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This Week In the Garden

Pruning Fire Blight From an Apple Tree

Fire Blight is a serious disease in apple trees. It is a bacterial infection and needs to be removed to keep the tree healthy. Peter Richards shows what fire blight looks like and then shows how to prune it out of an apple tree. He also talks about ways to prevent it.

Related Videos:
Apple Trees: How-to and Information
Apple Tree Diseases
Disease Resistant Apple Trees

Related Resources:
Fire Blight of Fruit Trees
Fire blight

How to Use a Pole Saw: Stay Firmly Grounded

Pole saws let you prune a tree without having to climb a ladder. Peter Richards shows how to use a pole saw to trim tree branches using the pruner feature and also the saw feature.

Related Videos:
Cutting a Tree Branch
Removing Dead Tree Branches
Chainsaw Safety

Related Resources:
Principles & Practices for Pruning Trees
Pruning Trees

How to Move Flowers Planted in the Wrong Place

If you realize you planted a plant in the wrong place here is how to move it. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to do it with a trowel.

Related Videos: 
Revitalize Your Ferns in the Spring
Use Red Sand in Your Garden: Get Better Drainage

Related Resources:
Planting Annuals
Growing Annuals

Easy and Quick Fern Dividing

If your fern is getting to big for its pot, or you want more ferns, it is easy and quick to divide it. Jill Maybry from Memphis Botanic Garden shows how to split a potted fern in half and put it in two pots.

Related Videos:
Propagating Ferns from Spores
Dividing Hostas
Propagating Begonias with Leaf Cuttings

Related Resources:
Growing Ferns
Hardy Ferns

Moving Swiss Chard to a New Location

Swiss chard can be moved even if it has been growing for awhile in a bed. Carefully dig it up with some soil so it will have some undamaged roots. Then replant it at the same level it was growing before. Water well for several weeks until the plants can grow new roots and perk up.

Related Videos:
Transforming Your Flower Bed for Winter: Planting Swiss Chard
Winter Leafy Greens

Related Resources:
Swiss Chard
How to Grow Swiss Chard in Your Garden

HELP! My Bromeliad Looks Awful

After blooming a bromeliad will die. This is part of its lifecycle. However often the dying plant will have new pups growing around the base which can become full-sized plants with a bloom. Jill Maybry from Memphis Botanic Garden shows how to care for a neglected plant after it has bloomed.

Related Videos:
Caring for Bromeliads: A Beginner’s Guide
13 Popular Tropical Houseplants

Related Resources:
Bromeliads
Bromeliads

Is the soil dry enough to till?

This week in the garden Master Gardener Tom Mashour shows how to tell if your soil is dry enough for tilling. If you till when it is too wet, you will get big dirt clods.

Related Videos:
Tilling and Amending a New Garden
Rototilling a Garden

Related Resources:
Don’t Be Too Eager to Work That Soil!
Preparing Garden Soil for Planting

Up-Potting Seedlings

This week in the garden Kim Rucker, Greenhouse Manager at Dixon Gallery and Gardens shows how to transplant a flower seedling from a starting cell to a small pot so it can continue to grow.

Related Videos:
Starting Flower Seeds Indoors– Family Plot
Repotting Aloe Vera

Related Resources:
Starting Seeds Indoors
Starting Garden Transplants at Home

Labeling Plant Seedlings

This week in the garden Kim Rucker, Greenhouse Manager at Dixon Gallery and Gardens, shows how she labels her seedlings to keep track of the kind, color, planting date, transplanting date, and date planted in the garden.

Related Videos:
Starting Flower Seeds Indoors– Family Plot
How to Repot Taproot and Crown Flower Seedlings

Related Resource:
Keeping organized with DIY garden markers
Homemade plant tags give gardens personality​

Planting Annuals in the Butterfly Garden

This 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 Videos:
Planting a Butterfly Garden
Other Pollinators in the Butterfly Garden
Planting Coneflower, Beebalm, and Black-Eyed Susan in the Butterfly Garden

Related Resources:
Butterfly Gardening
Gardening for Butterflies

Cherry Gummosis

This week in the garden UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper identifies gummosis on a cherry tree. Gummosis is oozing of sap from a wound or when it is trying to flush out an insect or infection.

