Clemson University

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. South Carolina roadsides are especially handsome now as the native elderberries are making a spectacular display with their showy clusters of creamy white flowers held on large plants growing vigorously in moist, sunny openings. . Native Americans used the strong exterior wood of these plants for blow guns, tubes, and pipes, and the pithy interior of the stem was a handy substrate for starting fires.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Although we can control fire ants in our yard relatively easily with the Texas Two Step method, applying a bait and following up with individual mound treatments, the procedure for keeping these pests out of vegetable gardens is somewhat more complicated. Amdro, the most commonly used bait in our part of the world, is not approved for use in a vegetable garden and the quick kill products which contain acephate are also illegal to use in that situation.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow.   People are coming to the Extension office with problem tomato plants   and sometimes their issues could have been avoided with proper watering. Two clients were using an overhead sprinkler and watering for fifteen minutes every day, which got only the top of soil wet- as a result one had diseased leaves and the other had blossom end rot, a calcium and water-related issue.   Tomatoes need a deep root system to provide a consistent supply of water with dissolved nutrients to the fruits to the plants.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Okra is one plant that likes hot weather and usually snubs its nose at the heat, not surprising for a plant which originated in Ethiopia.  Clemson Spineless is a Southern favorites but you might want to experiment with some different varieties.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange has a catalogue I like as it offers hybrid and heirloom varieties that are especially well suited to the Southeast. Although you may be tempted by companies offering tomatoes from the Belarusian-Ukrainian areas of Russia that have deep colors and a high sugar content, unless you plan to move to Michigan this summer, you’d do better to plant tomatoes that were developed in the deep South.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Extension Vegetable Specialist Tony Melton is doing research at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center near Florence on heat tolerant butterbeans. South Carolina vegetable growers are a hard-working group of farmers who often grow multiple crops in order to stay profitable.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. University of Illinois Professor Eric Snodgrass of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences recently gave Clemson agents a presentation on how our weather is changing. For the past several years, almost every state has reported the hottest temperature on record, records dating back to 1895.   This means we need to pay attention to the heat zones that have been established by the American Horticulture Society as well as the Cold Hardiness zones that are determined by the US Department of Agriculture.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Mothers used to caution their children against wearing underpants with holes in them. "What if you get in an accident and have to go to the hospital?" Well, I was certainly happy that my underwear was in good form last week when I was working in the garden and got into fire ants. There is no way to not react when those imported pests start stinging you – the pain is unbearable. I had on sneakers and long pants and as quickly as I could I pulled off my shoes and then got out of my britches.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Bait products have   less impact on the environment than broadcast insecticide treatments, or individual mound treatment options, and usually require dramatically less product. Used properly they’re safe for people, pets, and most animals.  A whole acre can be treated with one pound of bait which contains less than 1% active ingredient. You must use caution, though, when applying most baits near water –staying thirty feet away.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. If you worry about putting insecticides out to control fire ants, consider the damage these non-native pests cause to native wildlife. Reptiles including 'gators, turtles, and lizards are damaged or killed by fire ants. Turtle nests are particularly susceptible –ants make monitoring tunnels waiting until the eggs open and then begin to feed on the young, killing or blinding them.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Clemson Extension Agent Vicky Bertagnolli is one of our fire ant specialists. If you search SCETV video fire ants (two words) you’ll find a segment where Vicky explains how to use bait products to safely control these potentially life-threatening pests. A bait is a combination of a slow-acting stomach poison and ground corn cobs and soybean oil.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. I had a terrible run in with fire ants while in the garden recently and ended up partially “streaking” to get back to the house. Fire ants are not just a nuisance, for some people their stings can be life threatening. We will always have these imported pests in our lives; they can’t be eradicated, but we can control them with minimal impact to other animals in the environment.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. One of the native irises that I found listed in the AC Moore Herbarium’s SC Plant Atlas is Iris cristata – dwarf crested iris.   The Herbarium map shows its having been collected in Richland and Kershaw and upwards –probably a good indication that those of us above the fall line could be successful growing this plant in our garden. Unlike most irises, Iris cristata prefers a slightly shaded spot in well-drained, rich soil -- perfect for the edge of a naturalized area.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. If you search herbarium.org you’ll be transported to the website for the AC Moore Herbarium so beloved by Dr. John Nelson and his botanical friends. Select Plants from the drop down menu and at the next screen go to the SC Plant Atlas. I did that and then selected the letter I for Iris to see what irises had been collected in South Carolina and in what counties.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. The Greek Goddess Iris was represented by the rainbow which makes her name perfect for the iris flower which comes in a myriad of colors. Across the world there are two hundred eighty species of irises in North America we have twenty eight native irises. Many of them occur naturally or will grow perfectly happily here in South Carolina.