(Video 09/30/13) Fall is a great time to plant hardy trees and shrubs. The low-maintenance, yet beautiful Drift rose is an excellent choice. It’s a Louisiana Super Plant selection for 2013. On this edition of Get It Growing, horticulturist Dan Gill explains an important difference between the Drift rose and the popular Knock Out rose. (Runtime: 1:48)
(Video 09/23/13) Petunias offer profuse color to a landscape, and now’s a great time to plant them. Even though all petunias look similar at the nursery, there are differences. On this edition of Get It Growing, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill explains the importance of reading specific labels when choosing the right petunias for your flower bed. (Runtime: 1:47)
(Audio 09/30/13) Perennials can live in our garden for a number of years. Many of the perennials in Louisiana are winding down in fall. This is a good time to divide them or clean up the areas around them. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/30/13) Look around and you can see many natural things you can use to decorate your home this fall. You can find seed pods, pine cones, leaves or cattails. These dried materials can stay attractive all season. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/30/13) Louisiana home vegetable gardeners can focus on cool-season vegetables in October. Cole and root crops are good ones to grow this time of the year. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/30/13) Drift rose series is a Louisiana Super Plant for fall 2013. These roses are low-growing and come in a variety of colors. They can be planted in the fall. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/30/13) As the weather cools in October, lawn growth begins to slow down. The disease brown patch can be a problem this month. Symptoms include small brownish-yellow areas that rapidly expand. A lawn fungicide can control brown patch. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/23/13) October is the month to plant garlic in your vegetable garden. You can do this by simply buying a head of garlic and breaking it up into individual toes. Garlic doesn't require much work, but it does take patience. The crop won't be ready until May. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/23/13) The Louisiana iris is dormant this time of the year. They begin growing again in October. If you need to divide them, this is a good time to do it. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/23/13) Summer bedding plants may still be in good shape this month. Gardeners can pull out the ones that are past peak, but it's still too early to plant cool-season bedding plants. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/23/13) It's easy to be tired of the summer heat in September. While waiting for cooler weather, consider where in your yard you could use shade. Fall is the best time to plant shade trees in your landscape. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/23/13) Gardeners with plants in containers may notice their plants outgrowing their pots. Repotting a plant into a larger container can improve the health of the plant. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/23/13) Azalea lace bugs are small insects that feed on the foliage of azaleas. The insects show up in spring and fall. Symptoms include small white dots on the leaves and a decline in the health of the plant. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/16/13) If you love to grow plants in containers, you'll notice eventually the root system can fill the container. When this happens, the plants should be moved into a larger container or the health of the plant will decline. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/16/13) Caladiums start to go dormant later this month. Gardeners can store their tubers during the winter and save them for next year. Hear more to learn how to dig them up and store them. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/16/13) Having a compost pile should be a part of every gardener's landscape. A bin is easy to make, and kitchen scrapes and yard waste can be recycled into great organic matter that can be used for bed preparations. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/16/13) Louisiana gardeners associate azalea blooming with spring. But we can grow fall-blooming azaleas. It is a joy to see these flowers in fall and into winter. Encore and Robin Hill are good fall azaleas. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/16/13) Peach harvest season has passed, but you do need to keep out for pests on the trees. Peach tree scale is a common insect found on peach trees. Hear more to learn how to control it. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/09/13) Mulches are commonly used around flower beds and shrubs. They help suppress weeds and conserve soil moisture. Organic mulches will decay over time and need to be replaced. Keep the old mulch in place when adding new mulch. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/09/13) Lawn mowers remain active into late summer. You may notice more weeds as you mow. When daytime temperatures begin to stay in the 80s, you can apply lawn weed killers. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/09/13) Some plants in our landscape should not be pruned in September. They include flowering shrubs such as camellias, azaleas, gardenias and hydrangeas. These plants have set their flower buds, and pruning will diminish their floral displays. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/09/13) Louisiana gardeners do a lot of gardening in September and October. As we transition to the cool season, it is important to do some good bed preparation before putting a new crop of plants in. Hear more to learn how. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/09/13) Even though it stays hot into September in Louisiana, we have to realize that fall isn't too far away. Plants should start slowing down, and this mean we shouldn't fertilize lawns, shrubs or trees this time of the year. Gardeners can continue to fertilize vegetables and cool-season bedding plants. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Video 09/16/13) When people think of Louisiana, they think of this tree covered in Spanish moss. On this edition of Get It Growing, horticulturist Dan Gill explains why the bald cypress is an excellent tree for well-drained Louisiana landscapes. (Runtime: 1:39)
(Video 09/09/13) Pruning is an important part of plant care. On this edition of Get It Growing, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill describes how to prune Knock Out roses for profuse, bright-colored blooms in the fall. (Runtime: 1:54)
(Video 09/02/13) Vines can help liven up a landscape. But some are unmanageable. On this edition of Get It Growing, horticulturist Dan Gill introduces you to the very well-behaved firecracker vine – a plant that pops with a profusion of scarlet red flowers attractive hummingbirds. (Runtime: 1:29)
(For Release On Or After 09/13/13) When it comes to home landscaping, many gardeners remain confused about how to create what they want. Efforts at landscaping can be disappointing despite spending a substantial amount of money.
(For Release On Or After 09/27/13) Are you not growing vegetables because you don’t have a yard to plant them in? Perhaps you live in an apartment. Or is the only sunny area of your landscape covered in concrete? The satisfaction of growing fresh vegetables is undeniable, yet many gardeners do not have a suitable in-ground location to grow them.
(For Release On Or After 09/20/13) As we move toward October, it’s not too early to make plans for houseplants that spent the summer outdoors. You will need to bring them back inside at some point when it starts to get cold. But you have a variety of jobs to do now.
(For Release On Or After 09/06/13) You may often hear Labor Day designated as the traditional end of summer, and according to the calendar, fall will officially start at the fall equinox on September 22. We know good and well, however, that our Louisiana summer season extends a good bit longer.