Related Videos:
How do I prevent Japanese fruit flies in my cherry tree?
I have an ornamental cherry tree with tiny holes in the leaves. What should I do?

Related Resources:
Peach Bark Beetle and Cherry Gummosis
Sticky Situations on Cherry Trees

Bacterial Leaf Spot

This week in the garden UT extension agent Chris Cooper talks about bacterial leaf spot. He shows how to identify it and talks about some ways to prevent it.

Related Video:
Black Spot on Peppers
Cucumber Bacterial Wilt
Bacterial Wilt on Peppers

Related Resources:
Management of leaf spot diseases of trees and shrubs
Bacterial Spot of Pepper and Tomato

Cleaning Garlic

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 Videos:
Garlic
What is this plant? - Garlic

Related Resources:
Garlic Harvest, Curing, and Storage
Get your garlic on: A primer on planting, growing and harvesting

When to Pick Bell Peppers

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 Videos:
Peppers
Planting Peppers

Related Resources:
Growing peppers in home gardens
Home Garden Peppers

Why Did This Tree Die?

This week in the garden Certified Arborist Wes Hopper tries to figure out why a tree died. He looks at the rings and sees the tree was healthy for all but the last three or four years of its life. He can use this information to check weather records to see if that was a stressful year for trees. He guesses that the tree had a hard year and never fully recovered.

Related Videos:
Which Way Will the Tree Fall?
Chainsaw Safety
How a Tree Works
How to Cut Down a Tree

Related Resources:
Why Do Trees Die?
Tree Physiology

Which Way Will the Tree Fall?

This week in the garden Certified Arborist Wes Hopper shows the method he uses before felling a tree to see which way it is leaning, and which way it will fall.

Related Videos:
Chainsaw Safety
How a Tree Works

Related Resources:
Felling, Limbing and Bucking Trees
Chainsaw Safety: The Five Step Tree Felling Plan

Included Tree Bark

This week in the garden Certified Arborist Wes Hopper shows how included bark in a tree crotch can create a stain on the trunk.

Related Videos:
Will I be able to save my maple tree that is missing a piece of bark?
Maple Bark Split

Related Resources:
Principles of Pruning, Part 3: Included Bark
Bark inclusions

When to Give Up on a Shrub

When considering which plants are worth saving and which should be replaced, it’s important to assess the health of the plant by examining the canopy and overall growth. Retired MSU Extension Horticulture Specialist Lelia Kelly explains if a plant shows no green growth at all, it is likely dead and should be removed. Similarly, a plant with very few leaves is unlikely to recover quickly, making it more practical to replace. However, plants with some remaining healthy growth, even if they appear stressed, may still have a chance of recovery. Some pruning, fertilizing, and care can go a long way in restoring these shrubs to health.

Related Videos:
Pruning Dead Branches from Spirea
Schip Laurel Winter Damage
Severe Winter Plant Damage and What to Do About It

Related Resources:
Evaluating Your Lawn and Landscape After the Recent Holiday Freeze
What to do with plants after a freeze

The Season End of the Butterfly Garden

This 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

Protect Your Garden from Hungry Animals: Use Bird Netting

Wildlife, particularly deer and rabbits, can wreak havoc on newly planted flowers and vegetables. Deer are notorious for uprooting plants, while rabbits often munch on tender greens, leading to replanting and loss of time and effort. You can keep creatures from nibbling your new plants by using bird netting. The netting is almost invisible, so it won’t detract from your flowers.
 
Materials Needed
To create an effective barrier, you will need:
- Bird netting
- Bamboo stakes
- Zip ties
- Landscape staples
 
Step-by-Step Guide
 
1. Installing Bamboo Stakes: Place bamboo stakes around the perimeter of your garden bed. If your bed is large you may need to place a few in the middle. Stakes should be about four feet apart and be about a foot taller than your plants. These will serve as the framework to hold the bird netting.
 
2. Spread Bird Netting: Carefully drape the bird netting over the stakes. Make sure there is enough extra on the edges to allow it to drape to the ground around the perimeter of your bed.
 
