Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013 | 8:21 a.m.
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Weekend Gardener with Walter Reeves
‘Kieffer’ is the traditional hard southern pear
Q: I am trying to find the type of pear my Mom used in making pear preserves The pears would be ripe, but rock hard and a very pale green/yellowish color covered with brown specks. Johnathon Barrett, Savannah A: I feel confident your mother was canning ‘Kieffer’ pears. These pears ...
Georgia-hardy lilacs are available
Q: I’m trying to find a heat-hardy lilac for my New York state friend who lives in Forsyth County. Amy Dyer, emailA: The key element that lilacs lack in the South is chilling hours during the winter. Most lilacs require more than 2,000 hours of temperatures below 45 degrees to ...
Canna roots can be dug in late fall
Q: I planted ten different cannas, which are all blooming, anywhere from three feet to six feet tall. I want to transplant the smaller ones. Do I have to wait for the blooms to finish? C. Yelb, email A: The cannas will be happier if you wait until frost has ...
Confederate yellow daisy available now
Q: Is there actually a Confederate yellow daisy available for home gardens? I think it would be neat to have them bloom at home at the time of the Stone Mountain Yellow Daisy Festival. Barbara Pollock, Marietta A: You’re in luck! The Confederate yellow daisy is a reseeding annual. It ...
Avocado not typically cold hardy
Q: My son sent me two cold-hardy avocado plants, which are said to tolerate 18-degree temperatures. Do you think I will have avocados next summer? Ann Fremstad, PendergrassA: You’ll be on the bleeding edge of horticultural knowledge if you can get an avocado to produce fruit in Pendergrass. It usually ...
Chemicals don’t make trumpetvine flower
Q: Please let me know how to get my trumpet vine to flower. Robert Schmitz, emailA: Blooming is affected by the age of the trumpetvine, available sunshine and the orientation of the stems. Young vines are less likely to bloom because they are producing non-blooming juvenile growth as the roots ...
Common figs don’t need pollination
Q: Some time back I listened to a radio caller asking about wasps that pollinate figs. Based on what I heard, I told my sister that the wasps only pollinate the Mission figs that grow in California. My sister disagreed and now my research says all figs are pollinated by ...
Several ways to repel geese
Q: We have a gaggle of geese that have begun spending the day in our front yard. We have no pond or water nearby. I do see them eating the grass. Can we treat the grass so they will not return? John Watkins, emailA: Methyl anthranilate goose repellent is sold ...
Sassafras roots not invasive
Q: I discovered a sassafras sapling in my front yard eight feet from my home’s foundation. I’m trying to remove all plants that have invasive root systems from near my home. Are sassafras roots invasive? Naomi Griffith, emailA: I don’t consider it invasive. The sassafras root system is more of ...
Dodder parasitizes plants
Q: My beautiful flowering thrift suddenly has lots of very thin yellow strings on it. I pull them off as they do not seem to be rooted, just attached to the stems. Barbara Green, emailA: It’s the parasitic plant named dodder, also known as devil’s hair. The seeds drop to ...
Still time to plant squash
Q: All the rain has wiped out all of my squash. Is it too late to put out a few more zucchini plants? Lori Overson, FayettevilleA: Summer squash only takes 50 - 60 days to produce something to eat, so you have a little bit left to plant until it’s ...
New ‘titan’ blueberry introduced
Q: I’ve heard of a new variety of blueberry which is very large. Can you remind me of the name? Dennis Reid, Carrollton A: Blueberries are now the number one fruit crop grown in Georgia, far outranking peaches and apples. This delicious blue fruit brings Georgia farmers more than 250 ...
Paulownia sprouts can be controlled
Q: I had a paulownia tree in my front yard. I cut the tree down but the trunk remains. Now I am getting hundreds of sprouts throughout my lawn. Some are 30 feet from the trunk! How can I kill them? Bobby Putz, email A: I’m thinking about bringing to ...
Pomegranate pollination can be done by hand
Q: I have a pomegranate bush. Each year the bush is loaded with blooms but soon they all fall off. What could help this situation? Bill Jones, email A: It sounds like the blooms are not getting pollinated. Pomegranate flowers are pollinated by insects, so it’s possible your garden has ...
Squash vine borer thwarted with cheesecloth.
Q: Our squash plants are small and we have covered them with cheesecloth. How long should we keep the plants covered to protect them from the squash vine borer? Patsy Daniel, email A: Squash vine borer causes much gnashing of teeth for metro gardeners. Plants look healthy until just before ...
Walter Reeves: Kudzu bugs can be controlled
Q: I cannot take it any longer, those little kudzu bugs are driving me out of my mind! There are thousands. They are in my hair, bed and everywhere. If I cut out my wisteria, will they just find something else to munch on in my yard? — Linda M., ...
Devil’s trumpet has beautiful flowers
Q: We are looking for something the grower calls a moon plant (not moon vine). It has white flowers, many branches and grows into a bushy, spreading plant that reproduces rather aggressively. Mary Lanier, Clarkesville A: “White flower, bushy and spreads aggressively” brings to mind only one plant: datura, also ...
Educate yourself before eating wild plants
Q: Where do I go for a good book describing edible outdoor plants? Pat Roddy, Buford A: Native plant expert Shannon Pable (shannonpable.com) suggests taking some wild edible classes first. That way you’ll have an experienced professional identify plants for you and point out those that are most commonly used ...
Cattle Trough Makes an Interesting Planter
Q: I have a large galvanized cattle water trough that I want to use as a planter. What kind of drainage holes I should drill in the bottom? Steve Conway, Decatur A: Tony Johnson is manager of the UGA Research and Education Garden in Griffin. He turned a cattle trough ...
Perfect time to prune forsythia
Q: I have a large, happy forsythia. It is probably ten feet across but I would like to prune it. Any recommendation on when and how? Steve Smith, West Cobb A: Now is the perfect time. The plant will have plenty of time to grow new branches and flower buds ...
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