This Week In the Garden
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Spraying Fungicide - September 12, 2020
This week in the garden UT Professor of Residential and Consumer Horticulture Natalie Bumgarner applies fungicide. Fungicide is preventative, it will only prevent a new infection, it won’t cure an infection that is already present. Natalie says there are many fungicide options on the market. Choose one that will address the problem you are dealing with and read the label. Good coverage is critical. Fungicide will only work on the surfaces it has been applied to. Reapplying every 7-10 days will maintain that protection.
Related Videos: Mixing and Applying Fungicide Fungicides Related Resources: Fungicides and Bactericides for Home Fruits, Vegetables, and Ornamentals (UT Redbook) Using Organic Fungicides |
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Mixing Pesticide - September 5, 2020
This week in the garden Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to mix Malathion insecticide to control mealybugs. He shows how to do the math to determine how much insecticide to use.
Related Resources: Pesticide and Fertilizer Math: Calculations for Mixing Small Amounts of Pesticides Safe Handling of Pesticides - Mixing |
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Killing Grass Around Blueberries - August 29, 2020
This week in the garden retired UT Extension Agent shows how to apply sethoxydim (trade name Poast) to kill the Bermuda grass around a blueberry plant. It may take several applications to kill all the grass in this area.
Related Video: Can I eat my blueberries if I treated the soil for ants? Related Resources: Weed Management in Orchards |
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Organic Control of Squash Bugs - August 22, 2020
This week in the garden Peter Richards shows how to use duct tape to control squash bugs. By scouting and removing all the eggs you find, you can keep most squash bugs off your plants. Best of all, this method uses no chemicals.
Related Videos: What can I do to stay ahead of squash bugs this year? I Have Squash Bugs. Can I Harvest My Pumpkins Early? Related Resources: Squash Bug - Vegetables Squash Bug |
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How To Wipe On Herbicide - August 8, 2020
This week in the garden UT Extension agent Chris Cooper shows how to apply a herbicide to kill grass around a plant without getting any on the plant. He wipes herbicide concentrate on the grass. He also shows how to use a small paintbrush to paint herbicide onto a sedge plant in the grass.
Related Resources: Safe Herbicide Use Herbicide Injury to Yard and Garden Plants |
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Squash Vine Borer - August 1, 2020
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper finds a squash plant that is infected with squash vine borer. He tries unsuccessfully to find the borer and then talks about how to prevent squash vine borers.
Related Resources: Squash Vine Borer Squash vine borer management in home gardens |
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Dividing Ogon - July 18, 2020This week in the garden University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shoes how to divide ogon “sweet flag.” Using a shovel, she digs up half the existing plant and replants it in a different place.
Related Videos: Planting Shrubs in Wet Heavy Soils Related Resources: Discover Ogon shining among sweet flag grasses Japanese Sweet Flag |
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Removing Suckers from a Maple Tree Trunk - July 11, 2020
This week in the garden University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to cut off suckers from the trunk of a young Maple tree. She also does some other routine minor pruning on the tree to correct other problems.
Related Videos: Removing Tree Suckers What are suckers and water sprouts on a tree? Related Resources: Pruning Basics So Long Suckers! |
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Removing Tree Suckers - July 4, 2020
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Joellen Dimond shows how to remove suckers from a magnolia tree. Removing suckers keeps the tree looking like a tree and not like a bush.
Related Resources: Pruning Basics |
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Newspaper Mulch - June 27, 2020
This week in the garden Peter Richards shows how to use newspaper mulch around plants. Newspaper is free and can be turned back into the soil at the end of the year.
Related Video: Can you put newspaper in your compost pile Related Resources: Yard and Garden: Mulch Mulches for the Home Vegetable Garden |
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Removing Suckers from the Trunk of an Oak Tree - June 13, 2020
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows how to remove small branches from the trunk of an oak tree. He also finds a possible canker in the trunk of the tree.
Related Video: TWIG - Removing Tree Suckers Related Resources: Cleaning the Canopy Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard |
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Cutting a Tree Branch - May 30, 2020
This week in the garden retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to correctly cut a branch off a tree. He shows how using two cuts at the right location keeps the bark from peeling and helps the tree heal.
