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(Video 10/14/24) While most pollinator plants bloom during the spring, salvias keep pollinators content throughout the fall.
(Video 10/7/24) Now is a good time to get rid of different types of vines that are crawling up our trees and shrubs.
(Video 9/30/24) Late summer is a great time to weed your garden beds.
(Video 9/23/24) Chrysanthemums are beautiful plants for the fall.
(Video11/22/23) You may have noticed bigger than normal and misshapen satsumas on your citrus trees.
(Video 11/15/23) Since we’ve had some rain and cooler weather, now’s a good time to plant trees and shrubs.
(Video 11/8/23) Fall is a good time to gather colorful and abundant wildflowers that are growing almost everywhere.
(Video 11/1/23) The brutal droughts of this past year have played havoc with our lawns.
(Video 10/23/23) Mexican tarragon, also called mint marigold, is an exciting plant to grow in your yard.
(Video 10/16/23) The tropical plant duranta is a shrub that puts on a colorful show during the fall.
(Video 10/10/23) With drought conditions persisting, it is crucial for us to adequately water our plants to maintain their health.
(Video 10/10/23) When people suffer from allergies, weeds can be a terrible nuisance.
(Video 12/1/22) There are a variety of evergreen trees you can use for Christmas decorations.
(Video 12/1/22) The Norfolk pine is an elegant indoor plant that could be used as a Christmas tree.
(Video 11/22/22) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains that now is the time to apply weed killer to prevent weeds like stickerweed.
(Video 11/22/22) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains how to force bulbs to come out of dormancy.
(11-14-22) The warmth of fall colors is something the whole state can enjoy to some degree.
(11-7-22) Lion’s tail is a plant that provides beautiful, colorful flowers to the fall landscape.
(10/31/22) Until recently, sweet potatoes used to be only two types: those grown for their edible storage roots or those that were merely ornamental.
(10/10/22) Recent drought has made things difficult for many gardeners, but some plants stand out for their toughness in these conditions.
(10/17/22) Turk's cap is a tough, drought-tolerant plant native to our area.
(10/24/22) Some of our native plants can offer beautiful colors for the fall.
(10/3/22) Coleus is a plant known for its beautiful foliage, but some varieties begin setting flowers at the end of the summer.
(9/26/22) Not all plants can handle limited sunlight, but the colorful Summer Wave torenia thrives in the shade.
3/28/22) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard introduces you to the latest Louisiana Super Plant — the beautiful and native Louisiana iris.
[Video](11/1/21) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains how these ornamental peppers create a warm, colorful accent to your landscape or wind
[Video](10/25/21) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard provides some tips for you to successfully grow these delicious fruits.
[Video](10/18/21) SU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard introduces you to the fall 2021 Louisiana Super Plant selection — Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo
[Video](10/11/21) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains some of the choices and benefits of growing sunflowers.
[Video](11/16/20) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains how to care for your hydrangeas now so they can look their best next spring.
[Video](11/9/20) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains some things you can do to repair small trees and shrubs damaged by destructive winds.
[Video](11/2/20) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains how to harvest and store caladium bulbs.
[Video](10/26/20) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard suggests some plants you can use to paint your yard with the warm shades of fall.
[Video](10/12/20) LSU AgCenter turf specialist Ron Strahan explains what you can do to fight one of the most prolific weeds of all—nutsedge.
[Video](10/19/20) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains on this edition of Get It Growing, you can grow olive trees right here in Louisiana.
[Video](9/28/20) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains how to know if your lawn is being damaged by sod webworms and what to do to stop them
[Video](10/25/19) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard Travels to Lacombe to find out how mums fit into All Souls' Day and All Saints' Day.
[Video](10/27/19) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Kerry Heafner shows you how to use your compost to replenish potting soil.
[Video](10/20/19) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Kerry Hefner shows you how to get a compost pile started and how you can maintain it.
[Video] (10/13/19) Heather Kirk-Ballard explains on this edition of Get It Growing, you can grow olive trees right here in Louisiana too.
[Video] (10/6/19) Heather Kirk-Ballard explains why the latest Super Plant — Jolt dianthus — will help your garden pop with color for a long time.
Video (9/16/19) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains why the candlestick plant, or cassia, is a great choice for your yard.
(Video 9/9/19) LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard suggests growing a beautiful plant American beautyberry.
