Video Segments
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Planting Coneflower, Beebalm, and Black-Eyed Susan in the
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Songbirds as Pests
Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about how to handle songbirds when they are pests. You cannot kill songbirds, so you have to discourage them. Songbirds can be a problem in the garden because they eat fruit. One thing you can do is plant enough for you and the birds. The only sure way to keep birds from your fruit is to use bird netting.
Related Videos: Protect Strawberries from Birds Keep Birds Out of Blueberriers Related Resources: Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage: Birds Controlling Birds Around Farm Buildings Urban Pest Birds: Controlling Damage |
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Planting Coleus, Pentas and Vinca
Summer flowering annuals are planted in the spring. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to plant coleus, pentas and vinca together in a small attractive flower bed. After removing the old plants, she fertilizes with a slow-release fertilizer. Then she lays out and plants the different varieties of plants. She shows how to take the plants out of the pots they are growing in and deal with any circling roots. Then she shows how to plant them in a way that does not disturb the mulch.
Find videos of previous plantings in this bed here. Related Videos: Pests and Diseases of Annual Flowers Pruning Flowering Annuals Related Resources: Annual Flowers Coleus Pentas Annual Vinca |
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Attracting Butterflies
Butterflies can be attracted to your yard and garden by providing them with what they need for their lifecycle. Mary Schmidt from Lichterman Nature Center talks about the four main groups of butterflies. She also talks about supplying a nectar source, a food source for the caterpillars, and a source of water.
Related Videos: Planting a Butterfly Garden Flowers for Butterflies Related Resources: Butterfly Gardening Gardening for Butterflies |
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Thinning Peaches
Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to thin peaches. Peaches need to be thinned before the pit hardens. Once the pit hardens the size of the fruit is set and thinning will not improve the sizes of the peaches. To check cut through the middle of a growing peach. If the pit is still clear and watery, the pit has not hardened and it is a good time to thin. Fruit trees set much more fruit than they can grow. Properly pruning will eliminate some of that fruit before it sets. Thinning will take care of the rest of the excess. When pruning, picture in your mind how big you want the peach to be when it is ripe. Thin the branch to this size. When the fruit is full size, it should have room on the branch without touching another peach. Another thing to consider is that a small twig can probably only hold one full size peach without breaking, thin accordingly.
Related Videos: Pruning Nectarines, Peaches, and Plums Spraying Peach Trees Related Resources: Fruit Trees: Thinning Young Fruit Home Fruit Production: Peach and Nectarine Culture Fruit Thinning |
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Containing Mint in the Garden
Mint can be very invasive, and it will rapidly spread and take over your garden. There is a way to contain it and Master Gardener John Peterson shows how to do it. John explains that mint produces stolens, or underground stems, that will root and spread. By planting mint in a bottomless bucket sunk into the ground the stolens will not be able to spread. John shows how to do this. If a stolen happens to go over the side of the bucket it will be easy to see and pull before it spreads.
Related Videos: Preserving Herbs Easy to Grow Herbs Planting an Herb and Flower Container Garden What herbs will come back every spring? What herbs can be grown in the window sill? Related Resources: Mint in the Garden Herbs in Southern Gardens Herb Gardening Herb Container Gardens |
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Eleven Common Landscape Mistakes
Bad pruning, incorrect planting, overwatering, there are many mistakes a gardener can make when caring for their landscape. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond talks about the eleven mistakes she sees the most.
Related Video: Landscape Principles How to Prune Shrubs Correct Planting Depth Related Resources: Planting Landscape Trees and Shrubs Post Scalping Lawn Care Girdling Roots |
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Planting an Herb Garden
Planting herbs in your garden gives you a source of fresh herbs whenever you want them. Master Gardener John Peterson plants many herbs in a raised bed garden. As he plants he talks about each kind of herb and gives tips and recommendations. He plants sage (2 kinds), dill, parsley (2 kinds), basil (2 kinds), thyme (3 kinds), lavender, oregano, rosemary, and chives. He also plants marigolds to brighten the garden and attract pollinators.
Related Videos: Preserving Herbs Easy to Grow Herbs Planting an Herb and Flower Container Garden What herbs will come back every spring? What herbs can be grown in the window sill? Related Resources: Herbs in Southern Gardens Herb Gardening Herb Container Gardens |
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Monarch Butterflies:
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Planting Blueberries
Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to plant a blueberry plant. In the Mid-South the rabbiteye type grows best. In other areas a lowbush or highbush blueberry may be the right kind for you. Blueberries require cross-pollination so you should get two varieties for best results. Mike has a tiff blue plant and a climax plant. Mike digs a hole that is slightly deeper than the pot and much wider. The plant should be planted container depth. When planting blueberries it is important to put several shovel-fulls of sphagnum peat moss in the planting hole. The peat most helps the soil hold water. It also helps acidify the soil. Blueberries plants will grow large. If unpruned, a rabbiteye can get up to 20 feet tall. Blueberries should be planted at least 5 feet apart. If planted at that distance they will form a hedge. If you want to be able to walk between the plants they should be planted at least ten feet apart. Don’t fertilize the first year. Blueberries can be damaged by overfertilizing. When applying fertilizer don’t use ammonium nitrate, use ammonium sulphate as it will help acidify the soil. After the blueberry is planted Mike prunes off all the fruit. Removing the fruit makes the plant concentrate on growth. Finally Mike applies sulphur to the soil around the plant. The sulphur lowers the pH of the soil. Blueberries like a pH of 4.8-5.0 which will require the adding of sulfur. Get your soil tested to find out how much sulphur to add.