3. Attach the Netting: Use zip ties to attach the bird netting to the top of the bamboo stakes. Ensure the netting is taut but not overly tight. If you have a large garden bed, start in the middle and work out to the edge. In long beds, start on one side and work toward the other.
 
4. Secure the Edges to the Ground: To prevent small animals from crawling underneath, secure the edges of the bird netting to the ground using landscape staples or coat hanger wire bent in a U. Place these staples at intervals to keep the netting firmly in place.
 
By using bird netting, you can effectively shield your garden from unwanted and hungry wildlife. This method not only protects your plants but is also almost invisible, allowing you to enjoy your garden's natural beauty.

Related Videos: Nuisance Wildlife: Deer
Fences to Keep the Critters Out of the Garden
Replanting Pansies the Deer Dug Up

Related Resources:
Reduce Deer Damage in Your Yard
Growing Pansies

Digging Up Flowers to Keep Over the Winter

You can dig up plants in your flower bed to keep them over the winter. Joellen Dimond shows how to dig around the plant to be able to lift up a large chunk of soil with most of the plant’s roots. She then shows how to put it in a pot and talks about what to do to take care of it.

Related Videos: 
Planting Spring Annuals: SunPatiens, Sweet Potato Vine, and Blue Ageratum
Propagating Sweet Potato Vines
Building a Hoop House
How can I overwinter my hibiscus tree?

Related Resources:
Overwintering Tropical Plants

Deadheading Oregano - Clean-up
Dead Oregano Blooms

Oregano will bloom with long branches that extend from the main plant. As the blooms fade the plant looks messy and scraggly. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to prune the dead blooms to neaten up the plant. If you are lucky, the plant will bloom again and attract more pollinators to your garden.

Related Videos: 
Harvesting and Drying Oregano
Planting an Herb Garden

Related Resources:
Oregano
Oregano

Stop the Invader! How to Control Japanese Privet

Japanese privet is very invasive. Birds spread the seeds and it can now be found growing everywhere and displacing native plants. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to kill a vigorous privet plant both with and without chemicals.

Related Videos: 
Three Ways to Wipe on Herbicide
Can you get rid of privet without using chemicals?
How can I use glyphosate to kill privet, but not harm a nearby tree?

Related Resources:
Invasive Privet
Controlling Non-Native Invasive Plants in Ohio Forests: Privet

Mite Damage on Bell Peppers

These bell peppers have brown textured skin. Extension Agent Chris Cooper says this is probably damage from mites that fed on this fruit when the pepper was just starting to develop. The brown texture can be scraped away and the pepper is still edible.

Related Videos: 
Growing Peppers
When to Pick Bell Peppers
Black Spot on Peppers
Nutrient-Deficient Pepper Fix

Related Resources:
Broad Mite
Broad Mites in Pepper

Propagating Sweet Potato Vines

Sweet potato vines are easy to propagate easily giving you as many plants as you want. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper ahows how to do it.  He shows how to cut and root the vines and then plant them in soil. Ideal for gardeners looking to expand their plant collection with minimal effort.

Related Videos: 
Planting Spring Annuals: SunPatiens, Sweet Potato Vine, and Blue Ageratum
Pruning Runaway Sweet Potato Vine

Related Resources:
Ornamental Sweet Potato
Sweet Potato Vine Lime

Hoses and Hot Water

This week in the garden University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond recommends testing the temperature of the water running out of your hose on a summer day. You should let it cool off before using it to water plants.

Related Videos:
​Water-Wise Gardening
​Flowers Need Water

Related Resource:
Efficient Use of Water in the Garden and Landscape
Irrigating the Vegetable Garden
Smart watering in the vegetable garden​

Boost Your Bloom: How to Pinch Cosmos for More Flowers!

To boost the blooming of your summer annuals, use a technique called "pinching" or "heading off." This method involves removing the top portion of the plant to promote more branching and an increase in blooms. For example, with cosmos plants, pinching encourages additional branches to form from the main stem. Without pinching, the plant would eventually branch out, but this would take much longer. Pinching speeds up this process, resulting in a fuller and more vibrant plant.

