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Cultivated varieties of dwarf morning glory, including Blue Daze and Blue My Mind, tolerate heat well and produce small blue flowers for a long time.
One of my favorite things about these plants is that they tend to be reliably perennial in Louisiana, returning year after year.
It seems appropriate to start a discussion of Washington Parish natives with the longleaf pine.
It’s important to start spraying for Virginia buttonweed during the spring, since this is when the weed is more tender and susceptible to herbicides.
I could go on for days learning and writing about plants native to Washington Parish.
Southern peas or cowpeas can tolerate the hottest parts of our summers and can be planted between April and early August.
The beauty provided by annual flowers like cosmos is undeniable. Furthermore, cosmos, like their zinnia relatives, often reseed themselves.
Cupheas have tubular flowers and support pollinators including butterflies, bees, and – for the red- and orange-flowered ones, at least – hummingbirds.
You can modify a site, but in a lot of cases, it’s more practical to just work with the conditions you have.
Our growing season is long enough that we can prune blueberries soon after harvest, and the plants will have time to set flower buds for the next year.
Regardless of whether you seed, sod, plug, or sprig, there are certain things to do before and after planting turfgrass.
First, consider whether turfgrass is the best choice for your site.
Not everyone has a yard where they can grow plants, and we who have in-ground gardens can also enjoy the cheer brought by containerized plants.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
While evergreen azaleas are better known, all azaleas native to Louisiana are deciduous.
One of the plants that we often see flowering along the edge of the woods in late winter is Carolina jessamine, a native vine.
Correctly identifying the problem, choosing an appropriate product, and following label directions are important when using pesticides of any kind.
Many people find St. Augustinegrass to be attractive, and it’s one of the best turfgrasses for shady areas.
Centipedegrass is one of the most popular turfgrasses in this area. It requires a smaller amount of fertilizer and less frequent mowing than some other grasses.
The LSU AgCenter will hold a blueberry pruning demonstration at the Hammond Research Station at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
Wilting tomatoes are a common complaint. There are several possible causes.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
Both parishes rank near the top, within Louisiana, for vegetable and nursery crop production.
Figs are one of our more easy-to-grow fruit plants, although at this time of year, leaf diseases are often observed.
It’s helpful to know what poison ivy looks like.
Ornamental plants that bloom in late winter and early spring generally bloom on shoots that grew in a previous season. These should be pruned after flowering.
I’ve recently observed a variety of wildflowers blooming in my yard and neighborhood. You might have seen some of these, too.
Cotton is the most economically important crop that the cotton jassid damages, but it also affects other plants that are valuable to us.
For woody plants and palms, waiting is advised.
To grow them in the landscape, plant bulbs in a site with full sun to partial shade and good drainage.
Upcoming Events: 4-H Achievement Day 4-H University 4-H Summer Camp
Few questions come up as frequently as those about lichens.
Mulching is one of the best tools in the toolbox for managing weeds in landscape beds.
A Louisiana Master Gardener training course is scheduled for Wednesdays (9:00 AM until noon), from August 12 through November 19, 2026, in Tangipahoa Parish.
If you’re going to use an herbicide, it’s important to do it while weeds are small.
Averaged over two years, the top 10 producers were Tifblue, Brightwell, Ochlockonee, Premier, Austin, Alapaha, Powderblue, Legacy, Farthing, and Centurion.
Upcoming events: Virtual Mask Contest, State Livestock Show, Parish Cookery Contest, Dairy Poster Contest, Louisiana 4-H Scholarship, Senior 4-H Honor Cords.
Using organic practices offers certain benefits, including conserving or improving soil quality and reducing the use of some types of pesticides.
Crop rotation, cover cropping, and plant and animal-derived materials are used for managing soil fertility when growing organically.
This article addresses organic weed, insect, and disease management.
Each year, we face situations in which some of our plants could be injured by cold weather.
Muscadines are well-adapted to our climate.
Roughly 99% of insects are not “pests.”
This article series addresses some pesticides allowed in organic production, under certain condition.
Rabbiteye blueberries can produce for many years and with relatively little care if a good site is chosen and the soil is prepared well.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
The sweet potato production cycle begins when sweet potatoes from the previous harvest season are planted in the spring, to produce slips for transplanting.
This event is open to current watermelon growers, prospective growers, and producers of other crops.
Even with good variety selection, bunch grapes still require more effort to produce healthy fruit than muscadines do.
Fall is one of the best times to plant most types of trees and shrubs in Louisiana.
Many of our cool-season vegetables can be planted in September and October.
Giant plume ginger and pink velvet banana have a tropical appearance, are cold hardy throughout Louisiana, and provide pink color in the garden.
Birds need food, water, and shelter. Gardens can provide all of these.
Muscadines aren’t the only grapes that we see growing in the wild.
Raised beds are helpful where drainage is poor and can be useful even where it isn't, but they're not always without problems.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
This article addresses excessive drainage, low nutrients, and herbicide residues.
Join the LSU AgCenter for a series of five classes designed to help you cultivate a thriving garden and healthy lawn.
Scare tactics may deter birds for a limited amount of time, but birds get used to them.
If a person is paid a fee for doing landscape work beyond general yard work, Louisiana generally requires a license.
The LSU AgCenter will hold a meeting for commercial strawberry growers on Friday, August 8, 2025.
A relatively way to kill many types of unwanted woody vines, shrubs, and trees is to make a “cut stump” treatment with a triclopyr-containing herbicide.
There are a variety of ways that trees can be damaged during construction.
A lot of vegetables don’t produce as well when temperatures are very hot, but eggplants can handle our summers.
We can take steps in the landscape to reduce the chances of termite infestations.
Bermudagrass tolerates foot traffic and drought but does not grow well in shade.
Zoysiagrass is more drought- and wear-tolerant than centipedegrass and St. Augustinegrass and more shade-tolerant than bermudagrass.
Most vegetables that we grow are annuals in our climate, but there are some exceptions.
Tips on staking plants, removing suckers, and avoiding blossom end rot, leaf diseases, and caterpillar damage.
The snap bean is another warm-season vegetable that can be planted relatively early in the year.
April is late enough to avoid most frosts and early enough that plants are unlikely to experience excessively warm temperatures.
Late winter and early spring, as the aboveground parts of plants start growing again, are good times to fertilize perennial plants in landscape beds.
Updates for horticultural crop growers.
Late winter or early spring, around the time plants begin to put out new growth, is one of the best times of year to fertilize fruit trees.
A Louisiana Master Gardener training course is scheduled for Washington Parish on Tuesdays, from August 12 through November 18, 2025.
Good bed preparation is important, especially when planting trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials that we want to live for many years.