(Audio 10/15/07) Gardeners can manipulate the color of their hydrangeas by making an addition to the soil this month. Acid soils produce blue plants and alkaline soils produce pink flowers. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/15/07) Wisteria is an outstanding flowering vine for Louisiana landscapes. It spreads easily, so be sure to keep it under control. A common problem with wisteria is that it can take several years to bloom. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/08/07) Many gardeners move their houseplants outside during the summer. As the weather cools, tropical plants will have to come back indoors. Before making the move, they need to acclimate to low-light conditions. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/08/07) Persimmon trees are easy to grow in Louisiana landscapes. This fruit tree produces seedless fruit and doesn't need pollination. The fruit of most varieties must be soft before it can be eaten. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/08/07) Harvest season for strawberries is in the spring, but now is the time to plant them in your garden. Make sure the beds are well-prepared and raised. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/08/07) Save the seeds from plants such as annuals and perennials, and don't harvest the seeds too early. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/07/08) Sweet peas are outstanding flowering vines. Their color and fragrance make a great addition to our landscape. Sweet peas will bloom in the spring, but now is the time to plant the vines. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Video 10/01/07) Lycoris radiata goes by a variety of common names: Hurricane lily, spider lily and naked ladies. This plant requires patience because it may take three years to start blooming. (Runtime: 1 minute, 27 seconds)
(Audio 10/01/07) We start thinking of the holidays this time of the year. There are a lot items in nature that can decorate up your home for fall. Look for things such as seed pods, dried flower heads and pine cones. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/01/07) Many great vegetables can be planted this time of the year. Transplants of broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower are available at local nurseries. Root crops can be direct-seeded into the garden. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/01/07) Roses in Louisiana bloom beautifully in October and November. If your roses were pruned back in August or September, there is not much pruning needed now. You will need to deadhead your roses after they fade. This keeps the rose bush looking fresh and attractive. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/01/07) Gardeners can plant a wide variety of herbs in their gardens this time of the year. A few plants provide a big harvest, so there is no need to plant more than you can use. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 10/01/07) Brown patch is a fungal infection that affects lawn grasses, especially St. Augustine. It likes cool, mild and damp weather conditions. Watch for discolored areas in the lawn. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/24/07) Louisiana irises are dormant during the months of August, September and early October. If you have irises that need to be divided, get that done soon. LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill explains how. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/24/07) Garlic is critical to Louisiana cuisine. It is easy to grow, and now is the time to plant it. Choose a well-prepared bed in a sunny area with good drainage. Garlic can be planted through the month of October and into early November. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/24/07) It is still too hot to plant trees, but planting season is right around the corner. Now is a good time to look around for needed shade in your lawn and make plans for fall plantings. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/24/07) Azalea lace bugs are small flying insects that live on the underside of the leaves. Small white spots on the leaf indicate an infestation. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Video 09/24/07) Mid-to-late September is a great time to plant cole crops into your vegetable garden. Cole crops are the group of vegetables closely related to cabbage. (Runtime: 1 minute, 28 seconds)
(Audio 09/17/07) Louisiana gardeners can compost every bit of organic debris their landscapes create. This includes leaves in the fall and grass clippings in the summer. Gardeners can create their own compost pile using simple materials. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/17/07) Many gardeners move container plants outside for the summer. After a summer of abundant growth outdoors, plants may have outgrown their containers. Look for roots growing out of drainage holes or showing up on the soil. These plants will benefit from being repotted into a larger container. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/17/07) Caladiums are a wonderful shade-tolerant summer bedding plant. They are reaching the end of their growing season, and gardeners should dig up the tubers before all the foliage falls off. The tubers need to be dried and stored in paper bags or cardboard boxes inside during the winter. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/17/07) Many types of azaleas will bloom in late summer and fall. Encore azaleas were bred in Louisiana, are well-adapted to our growing conditions and bloom without fail in the fall. This is a good time to plant them into your landscape, and you can pick out your plants while they are in bloom. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/17/07) September and October are transitional times in Louisiana landscapes. Days become milder, and summer rain showers began to slow down. This means watering will likely be necessary. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Video 09/17/07) Blue flowers are relatively rare in the plant world. That’s why plumbago's blue flowers are so precious. Plumbago is an outstanding workhorse in the summer landscape. It’s actually a shrubby-looking plant, but when you examine at the stems, you’ll see they’re very green and herbaceous. (Runtime: 1 minutre, 30 seconds)