Related Videos: Should I use a pruning sealer TWIG–Pruning Tools Overview Related Resources: Pruning Trees and Shrubs Pruning and Care of Tree wounds Pruning Trees |
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Aphids on Milkweed - May 23, 2020
This week in the garden our milkweed is covered with yellow aphids. You can’t use insecticides because that may harm monarch butterfly caterpillars which feed on the milkweed, so Dixon Gallery and Gardens Volunteer Coordinator Tonya Ashworth shows how to use a jet of water to knock the aphids off. You may need to do this several times until the aphids are discovered by predatory insects who bring them under control.
Related Videos: I sprayed aphids with an insecticidal mix. Now the leaves are black. What happened? I have aphids on my milkweed. How can I get rid of them without harming monarch caterpillars? Related Resources: Aphids Got your Milkweeds Aphids Spoiling Monarch Milkweeds May 22, 2020 |
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Pruning Basil - May 16, 2020
This week in the garden TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond shows how to prune basil. Pruning basil encourages it to branch out, become bushier, and grow more leaves which increases your harvest.
Related Resources: Herbs in Southern Gardens |
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Planting a Tomato Plant - May 9, 2020
Tonya Ashworth shows how to plant a tomato plant in the garden. She also talks about tomato staking to support it while it grows.
Related Videos: Growing Tomatoes Tying Up Tomatoes Related Resources: Growing Tomatoes Tomatoes for the Home Garden |
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Holly Scale and Sooty Mold - May 2, 2020
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows a holly tree that is infested by holly scale. As the holly scale feeds on the sap of the tree, it produces honeydew which the sooty mold – a fungus – grows on. Chris recommends using a soil drench with the active ingredient imidacloprid. This will control the scale. The sooty mold will then disappear on its own over time.
Related Resources: Sooty Mold The Plant Doctor - Sooty Mold |
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Peach Tree Borer - April 25, 2020
This week in the garden Retired Extension Agent Mike Dennison identifies damage from peach borers and talks about how to spray to prevent them.
Mike referred to the Home Orchard Spray Guide. Get it here Related Resources: Peach Tree Borer Peach Tree Borer Peachtree Borer |
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Cutting Out a Tree Canker - April 18, 2020
Certified arborist Wes Hopper diagnoses a canker in a magnolia tree. He identifies it as a fungal canker and shows how to remove it. He pays special attention to cleaning his tool to avoid spreading the disease.
Related Resources: Fungal Cankers of Trees Cankers on Trees |
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Don’t Prune Small Blueberries - April 11, 2020
This week in the garden retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about why you only prune blueberries when they are too big to manage. Pruning small plants in the spring risks cutting off living branches that look dead.
Related Resources: Home Garden Blueberries Pruning Blueberry Bushes in the Home Garden |
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Spring Tree Pruning - April 4, 2020
This week in the garden University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to prune a tree. She removes rubbing branches, branches that are growing into the center of the tree, and watershoots.
Related Resources: Tree Pruning Essentials Pruning Landscape Trees |
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Squirrels Eating Pansies - November 23, 2019
This week in the garden University of Memphis Director of Landscaping Joellen Dimond finds some uprooted pansies that have been partially eaten. She says squirrels eat pansies. They will uproot the plants and possibly eat the entire plant. Replant the pansies that were uprooted and use a deer deterrent to keep the squirrels away.
Related Resources: Tree Squirrels: Managing Habitat and Controlling Damage November 23, 2019 |
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Callaloo - November 16, 2019
This week in the garden Jef Terry, Operations Manager at Bobby Lanier Farm Park in Germantown, Tennessee shows a callaloo plant. It is also called Amaranth. The young leaves can be harvested and cooked as a green.
Related Resources: Amaranth |
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Removing the Seed from Jamaican Sorrel - November 9, 2019This week in the garden Jef Terry, Operations Manager at Bobby Lanier Farm Park in Germantown, Tennessee shows how to remove the seed from Jamacan sorrel or roselle using a milkshake straw.
Related Resources: Roselle: A useful and beautiful addition to your garden or landscape Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) Production and Marketing in New Jersey |
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Powdery Mildew on Zinnias - November 4, 2019
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper finds some powdery mildew on the zinnias and talks about how to prevent it next year.
Related Resources: Powdery Mildews Powdery mildew in the flower garden |
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Included Tree Bark - October 26, 2019
This week in the garden Certified Arborist Wes Hopper shows how included bark in a tree crotch can create a stain on the trunk.
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Saving Colocasia (Elephant Ears) for Next Year - October 12, 2019
This week in the garden University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to prepare Colocasia – commonly called Elephant Ears – for winter storage. If done correctly they can be replanted next spring for another year of growth.
