Ashley Frasca

Industry professionals often preach, "right plant, right place", and that mantra holds true for turf as well!

With warmer weather comes more unwanted interactions with insects. Invasive species especially are getting more attention recently. Awareness is being raised in social media posts, on local news outlets, and by local departments of agriculture spreading the word.

A: John recently wrote in and provided this picture. He says when he bought the lemon tree last year, it had a lot of blooms on it. His theory is that the store had applied a lot of fertilizer to promote blooms so it'd sell. He may be right.

It bears repeating, for seasoned homeowners and for those new to caring for their grass... lawns need, at minimum, an inch of water per week!

A: That's definitely Cercospora leaf spot, which is so common given our heat and humidity. Don't worry too much about it now, as the leaves are going to fall off soon anyways.

The National Weather Service recently made it official - as of the first week of August, Georgia is no longer in a drought. Spring was rough though. April was the peak of this drought, and during that month, meteorologist Christina Edwards reported only 5 days of 'measurable rainfall', as recorded at Atlanta's airport.

Caterpillars and the damage they cause may be a little more visible this time of year, before the weather turns cooler. But who is dangerous, and who is harmless? Here are just a few interesting ones to become familiar with.

A: As with any plant, heat stresses a lawn. All of them like at least 1" of water per week and, in fact, need that to maintain vigor. Though we have been getting somewhat ample rainfall lately, when it stays hot and dry, experts recommend raising the mowing height, cutting less height from the grass blades. This leaves more leaf tissue to shade and retain moisture in the soil, thus helping the lawn through heat stress.

A: They've been laying eggs all summer, so the populations have exploded. And as temperatures cool, they're looking for ways to get inside. Once they're inside, it really is true that if they're crushed or feel threatened, they'll emit a bad smell.

Ok, we can say it together... cooler temperatures are FINALLY here. For awhile there, it seemed that highs in the upper 80s were just never going to drop. Plants (and animals too) take cues from Mother Nature to start slowing growth and shutting down for the winter. These cues include a shortened photoperiod, the aforementioned cooler temperatures, and resulting gradual drops in soil temperature.