclature or two names (one genus and the other species) that describe the type of plant. When a plant is botanically classified it is categorized in increasingly specific groups. The most specific group is the genus. Within the genus are the individual species of plants. Often we use the genus name as the common name of the plant (Magnolia is the genus name).

Related Videos:
E - Garden Glossary
F - Garden Glossary

Related Resources:
How Plants Are Named
What’s That Plant? Why Names Matter!

Sucker

Retired MSU Extension Agent Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the gardening term sucker. A sucker is a shoot that grows from the base or roots of a shrub or tree. Often in a landscape setting they are not desirable and are cut off.

Related Videos:
Removing Suckers from a Maple Tree Trunk
How do I get rid of crape myrtle suckers around my hydrangea?

Related Resources:
So Long Suckers!
Managing Suckers on Trees

Crown

Horticulture expert Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the gardening term crown. The crown of the plant is the point where the stems meet the roots. This should be at the soil level.

Related Videos:
Fixing Volcano Mulch
Herbaceous Versus Woody

Removing the Seed from Jamaican Sorrel

This week in the garden Jef Terry, Operations Manager at Bobby Lanier Farm Park in Germantown, Tennessee shows how to remove the seed from Jamaican sorrel or roselle using a milkshake straw.

Related Videos:
Saving Seeds
Harvesting Seed Heads from the Carrot Family

Related Resources:
Roselle: A useful and beautiful addition to your garden or landscape
The Little-Known Roselle Belongs in MS Gardens

Rope Around a Tree

Ropes around a tree can dig into the tree bark and hurt the tree. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper talks about the damage this can do to the tree. The rope is holding up a bird house and Chris loosens the rope to allow the tree to grow.

Related Videos: 
Planting a Tree
Young Tree Checkup

Related Resource: 
Embedded Wires or Collars - Trees and Shrubs

The Season End of the Butterfly Garden

As the growing season ends, TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond makes one last check of the butterfly garden. The butterflies are gone but bees are still visiting the flowers that have not yet gone to seed.

Related Videos:
Planting a Butterfly Garden
The Butterfly Garden Needs Water

Related Resources:
Saving Seeds
Butterfly Gardening

Armadillo Damage

This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper finds armadillo damage. Armadillos will often root up plants looking for grubs and earthworms to eat. While they are not directly eating plants, their digging can harm them. Chris tells how to trap them.

Related Videos: 
Live Animal Traps
Garden Rodent Control

Related Resources: 
Baiting the Nine Banded Armadillo
Armadillos in Missouri: Techniques to Prevent and Control Damage

Harvesting and Drying Oregano

Harvesting and drying oregano allows you to use it through the winter. Retired MSU Extension Horticulture Specialist Dr. Lelia Kelly shows how to harvest oregano and talks about how to dry it for storage.

Related Videos:
Trimming Back Oregano for the Winter
Harvesting Basil to Dry

Related Resource: 
Harvesting and Preserving Herbs
Oregano

Harvesting Basil to Dry

Basil can be easily dried for use later in the kitchen. Retired MSU Extension Horticulture Specialist Lelia Kelly shows how to harvest the whole plant in the fall and talks about hanging it to dry. You can then collect the leaves for storage to use through the winter.

Related Videos:
Pruning Basil
What is eating my basil and leaving black poop?

Related Resource: 
Growing Basil
Basil

Overwatered Petunias

Petunias don’t like too much water. University of Memphis Director of Landscape shows a flowerbed where some plants did fine, but the petunias died because of overwatering from an irrigation system.

Related Videos:
Planting Petunias, Vinca, and Salvia
Flowers Need Water
Breaking up a Stream of Water

Related Resource: 
Petunia > Leaves > Leaves wilt and turn brown
Petunia - Thielaviopsis

Chamberbitter

Chamberbitter can be a very invasive weed. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper identifies chamberbitter and lists some recommended herbicides to control it.

Related Videos:
Herbicide Basics
Controlling Weeds

Related Resource: 
Chamberbitter
Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus niruri)

Mummified Fruit

It is important to remove mummified fruit from trees and other plants before the winter. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison says the mummified fruit can harbor and protect diseases and insects during the winter. You should remove all mummified fruit and throw it away.

Related Videos:
Preparing Blackberry Plants for Winter
Blackberry Pruning and Fertilizing

Related Resource: 
Managing Diseases and Insects in Home Orchards
Fall Clean Up in the Fruit and Vegetable Garden

How to Get True Seed from Your Tomatoes

You can collect seeds from tomatoes and replant them next year, but the new plant may not be the same as the mother plant. Alainia Hagerty, owner of tomatobaby.com says putting a cloth bag around your tomato flowers will keep the seeds of that tomato true to the mother plant. The bag keeps insects out that might bring pollen from another flower or plant.