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Louisiana irises have been the subject of major breeding efforts – some natural occurring and others the results of human crosses between several native America iris species. Sadly, their natural habitat – the bogs of Louisiana – has been dramatically reduced in size. The good news is you can help ensure their survival by adding them to your garden.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. For many years the irises we grew in our yards were Siberian, Dutch, German or Japanese irises. Now, however, with the new interest in native plants, it’s easy to find North American species that are ethically collected and propagated. For damp areas or in a good irrigated garden soil, Louisiana irises are ideal. These are vigorous plants with no pests or disease problems, they are even deer resistant should would be beautiful at the edge of a pond.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson extension and Making It Grow. In downtown Sumter, where I spend my days as a horticulture agent, we have free, city-owned jewel of a garden that started as a horticulture failure. In the 1920’s, a local businessman, Hamilton Carr Bland planted a shipment of Japanese iris in his normal flower bed. When they failed miserably, he yanked them up and tossed them into his nearby fishing pond.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Plant fanatics are never satisfied! And plant breeders are happy to tempt us with newer, better, and more glamourous cultivars of our favorite garden flowers. Take bearded iris for instance. Often referred to as tall bearded iris, or German iris, they normally bloom once in the spring. Now we can find rebloomers that in late summer when we’re so desperate for something joyful, put on a glamourous second display of color from our cut flower beds. Maybe you’ve downsized and need smaller plants.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. The most commonly grown iris is the bearded iris, sometimes called the German iris as the scientific name is Iris germanica. Some people throw in the adjective tall, too, as these can be up to 48 inches in height. In the warmer winters we are experiencing, the foliage lasts and lasts and the huge fans of strong, light green leaves can make a dramatic statement in the garden even after the flowers are long gone.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Clemson’s Department of Pesticide Regulation is an established link in our state for farms which want to become certified organic. The application process is designed to meet the required National Organic Program Standards and guide growers in documenting their organic compliance. A critical part of the procedure is a scheduled on-site visit which is followed by a decision; sometimes with restrictions or suggestions.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Extension Agent Tony Melton and others always remind us to read the label before applying pesticides. Among the directions often listed are warnings about spraying when it is windy or very hot. These conditions can lead to pesticide drift – the product getting on plants that weren’t the intended target.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. In order to get a pesticide license to buy restricted use products, and to apply any pesticide commercially,  farmers, growers, exterminator’s, and landscape professionals must pass exams. For a private applicator license, people take a day-long course at a local extension office.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Certain pesticides, a term that means insecticides, fungicides, algaecides, rodenticides and others are not ones you and I can go in a store and buy. They are under a special category called restricted use products. The Environmental Protection Agency gives permits for the chemicals we use in our homes and gardens.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Controlled slow release, water-insoluble nitrogen, urea formaldehyde, sulfur-coated urea. These terms describe   fertilizers that release nutrients to plants over an extended period of time as opposed to old-fashioned, quick release fertilizers. The advantage of quick release fertilizers is price – but it may be a false savings as they can burn plants and in heavy rainfalls, you can lose nutrients to leaching and run off and possibly pollute nearby waterways.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. When you get a container plant from a nursery, usually you see what looks like tiny plastic balls on the top of the soil. The technical name for these structures is a prill and they  are examples of a slow-release formulation, polymer coated fertilizer.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Controlled release, controlled slow-release or water-insoluble nitrogen fertilizer blends have plant nutrients but in forms that are not all immediately made available to the plants. Typically, the nutrient blends are coated or encapsulated and as that coating ages and is exposed to moisture or reacts to temperature or soil acidity, the fertilizer is released into the soil where plant roots can use it for growth.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Although plants don’t care if the nutrients they receive are from organic or inorganic sources, the availability of nutrients in the fertilizer you apply is important. Traditional synthetic fertilizer, such as the iconic ten-ten-ten, is water-soluble and considered quick release fertilizer.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Late March and April are good times to fertilize trees and shrubs but not your lawn. Our warm-season turf grasses, centipede grass, St. Augustine, Zoysia and Bermuda are semi-tropical in origin. Although they’re starting to turn green, they aren’t fully revved up until Mid-May. That’s when your lawn can make the best us of the fertilizer you apply and you’ll reduce your chances of having the soluble nitrogen and potassium leach and possibly cause pollution.

It’s been in the news quite a bit already this year, and South Carolina is already gearing up for an influx of tourists on August 21st.  It’s on that day the moon will completely block the sun and daytime will become a deep twilight.  Many observers who have witnessed a total solar eclipse have described it as emotionally powerful and usually, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Even though much of the country will be able to witness portions of the eclipse, the total eclipse will only be visible on a narrow track stretching from Oregon to South Carolina.  So as you can imagine,