Related Videos: Keep Birds Out of Blueberries How far out from my blueberry bushes is the soil acidic? Related Resources: Blueberries in Home Gardens Blueberries for home landscapes Site Selection and Preparation |
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Planting Hydrangeas
Hydrangea paniculatas give large, long summer blooms. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to plant a ‘Bobo’ Hydrangea. She talks about the roots and how to dig the correct size hole. She plants a little high to ensure good drainage.
Related Videos: Common Hydrangeas Do I need to treat the soil before I plant Hydrangeas? When should I plant? Something has been boring holes in my hydrangea. What is it? What are these spots on my hydrangea? Related Resources: Hydrangea Hydrangeas |
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Japanese Maple Basics
UT Extension Horticulturist Carol Reese talks about different kinds of Japanese maples and some considerations when growing them. The traditional Japanese maple form is produced by a grafted plant which is why they are so expensive. You can grow trees from seed but the traditional weeping form is obtained from grafting. There are thousands of cultivars of Japanese maple and Carol talks about a few that do well in the southern United States. Carol also talks about some of the diseases and insects that attack Japanese maples.
Related Videos: How do I care for Japanese maple seedlings? How do I prune my Japanese maple? It was damaged by a late frost. Related Resources: Acer palmatum: Japanese Maple Japanese Maple |
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Planting Hollies
Hollies are a common shrub in the landscape. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond shows how to plant a ‘soft touch’ holly. One of the most important parts of planting is to make sure your hole is wider than the plant’s roots, but not deeper. Joellen is planting the holly high to improve drainage. She also gives basic information about ‘soft touch’ hollies as well as other kinds of hollies.
Related Videos: Is it true that Japanese holly does not get boxwood blight? Are holly berries poisonous? When is the best time to prune back hollies? Holly Scale and Sooty Mold Related Resources: Japanese Holly Landscape Shrub Dwarf Japanese Holly |
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Disease Resistant Apple Trees
There are over 5000 varieties of apple, and some are better suited to home gardens due to disease resistance. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison outlines 14 varieties that are resistant to the major diseases of apple: apple scab, fire blight, Juniper rust (cedar apple rust), and powdery mildew. You won’t see these varieties in the grocery store because they are not the popular varieties, which tend to be susceptible to these diseases. Even if the trees are resistant to these diseases, you should still spray because there are many other disease and insect problems. The disease resistance of these trees can help the homeowner if a spray is missed.
Related Video: Apple Tree Diseases Pruning Apple Trees Related Resources: Disease Susceptibility of Common Apple Cultivars Disease-Resistant Apple Cultivars |
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Spring-Blooming Deciduous Magnolias
Many people think of the large southern magnolias, but there are many deciduous magnolias that have beautiful spring blooms. Dale Skaggs, Director of Horticulture at Dixon Gallery and Gardens shows three kinds of hybrid spring-blooming magnolias. The first is ‘Ann’ from the little girl series. It has pinkish purple blossoms. The second is ‘Elizabeth,’ a yellow hybrid developed by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The third ‘Butterflies’ is also yellow. Dale also talks about some of the other varieties available.
Related Videos: How much should I water my 2-year-old sweet bay magnolia? Are pine needles a good mulch under a magnolia tree? |
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Planting Bare Root Strawberries
Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to plant bare root strawberries. The most important thing to remember is to not let the roots dry out. Mike keeps the plants in water until they go into the ground. Also, you need to make sure you plant at the correct depth. The plant will die if planted too shallow or too deep.
After tilling the soil, Mike digs the holes for the plants. Ideally, in the matted row system, the plants should be about 18 inches apart to allow the strawberries to run and grow daughter plants. Here there is not space, so Mike plants them about a foot apart. Right before planting he prunes the roots. This pruning helps the plant fit in the hole better and stimulates growth. If the plants had more leaves, he would also trim off all but two leaves. He then holds the plant in the correct position relative to the hole and backfills around the plant. He waters which helps settle the soil around the roots. Finally, he checks for any roots that are exposed above the soil and covers them. Related Video: Planting Strawberry Transplants Moving and Renovating Strawberries Planting Strawberries Pine Straw Mulch Related Resources: Growing Strawberries Growing strawberries in the home garden Growing Strawberries |
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