Related Videos: Planting Sunpatiens, Joseph's Coat, and Colocasia Related Resources: Elephant Ears (Colocasia, Alocasia, and Xanthosoma) Storing and saving tender plant bulbs during winter |
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Dividing Cannas - October 5, 2019
This week in the garden Horticultural Expert Dr. Lelia Kelly shows how to dig up a canna lily and divide it. Fall is the best time to divide and transplant spring and summer blooming perennials.
Related Resources: Cannas for the Home Landscape Dividing Perennials |
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Pruning Tools Overview - September 28, 2019
This week in the garden Memphis Botanic Garden Arborist Bo Kelley talks about the different pruning tools available and shows how to use some of them to remove dead branches from a tree.
Related Resources: Tree Pruning Essentials Pruning Landscape Trees |
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Summer Flower Garden Check-Up - September 21, 2019
This week in the garden UT/TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond takes a look at the summer flowers planted in April. The salvia has not done well. The petunias did well but need more fertilizer. The vinca started slow but have done very well later in the summer.
Watch Joellen plant these flowers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU3nCIOao5g Related Videos: Planting Fall Flowers Fall and Winter Flowers Fall Garden Problems Related Resources: Vegetable Gardening and Season Extension Selecting and Growing Perennials |
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Why is One Plant Dying? - September 14, 2019
This week in the garden University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond tries to figure out why one plant in the middle of the flower bed is dying. It turns out that even though the bed is irrigated this plant is not getting any water. It will have to be hand watered.
Related Videos: Watch Joellen plant these flowers this spring Related Resources: Watering Guidelines Soil texture determines how much and how often to water |
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Killing Japanese Beetles - August 17, 2019
This week in the garden UT/TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond shows how to use soapy water to kill Japanese beetles. By putting them soapy water, where they drown, the beetles do not release the pheromone which attracts other beetles to their location.
Related Resources: The Japanese Beetle Japanese Beetles in the Urban Landscape |
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Splitting Tomatoes - August 10, 2019
This week in the garden UT extension agent Chris Cooper talks about cracking tomatoes. This condition is often caused by uneven moisture. The tomato is still edible. It is only a cosmetic issue.
Related Resources: What Causes Tomatoes to Crack? Disorders of tomato |
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Other Pollinators in the Butterfly Garden - August 3, 2019
This week in the 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 Related Resources: Butterfly Gardening Gardening for Butterflies |
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Planting Annuals in the Butterfly Garden - June 29, 2019This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Joellen Dimond plants petunias, zinnia and lantana in the butterfly garden. The herbs and annuals are also doing well.
Related Resources: Butterfly Gardening Gardening for Butterflies |
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Removing Suckers from the Trunk of an Oak Tree Canker - June 1, 2019This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows how to remove small branches from the trunk of an oak tree. He also finds a possible canker in the trunk of the tree.
Related Resources: Cleaning the Canopy Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard |
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Moving Fire Ants Without Chemicals - May 25, 2019This week in the Garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows how to get a fire ant mound to move without chemicals. Fire ants like to be left alone. If you disturb the mound every day the ants will move.
Related Resources: Managing Fire Ants Fire Ant Control in Two Easy Steps |
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Tying up Tomato Plants - May 18, 2019This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows how to tie up a tomato plant. Tomatoes are very susceptible to blights which live in the soil. Tying up the plant with a soft piece of cloth gets the leaves and fruits off the ground, makes the plant easier to take care of, and reduces blight.
Related Resources: Training Tomato Plants Pruning Tomato Plants |
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Spring Butterfly Garden Clean-Out - May 11, 2019
This week in the garden TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond cleans out the butterfly garden to get it ready for this year. The perennials survived the winter and she prunes off the dead branches. She also removes the dead annuals. She will come back soon and plant new annuals for the butterflies.
Related Video: Planting a Butterfly Garden |
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Did The Soil Drench Work - May 4, 2019 This week in the garden, TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond looks at some shrubs that were infested with scale last year. When the scale was discovered, the shrubs were treated with the systemic insecticide imidacloprid. They look healthy and scale free this year. One shrub was not treated. It looks to be in bad condition.
Related Resources: Crepe Myrtle Bark Scale Identification and Control Pesticide Injection and Drenching |
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Spring Blackberry Care - April 27, 2019This week in the garden, retired UT Extension Agent, Mike Dennison, does spring maintenance on the blackberries. He trains some of the vines that are growing outside the trellis. Then he fertilizes the plants. He also prunes off a few dead branches.