Related Videos:
Can hybrid tomatoes be saved and come true next year?
Harvesting Seed Heads from the Carrot Family
Saving Bean Seeds

Related Resource: 
Saving Tomato Seeds

Begonias and Full Sun

This week in the garden UT Horticultural Specialist Carol Reese looks at some begonias. Some are full and bushy while others are small. She talks about how begonias like to get some shade during the day which will improve their performance in your flower bed.

Related Videos:
Planting Tropical Hibiscus and Begonias
Annuals and Perennials for the Garden

Related Resources: 
Begonia
Tuberous Begonias
Growing Begonias Indoor

Watering the Lawn

Turf lawns require about one inch of water per week. UT Extension Agent Booker T. Leigh talks about good lawn watering practices. He stresses the importance of deep watering. This forces roots to grow down into the ground where they can be protected from sun and still get water when the soil surface dries out.

Related Videos:
Watering Wands and Hose Sprinklers: Tips and Tricks
Summer Lawn Watering

Related Resources:
​Watering Lawns
Home Lawn Watering Guide
Summer Lawn Management: Watering the Lawn

Nematodes

Nematodes can injure plants and cause other problems in the garden. UT Extension Agent Celeste Scott shows a flower bed that has had problems with nematodes in the past. This year it has no plants growing and is heavily mulched. By denying food to the nematodes the population will be reduced.

Related Videos:
How do I get root knot nematodes out of my garden?
Nematodes

Related Resources:
Nematode Control in the Home Vegetable Garden
Insect Parasitic Nematodes

Plant Reversion

Some plant cultivars have special features like crinkly leaves or different colors. These make that cultivar desirable. UT Extension Agent Celeste Scott says some branches of the plant may “revert” back to the normal look of the species. You should prune these branches out to maintain the special look of the cultivar.

Related Videos:
Cultivar
How to Prune Shrubs

Related Resources:
Understanding Tree Reversions
Reverting Back to "Normal"

Tiger Eyes Sumac

Sumac 'Tiger Eyes' is an unusual plant for the flower bed. UT Extension Agent Celeste Scott shows the leaves and red stems of this plant

Related Videos:
My sumac trees are too tall. When should I cut back my sumac trees?
What kind of tree is this? -A: Sumac

Related Resources:
'Tiger Eyes' Staghorn Sumac, Rhus typhina
Sumac Collection ‘Bailtiger’ Tiger Eyes® & ‘Laciniata’

Japanese Beetles

Japanese Beetles are an invasive species that feed on the leaves of more than 300 different plants. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows the damage on green beans and talks about ways to control these insect pests.

Related Videos:
TWIG Killing Japanese Beetles
How do I get rid of Japanese beetles?

Related Resources:
The Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetles in the Urban Landscape

Gardening Summer Heat Tips

UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper gives some safety tips for working on the garden in the heat of summer. He suggests to wear a hat and sunscreen, and drink lots of water. He also shows a way to help keep cool while in the garden.

Related Videos: 
Gardening Ergonomics
Planting Summer Flowers
Summer Lawn Watering

Related Resources: 
Hot weather tips keep gardeners safe at work
Do’s and don’ts for hot weather gardening

Other Pollinators in the Butterfly Garden

UT Extension Entomologist Frank Hale takes a look at all the pollinators and other insects that benefit from the flowers in the butterfly garden. The blooms provide food to many kinds of pollinating flies, bees, parasitic wasps, and even ladybugs.

Related Videos:
Planting a Butterfly Garden
Planting Annuals in the Butterfly Garden

Related Resources:
Butterfly Gardening
Gardening for Butterflies

Strawberry Problems

In our strawberry bed, half of the ripe strawberries are inedible. Gardener Peter Richards explains that many of these problems are because there is no plastic mulch on the bed. The plastic degraded in the sun over the winter. Because the berries are on the ground they are rotting and being eaten by slugs.

Related Videos: 
Making Low Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam
Planting Strawberries

Related Resources:
Strawberries in the Garden
Home Garden Strawberries

Taste Testing Bolting Spinach

When spinach bolts it starts to taste bitter, but Peter Richards says even if a plant is showing signs of bolting you may still be able to harvest and eat it. He shows how you can tell which plants to pick.

