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Larvae may be killing petunias; try Bt
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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Dear Neil: I cannot grow petunias in spite of all the care I give them. I buy healthy plants, but then they wither and die. The stem tissues seem to have been eaten by some pest. All that is left is a hollow stem.
I see a thin, white worm somet ...
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Give lawn and flowers some TLC during May
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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May weather is ideal for many gardening projects. For instance:
• If new lawn growth has been mowed twice this year, then you can apply fertilizer according to the soil test report.
• Now should be the best time to establish a new lawn or ...
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Garden Calendar for May 9
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| Published Friday, May 09, 2008 |
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Friday: "Floral Arrangements in History." 9:30 a.m. at the Exit Teen Center, 1600 Rock Prairie Road, College Station. Idalia Aguilar, National Garden Club accredited flower show judge, presents this program to the A&M Garden Club.
Saturday: ...
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Bamboo houseplant requires little care
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| Published Friday, May 02, 2008 |
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Question: I was just given a bamboo plant and do not know how to take care of it. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Bamboo -- also known as Lucky Bamboo -- is a popular houseplant often given as a gift to bestow good fortune, accor ...
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Angel's trumpet is pretty but toxic
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| Published Friday, May 02, 2008 |
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Dear Neil: For years I have tried to find a white-flowering datura that opens each night. Nurseries have not been able to help me. Where might I find it?
Answer: You're talking about the native pasture plant called jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) ...
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Low-tech mulch has high impact
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| Published Friday, May 02, 2008 |
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To maximize garden efficiency during the summer, apply mulch around all flowers, shrubs, trees, vegetables, fruits and vines. May is for mulching!
Doug Welsh's Texas Garden Almanac has many tips about mulching, and I'm sharing some of the infor ...
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Grow your own blackberries
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| Published Friday, May 02, 2008 |
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In Texas, dewberries are a hallmark of spring almost as much as bluebonnets are. This Southern berry was one of the starting points for breeding programs to improve blackberries.
Dewberries grow in the wild, like weeds on thorny vines in roadsi ...
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Garden Calendar for May 2
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| Published Friday, May 02, 2008 |
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Saturday: Learn to keep butterflies coming to your garden from Karen M. Breneman, a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist. 10 a.m. at Martha's Bloomers, 8101 Texas 6, Navasota. Free. Details: Mary Herrington at 936-825-7777, ext. 100 or www.marthasbl ...
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Leaf scorch is fatal
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| Published Friday, April 25, 2008 |
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Dear Neil: Our oleanders look terrible. Someone told me they have oleander leaf scorch, but I can't find out anything about this problem so I can take care of it. Do you have any suggestions?
Answer: I did a quick Internet search and found a re ...
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'Lawn Guide' outlines best bets for Texas sod
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| Published Friday, April 25, 2008 |
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Texans love their lawns, sometimes too well. The Texas Lawn Guide by Steve Dobbs (Cool Springs Press, $12.95) balances the needs of healthy lawns with the greater good of the environment -- not overdoing pesticides and fertilizers, for example. ...
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Crops mature; more to plant
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| Published Friday, April 25, 2008 |
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Easter this year was March 23. The last time it was that early was in 1913. It will be early again on March 23, 2228.
An even earlier Easter was March 22 in 1818, and it will occur on that date again in 2285.
Many gardeners in Texas make re ...
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Garden Calendar for April 25
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| Published Friday, April 25, 2008 |
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Friday: Semi-annual Inventory Management Plant Sale. 9 a.m. to noon at Texas A&M University Floriculture Greenhouse, Lamar at Nagle. Exotic tropicals, begonias, hoyas, ferns, philodendrons, coleus, aloes, ficus, succulents and more will be availa ...
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'300 Orchids' details varieties
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| Published Friday, April 18, 2008 |
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This chunky little book is full of practical information on the most common orchid varieties, which seem to be growing in popularity. Alphabetically arranged and encyclopedic in design, it's a comprehensive guide that covers species from every contin ...
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St. Joseph's lily one tough bulb
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| Published Friday, April 18, 2008 |
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The hardy red amaryllis, Hippeastrum x Johnsonni, is one of the most spectacular spring-flowering bulbs and is considered a garden heirloom.
