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What is the best weed and feed when you have dogs?Wondering what the best weed and feed is when you have dogs? In most cases, it’s actually better to avoid weed and feed products altogether. The timing for fertilizing and weed control rarely matches up, so separating the two usually gives better results. A safer, more effective approach is spot treating weeds and then focusing on rebuilding your lawn with aeration, overseeding or re-sodding, fertilization, and proper watering. Always check product labels when using weed sprays around pets—most are safe once dry, but timing matters. Long term, a targeted lawn care plan will give you thicker, healthier grass than any all-in-one weed and feed product.
Related Videos: Lawn Fertilization Pre-Emergent Herbicides Notes - Kinds of Fertilizer Fertilizer Basics Related Resources: Fertilizers Fertilization & Management of Home Lawns (warm season) Fertilizing Lawns Cool-Season Grasses: Lawn Maintenance Calendar |
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Why are my bell peppers only getting as big as walnuts?If your bell peppers are staying small, the most common causes are heat stress, inconsistent watering, poor pollination, or too many fruits on the plant. Temps above 90°F (day) or 70°F (night) can disrupt pollination and fruit growth, while uneven moisture can also stunt development. In extreme heat or humidity, pollination often suffers as well. Another problem is the plant may be trying to grow more fruit than it can handle. Too many peppers on one plant can prevent any from growing large. Thinning some fruit can help the plant focus its energy and produce larger peppers.
Related Videos: When to Pick Bell Peppers Growing Peppers Planting Peppers New Pepper Varieties Related Resources: Pepper Peppers Home Gardening Series: Peppers |
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What happened to our rhododendron? Can I save it?
This looks like winter damage or winter burn caused by extreme cold temperatures or cold, dry winds. The plant appears to be well established so it will be fine long term. If the flower buds were affected by the cold it will not flower this spring, but should flower normally in future springs.
Related Videos: Why do parts of my 20-year-old Rhododendron die every year? My rhododendron’s leaves are curled and yellow. Can it be saved? Related Resources: Rhododendron Azalea & Rhododendron Diseases |
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Why is my asparagus suddenly only producing thin stems?Asparagus typically has a productive lifespan of 15 -30 years. After that it only produces thin, spindly spears. The asparagus bed should be replanted with new plants in a different place. UT Extension Horticulture Specialist Celeste Scott talks about how to start a new bed and the best cultivars to plant.
Related Videos: Is it okay to transplant asparagus in July into hard soil? Should an asparagus patch be mulched? And with what? Related Resources: Growing Asparagus in a Home Garden Growing asparagus in home gardens |
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How do I get rid of pill bugs?Pill bugs are generally considered beneficial bugs. They break down organic matter. They can cause some damage on some plants especially if there are a lot of pill bugs in the area. There are several things you can do to control them. UT Horticulture specialist Celeste Scott lists some organic and non-organic methods to control pill bugs.
Related Videos: Beneficial Garden Bugs Praying Mantis, Beneficial Bugs Related Resources: Pillbug Sowbugs and pillbugs |
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Why is my tomato plant dropping green tomatoes?Green tomatoes falling off the vine can be frustrating, but the cause is often linked to stress on the plant. Poor pollination, extreme heat, sudden temperature swings, drought, overwatering, and even too much nitrogen fertilizer can all trigger tomato plants to abort young fruit before it matures. Low light conditions can also reduce fruit production and cause developing tomatoes to drop early. Understanding what stresses tomato plants helps gardeners improve fruit set, grow healthier plants, and harvest more ripe tomatoes throughout the growing season.
Related Videos: Tomato Varieties, Planting Tips, and Common Pests How To Support Growing Tomato Plants Related Resources: Growing Tomatoes Tomatoes - Staking |
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Why is my tomato plant dropping green tomatoes?
Green tomatoes falling off the vine can be frustrating, but the cause is often linked to stress on the plant. Poor pollination, extreme heat, sudden temperature swings, drought, overwatering, and even too much nitrogen fertilizer can all trigger tomato plants to abort young fruit before it matures. Low light conditions can also reduce fruit production and cause developing tomatoes to drop early. Understanding what stresses tomato plants helps gardeners improve fruit set, grow healthier plants, and harvest more ripe tomatoes throughout the growing season.
Related Videos: Tomato Varieties, Planting Tips, and Common Pests How To Support Growing Tomato Plants Related Resources: Growing Tomatoes Tomatoes - Staking |
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My blue spruce is dropping needles. What do I do?
This is a needle blight fungus. There are several different kinds of needle blight, but the treatment for all the different kinds of needle blights is the same. A fungicide can be applied.
