By Amanda Swennes
University of Georgia
If you’re looking for reliable, up-to-date, free information about how to prune your plants, or how to plant shade, apple or pecan trees, or how to protect your plants this winter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension likely has a publication that will answer all of your questions.
The UGA Extension Web site (
www.caes.uga.edu/publications) offers more than 200 research-based publications on gardening and landscaping. Another 400 publications cover subject areas ranging from how to raise horses, cattle, pigs and chickens to how to control carpenter ants and termites.
Below is a list of free online Extension publications that can help you prepare your garden for fall and start planning ahead for winter.
Indoor and Container Gardening
• Gardening in Containers:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C787/C787.htm
• Gardening in Containers Using Tropical Plants:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1338/B1338.htm
• Growing Indoor Plants with Success:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1318/B1318.htm
• Propagating House Plants:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C950/C950.htm
• Flowering Perennials for Georgia Gardens:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B944/B944.htm
Winter Gardening
• First and Last Frost Dates in Georgia:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/MP117/MP117.htm
• Soil Preparation and Planting Procedures for Ornamental Plants in the Landscape:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B932-w.htm
• Winter Protection of Ornamental Plants:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C872/C872.htm
Pruning
• Pruning Ornamental Plants in the Landscape:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B961/B961.htm
• Basic Principles of Pruning Woody Plants:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B949/B949.html
Ground Covers
• Ground Covers:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C928/C928.htm
• Spacing Plant Material: Ground Covers:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/L127-W.HTML
• Success with Cover Crops:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/EB-102/EB-102.html
Trees
• Trees for the Landscape: Selection and Culture:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/PDF/B875.pdf
• Fast-Growing Shade Trees:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/L350.htm
• Home Garden Apples:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C740/C740.htm
• Pecan Trees for the Home or Backyard Orchard:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1348/B1348.htm
Pests
• Managing Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1191/B1191.html
• Rats and Mice: Get Them Out of Your House and Yard:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C970/C970.html
For more free resources on topics ranging from gardening to raising backyard chickens to managing a dairy herd to getting rid of head lice, visit the Web site
www.caes.uga.edu/publications or contact your county UGA Extension agent by calling 1-800-ASK-UGA1.