Check out our square foot gardening blog to see what is happening to these plants and others: https://www.familyplotgarden.com/square-foot-garden-blog

Related Videos: 
Planting Spinach in the Square Foot Garden
Starting a Square Foot Garden

Related Resources:
Spinach
Growing Spinach, A Cool-Season Vegetable

Removing Thatch

This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Booker T. Leigh demonstrates how to de-thatch a lawn using a garden rake. The rake pulls all the dead grass off of the soil surface allowing nutrients and water to reach the surface.

Related Videos:
Cultural Lawn Weed Control
Spring Lawn Care
Summer Lawn Diseases

Related Resources:
Managing Thatch in Home Lawns
Controlling Thatch in Lawns

Crab Grass

Crab grass is a common warm season grassy weed. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper identifies it in the garden and talks about the importance of pulling it up by the roots.

Related Videos: 
What can I use to prevent and kill crabgrass in my backyard?
When should I apply crabgrass preventer to my lawn?

Related Resources:
Controlling Crabgrass After It Emerges
Crabgrass Species Control in Turfgrass

Apical Dominance

When plants grow, apical dominance keeps all the branches from being the main trunk. Joellen Dimond, Director of Landscape at the University of Memphis, shows how a single pruning cut several years ago broke the apical dominance of a branch on a shrub allowing lateral growth from side shoots.

Related Videos: 
How to Prune Shrubs
Reducing the Height of a Shrub

Related Resources:
How Woody Plants Grow
Basic Principles of Pruning Woody Plants

Weed Eater Safety

Weed Eaters can throw objects which can cause injury. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows a leaf of a canna lily that was impaled by a piece of mulch thrown up by a weed eater. Remember to wear eye protection when using a weed eater.

Related Videos: 
Weed Eater Damage
Garden Safety

Related Resources:
Weed Eater Safety Tips
Grass Trimmer Safety

Freeze Damage on Marigolds

Check your plants in the nursery. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows some marigolds she purchased at the nursery. There was a late frost while they were there, and the nursery was not able to protect them. In this case the freeze damage is not bad, but check your plants before you buy them for problems.

Related Videos: 
Problems to Avoid in Nursery Plants
Nursery Plant Selection

Related Resources:
Selecting quality trees from the nursery

Moss in Shady Areas

Moss tends to grow in shady wet areas. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper says moss can make a good option instead of grass in these areas. The moss stays green if you keep it clear of leaves. And you don’t have to mow it.

Related Videos: 
Grass That Grows In the Shade
How to Kill Moss on Lawns

Related Resources:
Growing Moss in Your Garden
How to Create a Moss Pathway

Tomato Cages

It is important to keep tomatoes off the ground. Alainia Hagerty, owner of Tomato Baby Company, talks about some options for keeping tomatoes off the ground including tomato cages. You can either buy them from the store or use concrete wire to build your own.

Related Videos: 
How To support Growing Tomato Plants
Trench Method for Planting Tomatoes

Related Resources:
Growing Tomatoes
Tomatoes - Staking

Blueberry pH Problems

Our blueberry plants continue to have pH problems that are reducing their growth. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about why the plants are not doing well and what he plans to do to fix the problem.

Related Videos: 
Blueberry and Blackberry Spring Check-up
Changing Garden Soil pH

Related Resources:
Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden
Blueberries for Home Landscapes

Sweet and Sour Soil

Horticulture expert Dr. Lelia Kelly defines the gardening terms "Determinate" and "Indeterminate". Determinate refers to a tomato plant that will ripen all of its fruit at the same time. Whereas, an indeterminate tomato plant describes that which puts on fruit and keeps growing throughout the season.

Related Videos: 
Soilless Mix
Soil Preparation

Related Resources:
Soil pH and the Home Landscape or Garden
Keeping pH in the right range is essential
2020 Garden Notes    2021 Garden Notes    2023 Garden Notes
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Content Copyright 2015-2025 Family Plot Garden & Mid-South Public Communications Foundation

  • Home
  • Watch
    • TV Schedule
    • Full Episodes Online
    • How-to and Informational
    • Questions and Answers
    • This Week in the Garden
    • Garden Notes
  • Garden Topic Collections
    • Apple Trees: How-to and Information
    • Peach Trees: How-to and Information
    • Tomatoes: How-to and Information
    • Square Foot Garden Blog
  • Resources
    • Soil Testing
    • Extension Publications
    • Gardening Resources
    • Blogs
    • Organic Gardening
    • Articles
    • Privacy
  • Guests
  • Contact Us
    • Ask a Gardening Gardening Question
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