To pinch a plant, locate the nodes, which are the points on the stem where leaves grow. Count up three healthy nodes from the base of the plant and make a cut just above the third node. This cut removes the top portion and stimulates the growth of new branches from the nodes below. For transplanted cosmos, pinching about 10 days after planting will result in significant branching within three to four weeks.

By using this technique, you turn a single primary stem into multiple branches, which lead to more blooms. For example, pinching cosmos plants effectively transforms one stem into several, enhancing the plant’s blooming potential and making your garden more colorful.

Related Videos: 
Why is my cosmos not blooming?
Pinching Coleus

Related Resources:
Cosmos
Cosmos in the Garden

Bagworms: What Do You Do in the Summer?

Bagworms are a serious pest of conifers and occasionally deciduous plants. UT Horticulture Specialist Celeste Scott identifies a bagworm hanging from an arborvitae. She says summer is not the time to spray because the worms are safe in their bags where insecticide can’t get them. If you want to spray, she says you need to do it when the worms are still small and not fully encased in their bags (late spring or early summer). In later summer you can pick them off and squish them.

Related Videos: 
Bagworms
Will bagworms kill my Japanese maple?
When should I start treating for bagworms?

Related Resources:
Bagworm
​Bagworms on Trees and Shrubs

Tools for Pruning Trees

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 Videos:
Tools Every Gardener Needs
Pruning (Not Murdering) Crape Myrtles
Fruit Tree Pruning

Related Resources:
Tree Pruning Essentials
Pruning Landscape Trees

Pruning Runaway Sweet Potato Vine

Sweet potato vine can get out of control and take over, but there is some easy pruning you can do to keep it under control and looking great. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how and where to cut back the running vines.

Related Videos: 
Tame Russian Sage – Trim Back Vigorous Growth
Planting Spring Annuals: SunPatiens, Sweet Potato Vine, and Blue Ageratum
Annual Flowers: Plan Before You Plant

Related Resources:
Sweet Potato Vine Lime
Ornamental Sweet Potato

Side-Dressing Corn

This week in the garden Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to side-dress corn with nitrogen fertilizer. Corn requires a lot of nitrogen, but one side-dressing is enough for the growing season.

Related Videos:
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What should you consider before starting a vegetable garden?

Related Resource:
Aphids in home yards and gardens
Tomato Insect IPM Guidelines

Removing Suckers from a Maple Tree Trunk

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!

Pruning Dead Branches from Spirea

After a hard winter many plants may have dead branches. You should wait until the plant has had a chance to leaf out in the spring before pruning. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to prune the dead branches on an Anthony Waterer Spirea.

Related Videos: 
Planting Shrubs in Wet Heavy Soils
Spirea

Related Resources:
Spirea
​Using Trees and Shrubs for Privacy and Wind Screening
Selecting Landscape Plants: Deciduous Shrubs

Tame Russian Sage – Trim Back Vigorous Growth

When it is happy, Russian sage can grow larger than you want. But, It can also be easily cut back down to size. Rosa Garcia, a Landscape Specialist at Agricenter International, shows how to prune a Russian sage that is growing too large and into a small Japanese maple.

Related Videos: 
How to Prune Shrubs
Deadheading Butterfly Bush

Related Resources:
Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia
Russian Sage

Tomato Plant Protection Test:
Mulch vs. Fungicide vs. Nothing

This is the set-up for a tomato gardening experiment. We're trying two different methods of protecting tomato plants against blight. We've got three identical sweet 100 tomato plants, all planted the same way on the same date. One's planted in bare dirt, another's mulched, and the third gets both mulch and fungicide. This is the first of a series of videos reporting on this experiment. We will check in on these plants throughout the season to share the results.

Related Videos: 
Stopping Tomato Blight
Spraying Fungicide

Related Resources:
Tomato Diseases & Disorders
Control of Tomato Blights in the Home Garden

Pulling Straw Around Seedlings - Straw Mulch Vegetable Garden

The zucchini seeds are up, and it is time to pull the straw mulch around the young plants. The straw will shade out the weeds. Gardener Peter Richards shows how to do it.

