Q: I have planted wildlife food plots and dove fields for many years, and there is one weed we can't seem to get rid of. Coffeeweed sprouts after virgin ground has been broken for the first time in decades. Where does it come from? Daniel Vining, email
A: When you plow you are opening the door to a "seed bank" full of noxious plants. Seeds of many plants lie dormant underground until they are exposed to light or moisture or some combination of environmental conditions. Tilling gave your coffeeweed seeds what they wanted, so up they popped! Control it by visiting your plots twice each summer, in June and August. Pull or chop any weeds you see. If you kill them before the seed pods open, you'll be making a continuous withdrawal from the "bank."
Q: What is a good fertilizer for applying when reseeding fescue? Frances Foust, east Cobb
A: In the absence of a soil test (800-ASKUGA1) you can spread 15 pounds of 10-10-10 per 1,000 square feet of lawn. This will satisfy the higher than normal phosphorus needs of the seedlings. Afterward, apply any lawn fertilizer at the labeled rates in November, February and April.
Q: My grandfather passed away and he had a scuppernong, which he called a scup nuts vine. Can you give me instructions on how to propagate it so I can save this sentimental plant? Chris Lamutt, email
A: Muscadine and scuppernong vines are reasonably easy to propagate. The best time to do it is in early summer, but maybe you can be successful with this method: cut several "switches" 36 inches long. Put them in a cooler with a bit of ice in the bottom to preserve them until you get home. There, prepare a loose, loamy, sunny bed and make several 30-inch-long and 2-inch-deep trenches in it. Lay your cuttings individually into the trenches, putting 30 inches of the vine horizontally into the trench and leaving six inches exposed. Cover the cuttings with soil, leaving the 6-inch tip of buds and leaves in the sun. Water well. The underground canes will likely root this winter, and the tips will have vigorous growth on them by May. They can be transplanted at that time.
Q: I had Emerald zoysia installed in the spring, with great attention to soil prep beforehand. I've noticed that it seems weaker in shady spots than my neighbor's Emerald zoysia. Any guesses why? Richard Stratford, Decatur
A: I think there are two possibilities. The first is that your grass might not be completely acclimated to your site just yet. If this is the case, your zoysia will go dormant in winter and will revive evenly in spring. Another guess is that you may not have the same "Emerald" zoysia as your neighbor. Turf expert Clint Waltz did a DNA test of 16 samples of "Emerald" zoysia, from homeowner lawns, commercial sites and turf farms. He found that there were three distinct races of grass sold as "Emerald." They differed in the dates they greened-up each spring, but they might just as easily have differed in their tolerance for shade. The best you can do is mow the zoysia in the shade a little higher and feed it a little less to help it tolerate the shade it's in.
Listen to Walter Reeves on Saturday mornings on AM 750 and 95.5 FM News-Talk WSB. Visit his website, www.walterreeves.com, or join his Facebook Fan Page at xrl.us/wrfacebook for more garden tips.
