County Extension

One of the great plant success stories of recent years has to be the Encore azaleas. Developed by azalea breeder Buddy Lee of Independence, La., this group of evergreen plants provides decent spring color and an even better flower show in the fall. Twenty-four selections of Encore azaleas are currently available. Visit www.encoreazalea.com to see the different forms and flower colors. 

Rather than list a lot of information you can find elsewhere, included are some personal observations about this great group of plants:

Recently we have received several calls on the Extension Master Gardeners Hot Line concerning lack of blooms on various types of plants. 

Following are some possible reasons but sometimes there are just no explanations. 

Shrubs and flowers that are supposed to bloom but don’t often frustrate gardeners. Someone recently reported nothing in their yard would bloom, and went on to name several species that normally flower well in this area. 

 Each year during the third week in July youth from throughout North Carolina meet on campus at North Carolina State University to celebrate. The event is known as North Carolina 4-H Congress. 

Youth ages 9-19 make presentations on a number of topics and compete to represent the state in several national competitions.

Last week, a delegation from Brunswick County included Justin Simmons of Supply, who made bid for state president. Simmons, a home school graduate,

 If you haven’t already figured it out, Southeastern North Carolina is one of the worst places in the world to grow turfgrasses. We sometimes have winter temperatures that cause injury to warm-season grasses like centipede and St. Augustine. It’s just too blasted hot in the summer for even the most heat-tolerant, cool-season grasses like tall fescue to survive. Throw in weeds, ground pearls, high pH, large patch, dollar spot, chinch bugs and all of the other issues and you have tough turf growing conditions.