This is the second in a series of videos about growing a garden using heavy straw mulch.  See the other videos here: https://youtu.be/oQoQ_pcLlVU

Related Videos: 
Maximizing Your Garden with Straw Mulch
Newspaper Mulch
Kinds of Mulch

Related Resources:
Mulch - A Survey of Available Options
Gardening with Mulches

Planting Parsley in a Raised-Bed Herb Garden  

Parsley is a biennial, meaning it lives two years. The second year the plant does not make many leaves, it puts its energy into seeds. Because of this it needs to be replanted on a regular basis. Gardener Peter Richards shows how to plant parsley. He also gives some tips for dealing with plant tags.

Related Videos: 
Parsley
Planting an Herb Garden

Related Resources:
Parsley
Parsley

The Dreaded Cabbage Worm: Life Cycle

Cabbage worms eat the leaves of plants in the brassica family including cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows the egg, larvae (worm), and adult butterfly.

Related Videos: 
Protecting Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower from Hungry Worms
Cabbage
Planting Cabbage, Broccoli and Cauliflower

Related Resources:
Imported Cabbageworm
Cabbage Looper on Vegetables
Bacillus Thuringiensis

How to Turn Granular Fertilizer into Liquid Fertilizer – Quickly Get Fertilizer to Plants

Granular fertilizers are standard in gardening, but when immediate absorption is crucial, liquid forms offer a solution. Gardener Peter Richards shows how to dissolve granular fertilizer in water to provide a swift nutrient boost to plants. By adding a measured amount of fertilizer to a half-filled watering can, then gently mixing until dissolved, gardeners can efficiently deliver nutrients directly to the roots without relying on rainfall. However, caution must be exercised to avoid leaf contact, as liquid fertilizer can cause burns similar to granular applications.

Related Videos: 
Fertilizer Basics
How to Side Dress Tomato Plants

Related Resources:
Fertilizing Vegetables
Garden Fertilizer Basics

How to Move Flowers Planted in the Wrong Place

If you realize you planted a plant in the wrong place here is how to move it. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to do it with a trowel.

Related Videos: 
Revitalize Your Ferns in the Spring
Use Red Sand in Your Garden: Get Better Drainage

Related Resources:
Planting Annuals
Growing Annuals

Trimming Off Spent Bulb Blooms

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

Cutting Back Evergreen Solomon’s Seal in the Spring

After the long winter evergreen Solomon’s seal (Disporopsis) will look worn. Kyle McLane from Dixon Gallery and Gardens shows how to cut back last year’s growth to let this year’s growth come out and grow.

Related Videos: 
Revitalize Your Ferns in the Spring
Use Red Sand in Your Garden: Get Better Drainage

Related Resources:
Evergreen Solomon's Seal
Solomon’s Seal

Extending the Life of Freshly Cut Tulips

With proper care freshly cut tulips can last for up to two weeks inside. Kyle McLean, Manager of Grounds Horticulture at Dixon Gallery and Gardens shows how to cut a tulip and talks about what to do to make it last indoors.

Related Videos: 
What is the best way to keep squirrels from eating tulip bulbs?
Planting Pansies and Tulips for Winter and Spring Color

Related Resources:
Fabulous Tulips in Springtime
Planting bulbs, tubers and rhizomes

Revitalize Your Ferns in the Spring

Rejuvenate your ferns by removing last year's foliage. In this tutorial, Kyle McLane, Manager of Grounds Horticulture at Dixon Gallery and Gardens, guides you through the delicate process of trimming away the old leaves to make room for new growth. Learn why it's crucial to trim carefully, avoiding the emerging fiddleheads, and discover the best timing for this rejuvenating task in early spring. You'll ensure your ferns thrive, eliminating unsightly foliage from your garden landscape.

Related Videos: 
Propagating Ferns from Spores
How do I take care of Boston Ferns especially in the winter?

Related Resources:
Cutting Back Ferns – The Art of Fern Maintenance
Pruning and Maintaining Ferns

Correct Planting Depth

To thrive plants need to be planted at the correct depth. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows example of cauliflower plants planted too deep, too shallow and just right.

Related Videos:
Planting Cool Season Vegetables
Trench Method for Planting Tomatoes

Related Resources:
The Tennessee Vegetable Garden - Backyard Vegetables
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  • Home
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