Related Resources: Blackberies and Raspberries in Home Gardens Growing Blackberries for Pleasure and Profit |
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Hairy Bittercress - April 6, 2019
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows off his favorite weed, hairy bittercress. It has exploding seed pods that can throw a seed ten feet when it is brushed.
Related Resources: Weed of the Month: Hairy Bittercress Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) |
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Refreshing Winter Annuals - March 30, 2019This week in the Garden Kim Rucker, the greenhouse manager at Dixon Gallery and Gardens shows how to make annuals, in this case dusty miller look better after a long winter. She trims ragged looking branches at the base of the plant revealing new growth underneath.
Related Videos: Planting the Dusty Millers Pruning Flowering Annuals |
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The Season End of the Butterfly Garden - November 17, 2018This week in the garden TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond makes one last check of the butterfly garden this season. 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 |
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Looking at the Compost Pile - November 10, 2018
This week in the garden Compost Fairy Mike Larrivee examines the Family Plot compost pile and makes suggestions of how to improve it.
Related Resources: Composting for the Homeowner Home Composting: A Guide for Home Gardeners |
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Getting Strawberries Ready for Winter - November 3, 2018
This week in the garden Master Gardener Tom Mashour shows how to clean up a strawberry bed in the fall and tells how to fertilize in the spring.
November 3, 2018 Related Resources: Growing Strawberries Growing strawberries in the home garden |
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When to Pick Bell Peppers - October 27, 2018
This week in the garden retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to tell when bell peppers are ripe and ready to pick.
Related Resources: Growing peppers in home gardens Home Garden Peppers |
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Getting Houseplants Ready to Bring Indoors - October 20, 2018
This week in the garden horticulture expert Dr. Lelia Kelly tells what to do to get houseplants ready to bring inside for the winter.
Related Resources: Prepare Houseplants for Trip Back Indoors The Homeowner’s Guide to Bringing Houseplants Inside for Winter |
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Canna Leaf Roller - October 6, 2018
This week in the garden TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond goes looking for the canna leaf roller. She finds one and tells how to get rid of it.
Related Resources: Larger Canna Leafroller, Calpodes ethlius Canna Leafroller |
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Blueberry Check-Up - September 22, 2018
This week in the garden Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison takes a look at a blueberry plant that has had a difficult summer. It was damaged by a weed eater several months ago and several branches have died. Mike prunes out the dead branches and sprays Poast (Sethoxydim) to kill the grass around the plant.
Related Resources: Blueberries in Home Gardens Pruning Blueberries |
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Dallisgrass in the Lawn - September 8, 2018
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Booker T. Leigh identifies dallisgrass in the lawn and tells how to get rid of it both manually and chemically. If it is controlled quickly you can prevent its spread.
Related Resources: Dallisgrass Dallisgrass |
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Flowers Need Water - September 1, 2018
TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond takes a look at the butterfly garden planted earlier this year. Some of the plants have curled leaves. After checking the soil Joellen finds it is very dry and recommends watering.
Related Resources: Watering Guidelines |
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Killing Grass Around Blueberries - August 11, 2018
This week in the garden retired UT Extension Agent shows how to apply sethoxydim (trade name Poast) to kill the Bermuda grass around a blueberry plant. It may take several applications to kill all the grass in this area.
Related Resources: Weed Management in Orchards |
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Weed Eater Damage - August 4, 2018
This week in the garden the lawn care service got a little too close to the blueberry plants. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper looks at the damage and gives some options for keeping it from happening in the future.
Related Resources: Mechanical Damage to Trees |
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How Did the Corn Do? - July 28, 2018
This week in the garden Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison looks at how the corn did. He notes there was minimal insect damage, mainly from corn borers. Also, there was some pollination problems due to heat.
Related Resources: Growing Sweet Corn in Home Gardens Growing Home Garden Sweet Corn |
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Cleaning Garlic - July 21, 2018
This week in the Garden UT Extension Agent Lucas Holman shows how to clean a bulb of garlic for storage. After the garlic has cured for several weeks cut off the dead leaves and roots. Then sluff off some of the dry outer shell. You will be left with a clean garlic bulb.
Related Resources: Garlic Harvest, Curing, and Storage Get your garlic on: A primer on planting, growing and harvesting |
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Canna Insect Pests - June 30, 2018This week in the garden UT Extension Horticulture Specialist Carol Reese shows some damage done to a canna by Japanese beetles. She talks about chemical and organic options for controlling the damage caused by Japanese beetles and canna leaf rollers.
