LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, March 10

Substitute economical tomato cages for expensive flower cages. Cut a 3-tier tomato cage in half HORIZONTALLY, yielding one 2-ring cage and one 1-ring cage. Make cutting easy by snipping the heavy wire with bolt cutters.

In Early Spring, locate emerging peony shoots, chrysanthemum tips and clumps of yarrow and place the cages over them so they can grow into their "girdles" and remain upright without flopping.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Feb. 3

Wait until possible damage shows up before cutting back Cast Iron Plant or pruning back Gardenia branches that may be winter killed. Then cut or prune back only to fresh buds and new growth, always keeping in mind the overall shape of the plant.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, January 27

When there is a break in the weather and temperatures rise above freezing and get into the 40s and 50s, check hoses and pipes for breaks. Water plants that were newly transplanted this past fall.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Jan 20

Need pots for seedlings? Try an economical pack of waxed paper cups from the grocery or party store. Punch some drainage holes in the bottoms or use a 1/4 inch drill on the entire stack at once.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, January 13

January and February are great months to prune roses or shape woody ornamentals before deciduous leaves return in the spring. Crabapple LandscapExperts can see the structure of leafless trees and shrubs and are ready to eliminate winter kill, crossing or rubbing limbs, or maintain overall shape through expert pruning now. 

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, January 6

With the extremely cold temperatures of a polar air mass arriving in Georgia this week, one method of protecting low-growing plants or nursery stock is with evergreen boughs. 

• clip off branches from discarded Christmas trees (plentiful this week) 
• lay over the tops of low-growing perennials, annual beds, nursery flats or pots 
• bury the whole area in fallen leaves

(Do not cover with plastic, because direct sun hitting the plastic the next morning can steam-cook the plants.) 

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, December 30

Have a care for the overall shrub when clipping camellia blossoms, holly berries, witch hazel or forsythia branches to bring indoors. Crabapple's tip is to strike a balance between length of stem needed for your floral arrangement and the overall shape and structure of the plant left in the landscape.