County Extension

By Stephen Garton
UGA Cooperative Extension

On a visit to the Sawnee Mountain Preserve in Cumming, Ga., I was shocked to find many dead bees in the preserve’s observation hive.
The fallen insects were piled up at the bottom of the display and at the entrance and exit to the hive.
Bill Dunn, who manages the hive for the center, believed the bees collected nectar from flowers that had been sprayed or dusted with an insecticide and had inadvertently contaminated themselves with it. He expected most of the bees in the hive would die as a result.

By Tom Woods
Master Gardener
Higher education in America was once a luxury for the privileged. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln changed that when he signed the Morrill Act, which established the nation’s land-grant universities and opened doors of higher education to more Americans.
The act directed funding to agriculture, engineering and mechanical arts education, helping build the infrastructure that has kept us strong and helps feed the world today.

Most gardeners are familiar with the U.S. Hardiness Zone Map. Typically when consumers purchase plant material, the zones are listed on the tag of the plant.
The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is used to provide the gardener and grower with a guide for determining if a plant is likely to survive the winter in a garden or field. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree zones. The lower the number on the map, the colder the zone.

By Tom Woods
Master Gardener
A lot of gardeners grow hydrangeas and this time of year they begin to ask questions about how and when to prune these plants.
First, we need to consider the different species of hydrangea that are available in this area. If you have a Hydrangea mycrophylla, Big Leaf or French Hydrangea as they are commonly called, these plants flower largely on old wood or stems that were produced last season. Consequently, when we have a spring freeze in April like in 2007, these plants won’t flower.