Monday, April 28, 2014

Figs Slow to Leaf Out?

We've had a lot of calls to the office recently about figs that still have put out no, or few, new leaves. We did have some unusually cold weather this past winter, and UGA's publication "Home Garden Figs" contains this caution about the relative cold-hardiness of figs in Georgia:
"There are many varieties of figs available, but only a few are well adapted to Georgia. If you want to try to grow figs in the mountains, select a protected site and try Celeste or Hardy Chicago. In addition, some varieties such as Brown Turkey will produce some figs on the current season’s growth after being killed to the ground by a freeze."
A Texas A&M webpage that contains Fig FAQs includes this statement:
"Normally we prune figs very little in Texas because of potential cold damage, ie. we usually have to prune back to live wood. This past year our varieties went dormant extremely well. We had a lot of cool, mild days prior to very hard winter freezes. The figs went through this very well and most were in great shape. Then we warmed up in February and the plants lost some of their accliminated dormancy and bam, they froze to the ground in March."
North Carolina State University's Charlotte Glen has this to add:
"The only other problem figs sometimes experience in our area is cold damage. This is more common in particularly cold winters or when extremely cold temperatures follow a stretch of unseasonably mild weather in late winter. It is very rare for figs to be killed completely, though they may have to be cut back to the ground and allowed to re-grow if heavily damaged. Cold damage can be minimized by planting fig bushes against a south facing wall."
The figs in Cobb County have been very slow to leaf out primarily because of the hard freezes that we experienced this winter. Some plants will have been killed back to the ground, while others will just have been damaged partway down the branches.

In the "killed to the ground" scenario, all the dead wood above ground should be removed. Less damaged plants need to have the dead wood pruned away after the extent of the damage is more clear. Since leaves are just now emerging on the plants, waiting another week or two before pruning away large portions of a plant would be prudent.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Marigolds for Earth Day

We've had a tray of Marigolds growing in the office for several weeks now, and some of the young plants are beginning to form little flower buds at the top. Even when these plants are full grown, they are going to be small. The catalog from which the seeds were ordered said this about them: "Abundant color on neat, compact 10" plants. Ruffled double flowers in rust, yellow, orange, red and bicolors."

 Marigold seedlings, "Brocade Mix," a French Dwarf variety, Tagetes patula               PHOTO/Amy Whitney
In general, marigolds are attractive to butterflies (which are beautiful, though somewhat patchy in their effectiveness as pollinators), and they can attract some other beneficial insects to your garden. Anyone who stops by the office today, and until the 30 plants are gone, will be offered one of these to take home. Happy Earth Day!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Moving Houseplants Outside for the Summer

One great side-benefit of the advent of warmer weather is the ability to recover some indoor space by moving houseplants outside. What a gift it is to be able to move about the house without having to dodge the spiky branches of a lime tree or the sharp-edged leaves of a mature Dracaena!

UGA Extension Agent Frank Watson points out, though, that indoor plants need time to adjust to the brighter light outdoors. In his GA FACES article "Use care when moving houseplants outside for the spring, summer," he writes, "Moving a houseplant from a relatively dark home into very bright sunshine will cause severe leaf burn."

His recommendation to avoid this outcome, from which plants can take months to recover, is to move indoor plants to a shaded location before shifting plants that thrive in high-light levels into the bright sunshine. Some plants should be kept in the shade throughout the summer.

In Watson's article, Bodie Pennisi, a researcher on UGA's Griffin campus, provides this caution: “Keep in mind, each time a plant is moved around, it will experience an acclimatization period, and such changes may become evident.”

The article contains the recommendation to wait until plants have had a chance to adjust to their new surroundings before beginning to give them fertilizer at the rate recommended on the package (this will vary according to the brand and type of fertilizer chosen).

For the complete article, click on the linked title in the text above.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Upcoming Events and Classes


Garden to Table
Thursday, April 3, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Horticulture Agent Neil Tarver and Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Cindee Sweda will present a class about growing and then using food crops. UGA Extension/Cobb County, second floor, 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060. Preregistration is required; $5 fee for class and materials. Call 770-528-4070 for information and to register.

Bluebird Trail Tour
Tuesday, April 8, 10:00 a.m. Free and open to the public. Cobb Master Gardener and Bluebird expert Jim Bearden will conduct a guided walk of the 2.3-mile Bluebird Trail at Green Meadow Preserve Park, at 3780 Dallas Hwy., Powder Springs, GA, 30127. Follow the Bluebird Trail blog at bluebirdtrail.blogspot.com.

Growing and Cooking with Herbs in Georgia
Tuesday, April 8, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Join UGA Extension in Cobb County staff for a timely class on planting and maintaining herbs, pruning and harvesting techniques, and using the herbs after the harvest.  Class will be held at the Training Room of the Cobb County Water lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.). For information and to register for the free class, call 770-528-4070.

Moving Toward Organics in the Vegetable Garden
Tuesday, April 8, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Free and open to the public. Learn what organic gardening and farming really means and steps you can take to have a more environmentally friendly garden.  Presented by Amy Whitney, of UGA Extension/Cobb County, as part of the ongoing Gardeners Night Out presentation series of the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, at Mountain View Regional Library, 3320 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.

FACS Family Fun Fair
Thursday, April 10, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Join UGA Extension in Cobb County’s Family and Consumer Sciences group for some family fun. There will be cooking demonstrations, bug displays, recycling and energy saving tips, door prizes, fitness fun, and more! South Cobb Recreation Center, 875 Six Flags Drive, Austell.

The Beauty of Bulbs! From Amaryllis to Zephranthes
Friday, April 11, noon to 1:00 p.m. Free and open to the public. Presented by Master Gardener Debra Stockton as part of the ongoing Lunch & Learn series of the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, at the Training Room of the Cobb County Water lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.). Debra will give us the ABCs of bulbs with a focus on Georgia favorites: daffodils, gladioli, and tulips.

Bluebird Trail Tour
Saturday, April 19, 10:00 a.m. Free and open to the public. Cobb Master Gardener and Bluebird expert Jim Bearden will conduct a guided walk of the 2.3-mile Bluebird Trail at Green Meadow Preserve Park, at 3780 Dallas Hwy., Powder Springs, GA, 30127. Follow the Bluebird Trail blog at bluebirdtrail.blogspot.com.

Garden Fair and Plant Sale
Friday, April 25, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Saturday, April 26, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Presented by the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, the Fair and Sale will include plants for sun and shade, native plants, plants for pollinators, vegetables, herbs, garden art, a Master Gardener booth, and more!  Free admission. Jim Miller Park, Equestrian Center, 2245 Callaway Road SW, Marietta, 30008.

Dahlias
Tuesday, April 29, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Free and open to the public. Master Gardener and Extension horticulturist Renae Lemon will present a seminar on the basics of growing beautiful Dahlias all summer and preserving the tubers for sharing and spring planting. UGA Extension/Cobb County, second floor, 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060. For additional information and to preregister, call 770-528-4070.