Related Videos: How should I help my blue spruce recover from bagworms? Mixing and Applying Fungicide Related Resources: Blue Spruce Diseases Spruce, Blue or Colorado Blue |
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What is this caterpillar? (A: Eastern Black Swallowtail)
This is the caterpillar of the Eastern black swallowtail butterfly. Eastern black swallowtail caterpillars may devour parsley, dill, fennel, and other plants in the carrot family, but they’re a welcome sight in the garden. These striking caterpillars transform into beautiful eastern black swallowtail butterflies, important pollinators that help support a healthy backyard ecosystem. Learn which host plants attract them, why gardeners should avoid controlling the caterpillars, and how to identify the differences between male and female swallowtail butterflies. Supporting swallowtails with nectar-rich pollinator plants helps create a thriving pollinator-friendly garden full of butterflies all season long.
Related Videos: Monarch Butterflies: Migration and Milkweed Caterpillars on Parsley Related Resources: Parsleyworm \ Eastern Black Swallowtail Black swallowtail |
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How do I tell the difference between winter burn and boxwood blight?
Noticing brown leaves on your boxwood and wondering if it’s winter burn or boxwood blight? In this gardening diagnosis guide, we break down how to identify boxwood blight. Learn the key differences between browning from winter burn—typically affecting the outer tips of evergreen shrubs with browning and retained foliage—and boxwood blight, a fungal disease that causes circular dark-edged leaf spots, black stem streaking, and significant defoliation. This video helps you accurately diagnose boxwood symptoms.
Related Videos: Boxwood What’s wrong with my boxwood? Some leaves are yellowing. One of my boxwood is healthy the others look sick. What is going on? Related Resources: Boxwood Boxwood Culture and Diseases - Including Boxwood Blight Pruning Boxwoods |
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How do I keep ants from eating my strawberries?
If ants are “eating” your strawberries, the real issue may not be the ants at all. In most cases, ants are attracted to the sugars after another pest—such as slugs, snails, birds, squirrels, or even voles—has already damaged the fruit. In this video, UT Extension Horticulturist Celeste Scott covers practical solutions for ant control, including using diatomaceous earth, improving garden sanitation, and keeping strawberries off the ground with mulch, straw, pine needles, or even vertical strawberry towers.
Related Videos: Frozen Strawberry Blooms Planting Bare Root Strawberries Strawberry Problems Related Resources: Strawberries in the Garden Home Garden Strawberries |
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My bushes are leaning toward the sun. Do I need to straighten them?
Leaning bushes are a symptom of another problem and straightening them won’t provide a permanent solution. UT Extension Horticulturist Celeste Scott lists reasons why plants are leaning, like low light or wind, and what you can do about it.
Related Videos: Effects of High Wind on Small Trees Begonias and Full Sun Related Resources: How Plants Move Managing Hail & Wind Damage to Landscape Plants |
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What is this moldy looking stuff on our trees?
This is lichen. It grows on the bark, but it does not harm the tree or take any nutrients. UT Extension Horticulturist Celeste Scott talks about why it is growing on the trees and recommends not trying to remove it.
Related Videos: Lichen on Trees What can I do to keep lichen from growing on my azaleas? Related Resources: Lichens are harmless to trees Do not bother removing lichens from landscape |
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What is the best way to plant and take care of sunflowers?
Sunflowers are easy to plant and grow. They are not picky. UT Extension Horticulturist Celeste Scott talks about the different methods of planting and gives advice and tips on growing sunflowers in the garden.
Related Videos: Growing Cut Flowers at Home: A Beginner’s Guide How can I protect my sunflowers from rabbits and birds? Related Resources: Sunflowers Growing Sunflowers in the Home Garden |
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When is the best time to cut back a mandevilla vine?
The best time to cut a mandevilla vine is in the spring before it starts growing for the year. In many climates, you need to bring the plant indoors for it to survive the cold of winter. In that case UT Extension Horticulturist Celeste Scott explains you can cut it back to help it fit in your house, but the most important mandevilla pruning is in the spring.
Related Videos: Getting Garden Beds Ready for Spring and Summer Planting - Planting Upright Mandevilla Pruning Runaway Sweet Potato Vine Related Resources: Mandevilla Mandevilla |
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What is causing the spots on the leaves of my Duranta?
This plant has leaf spots, but in this case, it is nothing to worry about. The plant has been in the garage all winter where it was protected from frost, but did not get much light and the air was still. Moving the plant back outside and into the sun and breezes in the spring will solve this problem.
Related Videos: Can I overwinter Boston ferns in the garage? How do I overwinter a gardenia plant in the house? How can I overwinter my hibiscus tree? Related Resources: Overwintering Tropical Plants Overwintering Unplanted Trees, Shrubs and Perennials |