Walter Reeves / Special (ENLARGE)

English ivy is not parasitic, but it should never be allowed to climb a tree.

Louie Favorite / Staff (ENLARGE)

Leyland cypress

iStockphoto.com (ENLARGE)

Big grasshoppers are hard to control this time of year.

Related link: Prune, water sod and dig

WEEK 1

So-called "winterizer" fertilizers may be helpful on Bermuda grass lawns but there is little evidence that they help other grasses. If you choose to use a winterizer on Bermuda grass, it should be applied no later than this week.

Catalpa, also known as catawba trees, are a fisherman's favorite due to the catalpa caterpillars that feed on the leaves. Now is a good time to look for seedlings under existing trees and give them to a fellow enthusiast.

Fertilize fescue lawns now if they have not been fed in six weeks. Repeat the application in November.

Big grasshoppers may be very evident now but there is little that can be done to control them. The best time to use insecticide is when they are an inch long, usually in August.

WEEK 2

Although some folks over seed Bermuda grass with rye grass to provide a green lawn all winter, over seeding is not recommended for zoysia grass, centipede grass or St. Augustine grass lawns. Winter rye can severely weaken these lawns.

It is normal for old-fashioned azaleas to produce several blooms in fall. The plants are simply responding to summer stress and will likely have a full compliment of flowers next April.

Take care when planting Leyland cypress for screening. They should be no less than six feet apart and the soil must be tilled four feet in all directions from the planting hole.

Most lilacs do not succeed in Georgia but if you miss their sweet spring fragrance, try 'Miss Kim', 'Lavender Lady' or 'Betsy Ross'. Add one cup of lime to the planting area.

WEEK 3

Do not use a pre-emergent weed preventer before or after planting fescue seed. The chemical will prevent fescue seed germination just as effectively as weed seeds.

English ivy in a tree is always a bad situation. Clip the vine at the base and pull it back from the tree. Ivy leaves in the tree may stay green for weeks but they will eventually die.

Don't prune azalea, forsythia, quince or rhododendron, unless you need to take out individual unattractive branches. All of these shrubs are covered in buds for next spring's flowers.

Now is a good time to move shrub roses. Be sure to keep as many roots intact as possible and to add plenty of organic matter to their new bed. Water thoroughly after replanting.

WEEK 4

Fescue sod can be planted now but be sure to loosen the soil thoroughly before laying the sod. Fescue needs six inches of roots growing in soft soil to survive Georgia summers.

Scab disease causes pecans to fall before the shuck opens to reveal the nut. Scab also causes black freckles on the nut shuck. Little can be done except remove and destroy all nuts which might infect next year's crop.

Orchids typically rest for a couple of months before sending up a bloom stalk. If yours has stopped flowering, cut off the stalk, fertilize lightly each month and wait for it to bloom again.

Use care when pruning an overgrown Carolina Jessamine vine. Like an azalea, it blooms on twigs produced in late summer. Pruning now will reduce blooms in spring.