Plants that gardeners carefully and lovingly pass down generation after generation are referred to as he ...
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Hollies can stifle sounds
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| Published Friday, April 18, 2008 |
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Dear Neil: What shrubs would make a good sound barrier and grow to 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, full to the ground?
Answer: Dwarf burford hollies would eventually get there, and they would be great choices.
Willow-leaf hollies would grow ...
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Container gardens can be rewarding
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| Published Friday, April 18, 2008 |
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Container gardens offer control over soil (potting mix), moisture, temperature, weeds and location (regarding sunlight, wind and the gardener's convenience).
Landscape and vegetable gardening in containers is growing more popular all the time.
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Garden Calendar for April 18
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| Published Friday, April 18, 2008 |
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Tuesday: Glen Schroeter and Karen Breneman will introduce you to "Roses, Perennials and Butterflies." 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Navasota Fair Grounds Go Texas Building. Grimes County Master Gardener class has $10 fee payable at door. Details: 979-921-0 ...
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Fix your lawn after squirrels move in
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| Published Friday, April 18, 2008 |
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Squirrels like to use the area under lawns as cupboards. They collect acorns and other food in the fall and dig up lawns to bury their stash. Come winter, they dig again to feast at the buffet.
If squirrels are digging up your lawn, you probably ...
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Texas is mean to moss
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| Published Friday, April 11, 2008 |
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Dear Neil: I am originally from Oregon. I had a moss garden there. How can I start one here? I'm retired and basking in the Texas climate.
Answer: That climate is not the ally of a moss gardener. Moss grows luxuriantly in Texas during ...
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Azalea fest worth the drive
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| Published Friday, April 11, 2008 |
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The 41st Muskogee Azalea Festival continues through April 30. It is one if the top annual events in the South. Honor Heights Park features 40 acres of beautiful landscaped gardens alive with azaleas, dogwoods, redbuds, flowering annuals and p ...
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Latin still grows in the garden
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| Published Friday, April 11, 2008 |
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Anyone buying into that line about Latin being a dead language hasn't spent much time around a veteran gardener.
Horticultural Latin is the consistent stuff of documentation, the universal language of the sciences and the root of many bota ...
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Garden Calendar for April 11
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| Published Friday, April 11, 2008 |
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Friday: "Roses for the Brazos Valley," presented by Doug Welsh, horticulture professor at Texas A&M University. 9:30 a.m. Exit Teen Center, 1600 Rock Prairie Road, College Station. Free. Meeting of the A&M Garden Club.
Saturday: The Pot ...
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Pride of Texas
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| Published Friday, April 04, 2008 |
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Springtime in Texas means wildflowers, particularly bluebonnets, but not just "the" bluebonnet. There are actually six of them.
The first bluebonnet to become the official state flower was Lupinus subcarnosus (aka Texas bluebonnet), so designate ...
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Which tomatoes for Texas?
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| Published Friday, April 04, 2008 |
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Dear Neil: What do the terms "determinate" and "indeterminate" mean in reference to tomato varieties? Which is better for Texas?
Answer: Determinate tomatoes are shorter varieties, generally reaching a maximum of 5 to 6 feet. Their fruit produc ...
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New garden books offer perspective
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| Published Friday, April 04, 2008 |
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Two new books tackle design inspiration and solutions to common problems.
• Eat your heart out, William Morris. The English Arts and Crafts designer wasn't the only 19th-century master of turning garden flowers into sublime patterns for wallpape ...
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Aeration important for lawns
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| Published Friday, April 04, 2008 |
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You can help your warm-season lawn grasses maintain their springtime attractiveness through summertime heat by improving soil and watering appropriately.
The ideal soil consists of 50 percent solids (mineral elements 45 percent, organic matter 5 ...
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Garden Calendar for April 4
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| Published Friday, April 04, 2008 |
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Saturday: Texas Herb and Art Festival. 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Antique Rose Emporium, 10,000 Highway 50, Brenham. Lectures on how to grow, cook and enjoy herbs; exhibit/sale of art. Sponsored by the Herb Association of Texas and the emporium. Onli ...
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