Related Resources: Cannas in Home Landscapes Cannas in the Garden |
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Pruning Basil - June 23, 2018This week in the garden TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond shows how to prune basil. Pruning basil encourages it to branch out, become bushier, and grow more leaves which increases your harvest.
Related Resources: Herbs in Southern Gardens |
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Tree Staking Options - June 15, 2018This week in the garden UT Extension Horticultural Specialist Carol Reese talks about staking trees. If trees are allowed to sway in the wind they get stronger and are less likely to break in high wind. Tightly staking trees when planting prevents swaying, the ties should be loose. Another staking option to let the tree move is to drive the stakes through the root ball into the ground to “nail” the tree to the ground.
Related Resources: Tree Support Systems Cabling, Bracing and Other Support Systems for Trees |
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Controlling Yellow Nutsedge - June 9, 2018
This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows how yellow nutsedge can be so troublesome in the garden and gives some options for control.
Related Resources: Yellow nutsedge Nutsedge and Kyllinga Species |
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Fertilizing (Side Dressing) Corn - June 2, 2018
This week in the garden retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to side dress sweet corn with nitrogen. This should be done when the corn is about a foot tall using one pound of 34-0-0 per 100 feet of row.
Related Resources: Nitrogen Fertilization of Corn Growing Home Garden Sweet Corn |
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Taking Care of Mexican Bean Beetles - May 26, 2018
This week in the garden Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison identifies Mexican bean beetles and identifies what insecticides to use to control them.
Related Resources: Mexican Bean Beetle Mexican Bean Beetle Dealing with Mexican Bean Beetles in Your Georgia Garden |
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Newspaper Mulch - May 19, 2018
This week in the garden Peter Richards shows how to use newspaper mulch around plants. Newspaper is free and can be turned back into the soil at the end of the year.
Related Resources: Yard and Garden: Mulch Mulches for the Home Vegetable Garden |
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How to Tell If Your Plant is Dead - May 12, 2018
This week in the garden Tonya Ashworth shows two ways to tell if your woody plant is dead. She demonstrates the snap test and the scrape test.
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Sharpening Mower Blades - May 5, 2018
This week in the garden UT extension agent Booker T. Leigh talks about how sharpening mower blades will help you get a better-looking lawn and a better cut.
Related Resources: Mow Like a Pro Mowing Your Lawn |
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Trimming Off Spent Bulb Blooms - April 28, 2018
TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond shows how to trim off spent bloom from daffodil and tulip plants. This keeps the plant from using energy to make seed and instead use that energy to prepare for the next growing season. Also, it makes your plants look nicer.
Related Video: Planting Spring Flower Bulbs Related Resources: Hints on Growing Tulips Spring Flowering Bulbs: Daffodils |
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Frozen Strawberry Blooms - April 21, 2018
Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison takes a look at some freeze damage on strawberry blooms. The temperature dropped to about 29 degrees a week ago and some of the strawberry blooms were frozen and died. If this happens the plant will just produce more blooms.
Related Video: Moving and Renovating Strawberries Related Resources: Frost/Freeze Protection in Strawberries Critical Temperatures for Strawberry Buds and Blossoms and Freeze Protection |
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Seed Germination Test - April 14, 2018
This week in the garden UT Assistant Professor of Horticulture Natalie Bumgarner shows how to do a germination test on some old seeds. She puts some seeds in a wet paper towel and puts that in a plastic bag. A week later she can see how many of them germinated.
Related Video: Making a Seed Planter for Small Seeds Related Resources: Procedures for the Wet Paper Towel Germination Test |
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Vole Proofing and Planting Hostas - April 7, 2018
Hosta expert Jim Crowder from Memphis Botanic Garden shows how plant a hosta and prevent vole damage. After preparing the soil Jim adds soil perfecter (crushed rock) to the planting hole and presses it against the side. He then plants the hosta on the rock bed and puts more perfecter over the root ball. The crushed rock keeps the voles from getting to the hosta pip.
Related Video: Dividing and Potting Hostas Related Resources: Hosta |
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Rossizing Hostas - March 31, 2018
This week in the garden Jim Crowder from Memphis Botanic Garden shows how to rossize hostas. You just cut an X through the pip and basil plate as the plant comes up in the spring. This is a procedure that encourages the hosta to make pups which will make the hosta larger or be used for propagation.
Related Video: Dividing Hostas Related Resources: Hosta |