Mr. Kichler, can I plant one muscadine vine?
This is an excellent question. Muscadine varieties are broken into four categories: two based on fruit color (black or bronze), and two based on flower type: perfect flowered (self-pollinating) and female. If you plan to grow only one vine, it can be black or bronze, but it must be a self-pollinating variety in order to enjoy fruit. Female varieties produce no pollen. Therefore, they should be inter-planted with perfect flowered varieties for proper pollination and fruit set.
How do I know which varieties are self-pollinating?
In the publication Home Garden Muscadines, there is a list of varieties recommended for home production. Ask your county extension agent for a copy. https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/C%20949_9.PDF
I have dollarweed in my yard and can I control it?
Pennywort, or dollarweed (Hydrocotyle spp.), is a perennial weed that is common in turfgrass as well as ornamentals. It gets its name from its silver dollar-shaped leaves. This pest can thrive in moist to wet sites. Dollarweed can be difficult to manage because of its ability to reproduce by seed, rhizomes, and tubers.
Dollarweed has erect, long-stalking leaves with scalloped margins. They look like miniature lily pads. Dollarweed is often confused with another hard-to-control weed, dichondra. The best way to tell them apart is by looking at the placement of the leaf stem. Dollarweed has a stem located in the center of the leaf, while dichondra’s stem is located at the edge.
How do I control it? This pest is definitely a challenge to control, and complete eradication is often unattainable. Homeowners can start by trying to manage the moisture situation in their yard. Evaluate the drainage and irrigation practices. Lawns and landscape plants need about one inch of water per week. This can be obtained by irrigation or rainfall.
Several herbicides are available to help manage this weed. These include atrazine, three-way herbicides, and imazaquin. Atrazine is labeled as a preemergence and postemergence control in centipede, zoysiagrass, St. Augustine, and dormant bermudagrass. Consider applying in early spring after greening up for summer control. Do not apply atrazine to unestablished sod, during greenup, to root zones of ornamentals,or to any cool-season grass. For better control, consider applying atrazine in the fall and again after greening up.
Imazaquin can be used post-emergence in bermudagrass, centipede, St. Augustine, and zoysiagrass. Do not apply imazaquin to turfgrass during spring greenup or to newly planted grass. For dollarweed control, apply after full greenup, and another application is required 6 weeks later.
“Three-way products” is another option for dollarweed control. Three-way products include the active ingredients 2,4-D, MCPP, and dicamba. Numerous products have these active ingredients. Centipede lawns can be sensitive to herbicides containing 2,4-d. Please look at the specific herbicide labels to ensure that the correct rates are applied to centipede and St. Augustine lawns. Repeat applications will be required in order to manage dollarweed.
Another option would be products containing thiencarbazone, iodosulfuron, and dicamba. The trade name is called Celsius. This combination product controls numerous broadleaves, and repeat applications 2 to 4 weeks later will be needed for control of dollarweed.
UGA Extension does not endorse any of the of the products mentioned. If you have questions about weed control on your lawn, please contact your local county extension agent.
