Search
| Extension Agent | |
| Tangipahoa Parish | |
| MHFerguson@agcenter.lsu.edu | |
| 21549 Old Covington Highway Hammond, LA 70403 |
|
| 985-277-1850 | |
| 985-543-4136 |
Several yucca species and at least one agave are considered native to Louisiana.
Fall is one of the best times to plant most types of trees and shrubs in Louisiana.
Distyliums are evergreen, tolerate Louisiana's climate, and can be used as hedge or foundation plants.
While they’re sometimes thrown out after their fall flower display, garden mums are perennials and can be planted in the landscape.
Viburnums, as a group, have long been a bit nebulous to me.
Some of the plants most closely associated with the holidays are daylength sensitive. Exposure to long periods of darkness is a key to getting them to bloom.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
Birds need food, water, and shelter. Gardens can provide all of these.
Muscadines are well-adapted to our climate.
Drift roses are groundcover roses. Like Knock Out roses, they bloom over a long period, but they remain smaller than Knock Out roses do.
Plums have many of the same disease and insect problems that peaches have, which is to say a lot.
After planting, the first several weeks are the most important for weed control.
Herbicides, tillage, blocking light from reaching the soil for a sufficiently long time, or a combination of these can be used to kill weeds before planting.
Some heat-tolerant vegetables can still be planted, and it won’t be long before it’s time to plant many cool-season crops.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
As of August 24, the US Drought Monitor showed all areas of Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes in severe drought.
Many of our cool-season vegetables can be planted in September and October.
Herbicides are important tools in some cases, but they should not be relied upon alone to manage weed problems.
The LSU AgCenter is offering five classes covering a variety of garden- and landscape-related topics in Washington Parish.
It was a bad year for blueberry production, but it was a good year for learning what varieties are more likely to produce in spite of late freezes.
Bamboos are grasses. There are many species. We generally divide them into running and clumping types.
If you have a stand of bamboo that you want to get rid of, you have a couple of options.
This spring has brought a lot of questions about blossom end rot and bacterial wilt.
May or June beetles feed on many species of plants.
The LSU AgCenter will hold a meeting for commercial strawberry growers from 9 AM till noon on Thursday, July 27, 2023.
Deer have poor depth perception, and some fence designs take advantage of that.
Southern peas or cowpeas can tolerate the hottest parts of our summers and can be planted between April and early August.
Of the six springs I’ve been working in Extension in Louisiana, I’ve received more questions about lawn problems this year than any other.
There are a variety of ways that trees can be damaged during construction.
This week, I’m writing about a few more plants – including a shrub and several herbaceous perennials – as well as some native plant resources.
Governor Edwards proclaimed April 2023 Native Plant Month, and I thought I’d write about a few of my favorites.
Ornamental plants that bloom in late winter and early spring generally bloom on shoots that grew in a previous season. These should be pruned after flowering.
It's recommended that the warm-season turfgrasses commonly grown in Louisiana be fertilized between April and August.
Some salvias tend to be perennial here, while others don’t.
Individuals in the Louisiana Master Gardener program help the LSU AgCenter provide education about gardening and lawn care.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
Contour maps based on numbers of chill hours received between October 1 and February 28, over a 30-year period, are available.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
Many gingers are among the root-hardy tropicals that enrich our landscapes in southeastern Louisiana.
The LSU AgCenter, in partnership with Nielsen’s Pharmacy and Bogalusa Strong, will offer a vegetable and herb gardening class.
This article wraps up a series about plants for moist or wet sites.
If you’d like a deciduous plant for moist or wet sites, you have options.
The LSU AgCenter will offer a Lawn Care in Louisiana class on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at LSU AgCenter’s Washington Parish office in Franklinton.
Plants in low areas and on sites with a water table close to the surface need to be able to tolerate a good deal of soil moisture.
Exposure to a sufficient extent of cold temperatures, followed by warm temperatures favorable for growth, is involved determining when a plant "wakes up."
Fourteen individuals recently completed the LSU AgCenter’s Louisiana Master Gardener (LMG) course in Tangipahoa Parish.