(Audio 09/10/07) Mulches are a valuable gardening tool for reducing weeds in beds. It is important to remember that mulch must be thick to work properly. If your mulch is looking thin, add another layer on top of the existing mulch. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/10/07) As we move into September, we must be careful about what we prune in our landscapes. Winter and spring-flowering shrubs have set their flower buds, so pruning will remove these flowers. Also, pruning too late can keep shrubs or tree branches from hardening off before winter. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/10/07) In September, it is still pretty hot. Combining that with dry weather can cause an increase in chinch bug activity. These insects attack lawn grasses and prefer St. Augustine grass. They create circular brown areas and will kill the grass where they feed. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/10/07) Vegetable and flower beds are active parts of our landscape. Right now, gardeners may need to do some bed preparation before planting fall crops. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/10/07) The weather can remain quite warm throughout September, but we are reaching the end of the growing period. This means you have to be careful with late-season fertilizer applications. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/03/07) A variety of fungal organisms live and grow in our lawns. Some are relatively harmless. Others can be very damaging and cause problems in hot, dry weather. Fungicides can prevent some of this damage from occurring. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/03/07) Pecan trees tend to "alternate bear," which means they will produce a large crop one year followed by a small crop or no crop the next year. A large crop can lead to breaking branches because of pecan's brittle wood. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/03/07) Green onions are an important part of Louisiana cuisine. This is a great time of the year to plant them. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/03/07) Mature trees are a valuable part of the home landscape. When building on a lot with existing trees, make plans to keep them from being damaged by construction. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 09/03/07) A variety of both warm-season and cool-season vegetables can be planted in September. Transplants of tomatoes and bell peppers can be planted early in the month. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Video 09/10/07) You might have noticed tree leaves that look diseased or sickly recently. What’s the problem and what should you do? LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill explains how to handle the situation in this segment of Get it Growing. (Runtime: 1 minute, 27 seconds)
(Video 09/03/07) Many Louisiana gardeners like to grow culinary herbs. Mexican oregano is a good herb for our area. It generally grows in the drier climate of south Texas and northern mexico, but does remarkably well in Louisiana. Make sure this plant gets very good drainage. (Runtime: 1 minute, 31 seconds)
(Audio 11/27/06) Louisiana gardens can stay attractive through the winter months. It is a good idea to keep your landscape looking neat and clean during this time. This includes cutting back faded foliage, weeding and mulching. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/27/06) Planting a tree is not a difficult task, but it should be done right to give the tree a good start. Make sure you select the right tree for the space you intend to plant it in. LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill explains the proper tree planting process. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/27/06) Fertilizers are important tools to encourage growth on plants. The best time to apply fertilizer is at the beginning of a plant's growing season. Most of the plants in our landscape are going dormant this time of the year, but there are few plants that could use a healthy dose of fertilizer. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/27/06) Insects can still be a problem in fall and winter because of Louisiana's temperatures. Gardeners may see aphids, caterpillars, snails and slugs this time of the year. LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill has tips for controlling these winter pests. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Video 11/20/06) Ornamental grasses are reliable perennials that are easy to care for. In the fall, there is an ornamental grass that puts on a wonderful show. It is called the muhly grass, and it is grown for its wonderful, light, delicate, burgundy flower heads. (Runtime: 1 minute, 6 seconds)
(Audio 11/20/06) Paperwhites are a wonderful spring-flowering bulb, but it is popular to force their blooms around this time so they'll have blooms at Christmas. Just remember if you grow them with too little light and in warm temperatures, like indoors, they will turn out leggy and the blooms will fall over. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/20/06) Many people use tropical container plants to embellish decks, porches or patios. These plants cannot be left outside during winter. Don't wait until the first freeze is predicted to take them inside. Prepare them early for the lower light indoors. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/20/06) All the leaves your shade trees are dropping this time of year should not be thrown away. If you compost the leaves, you'll end up with a valuable soil additive that you can use in garden bed preparation. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/20/06) From now through February is the best time to plant hardy fruit trees and shrubs in Louisiana landscapes. Fruit trees often require more care than an average tree, but the resulting fruit makes it well worth the effort. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/20/06) A wide variety of herbs can take Louisiana's winters. Plant them now for a great harvest in late winter, spring and early summer. Put them in a sunny, well-prepared bed that is convenient to the kitchen. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Video 11/13/06) This time of the year Louisiana gardeners are pulling out tired summer bedding plants and replacing them with cool-season bedding plants. That will keep our gardens beautiful and colorful through fall, winter and spring. But you could save those tender perennials you're taking out by potting them for the winter. (Runtime: 1 minute, 31 seconds)
(Audio 11/13/06) Amaryllis bulbs become available at nurseries and garden centers each fall. But fall is not the appropriate time to plant these bulbs into your landscape. It is best to pot them and let them bloom indoors. You can plant them into your landscape in the spring. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/13/06) Summer-flowering bulbs grow and bloom during the summer, and many of these bulbs go dormant over the winter. When a freeze browns their foliage, you can cut them back. A thick layer of mulch will protect the bulbs during the winter. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/13/06) Broccoli is a great cool-season vegetable, but there is a trick to harvesting perfect broccoli. The size of the head does not determine when to harvest broccoli. It is the size of each individual flower bud on the head that determines harvest time. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/13/06) Winter vegetables have a nice aesthetic quality. The frilly foliage of mustard and the wonderful color of red cabbage make these plants great ornamentals as well as productive vegetables. You also can try curly-leaf parsley as an edging to cool-season bedding plants. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Audio 11/13/06) The camellia is an outstanding evergreen shrub for Louisiana. It blooms beautifully in the winter. Camellias are free from most insect and disease problems except for tea scale. When that's a problem, oil spray will help control infestations. (Runtime: 60 seconds)
(Distributed 11/30/05) Falling leaves are a sign of the season, but if you leave those leaves on your lawn, they can cause damage. Dan talks about ways to remove leaves from your lawn.