A client contacted me recently about a problem in a turnip field. It wasn’t clear what the primary issue was in the photos, so I made a visit to the field.
“Chewers,” or insects that make holes of various sizes in various plant parts, include caterpillars and beetles.
This meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 6:00 PM to 8:20 PM, at the LSU AgCenter’s Washington Parish office (1104-B Bene St., Franklinton).
There are simple ways to differentiate among American chestnut, Chinese chestnut, and Allegheny chinquapin trees.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
The sweet potato production cycle begins when sweet potatoes from the previous harvest season are planted in the spring, to produce slips for transplanting.
When aphids have been on a plant, we often see skins (the exoskeletons they shed as they molt) and aphid “mummies,” or parasitized aphid bodies.
One way to add cheer to winter and early spring landscapes is to plant cool-season flowering plants.
Each year, we face situations in which some of our plants could be injured by cold weather.
If you plan to save seed from your own plants to use in the future, there are a few things to know.
The second half of October is a good time to plant strawberries in our area.
Many of our “root” vegetables are cool-season crops.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
Tables summarize efficacy ratings, use rates, allowed numbers of applications, and other basic information about these products.
The leaves of Louisiana irises provide green color in landscape beds through the winter and then flower in the spring.
Raised beds are often the best option for growing vegetables at home.
The phrase “right plant, right place” encompasses much of what people need to know about landscaping.
A relatively way to kill many types of unwanted woody vines, shrubs, and trees is to make a “cut stump” treatment with a triclopyr-containing herbicide.
There's a variety of purple- and pink-flowered perennials that perform well in our climate and attract butterflies and bees.
Few questions come up as frequently as those about lichens.
Wilting tomatoes are a common complaint. There are several possible causes.
The LSU AgCenter has a lot of resources that address a variety of topics.
Some are among the plants that are reliably perennial in Louisiana.
Our growing season is long enough that we can prune blueberries soon after harvest, and the plants will have time to set flower buds for the next year.
There's a variety of reasons that this can occur.
The LSU AgCenter will offer a blueberry pruning demonstration at the Hammond Research Station at 9:00 AM on Friday, July 8, 2022.
Fire ant treatment options are similar to those for other locations, but only insecticides labeled for use around vegetables should be used.
With good cultural practices, pest problems can be reduced.
Injury caused by piercing-sucking and rasping-sucking insects often appears as distortion or stippling.
Weed management is one of a multitude of challenges that vegetable growers face.
Individuals in the Louisiana Master Gardener program help the LSU AgCenter provide education about gardening and lawn care.
Regardless of whether you seed, sod, plug, or sprig, there are certain things to do before and after planting turfgrass.
First, consider whether turfgrass is the best choice for your site.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
On February 22, a strawberry grower in Tangipahoa Parish brought my attention to a field of ‘Florida Brilliance’ plants where some collapse was occurring.
Mulch serves important purposes in landscapes and other sites where plants are grown.
Fruit trees and bushes can be grown in containers on a variety of sunny sites.
Just about any vegetable can be grown in some type of container.
"Warm season” vegetables differ regarding the times of year and temperatures at which they’re best planted.
LSU had a fig breeding program that began in the 1950s.
Figs are among the easier-to-grow tree fruits for southern Louisiana and can be enjoyed fresh, dried, or in preserves.
If you’re going to use an herbicide, it’s important to do it while weeds are small.
General principles for pruning landscape plants will also be discussed.
If you’ve been thinking of planting a new citrus tree or have an older one that needs to be fertilized, February is a time to do these things.
The dormant period, prior to when new growth begins, is a good time to prune crape myrtles, as well as other plants that flower on new growth.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
Within the past 30-plus years, plant breeders have released blackberry varieties that lack thorns, have an upright growth habit, and produce large fruit.
Weed, disease, and insect management, as well as fertilization and pollination will be addressed.
If you wait until March or April to plant a vegetable garden, you will have missed the window for planting some of our cool-season veggies.
