Listen to Walter Reeves from 6 to 10 Saturday mornings on AM 750 and NOW 95.5FM News/Talk WSB. Go to http://www.yoursoutherngarden.com/ for details on his TV show or visit his website, http://www.walterreeves.com/.

Q: We want to do away with old shrubs in front of our house and replace them with several loropetalum shrubs. When should we plant them? -- David Decker, Fayetteville A: Now is a fine time to plant, but your first step is to choose the right loropetalum variety.

Q: I heard you talking about coffee beans on the radio, but I didn't hear whether we can grow them in Georgia. -- Thom Lucas, Atlanta A: There are dozens of species of coffee plants, several of which yield beans from which coffee can be brewed. The plant I saw on my recent garden trip to Costa Rica was Coffea arabica.

Q: Recently I had many very tall pines removed from behind my house. I want to plant trees or large bushes back there so that the birds and squirrels will have a good habitat. -- Amy Koon, Snellville A: Whether you are a squirrel, bird or human, three things determine your survival: food, water and shelter.

Q: My granddaughter found a persimmon while walking the dogs. Can I plant it and have a tree in my yard? -- Gene Brannon, e-mail A: You can certainly plant it and eventually get a tree but there is a caveat. The seed might produce either a male or female persimmon tree.

Q: Yesterday I saw a fat little squirrel licking the brick and mortar on my front steps over a 2-square-foot area. It was quite moist with saliva. If he had kept going, I wouldn’t have to pressure-wash for a while! -- Betty Roper, Roswell A: Squirrels have a reasonably diverse diet during summer, but fall ushers in a period of scarce food.

Q: I’m a first-time beekeeper and at a Georgia Beekeeping Association event, one of the speakers said that jasmine was toxic to bees. This is disappointing because I want to grow Tangerine Dream jasmine vine. What do you think? -- Robert Leonard, Decatur A: I believe you’re thinking of ‘Tangerine Beauty' crossvine, Bignonia capreolata ‘Tangerine Beauty.

Q: My pomegranate bushes are bending over with fruit this year and my friend is wondering if he can grow any from seed. -- Ann Blissit, Stockbridge A: It’s relatively easy to grow pomegranate from seed. Harvest the juice-filled seed sacs from a fully ripe fruit and mash them through screen wire to separate the seed from the juice.

Q: Have you ever heard of a plant called a "dinner plate hibiscus"? -- Suzette Bergbower, e-mail A: Dinner plate hibiscus refers to swamp hibiscus, Hibiscus moscheutos. Some gardeners call it swamp mallow or rose mallow. It gets its name from the flower size: 6 to 8 inches across.

Q: I have planted wildlife food plots and dove fields for many years, and there is one weed we can't seem to get rid of. Coffeeweed sprouts after virgin ground has been broken for the first time in decades. Where does it come from? Daniel Vining, email A: When you plow you are opening the door to a "seed bank" full of noxious plants.

Q: I found a bee-looking creature in my garden. It has a fuzzy black body with yellow at the top, all indications of a bee, but with strange wings and a long snout! -- Brooke Clem, email A: My bet is that it’s one of the bee flies. There are several species of this important pollinator, most of which have fuzzy bodies and fly-type wings.

Q: I found an odd vine growing in the neglected landscape of a small office building in Buckhead. Is this Japanese climbing fern? -- Katie Price, e-mail A: You’re exactly right! This invasive vine can smother nearby perennials. I suspect it is brought into our area in baled pine straw.

Q: My hydrangea tree is 15 feet tall and beautiful. I wonder if I should trim the lower branches and give the tree a trunk and a "head." -- Nancy Prochaska, Kennesaw A: I'm guessing you have one of the panicle hydrangeas: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva', ‘PeeGee', ‘Grandiflora', etc.

Q: My neighbor has hundreds of small spider webs all over his lawn after a rain. Any idea what those webs are? -- Gene Brannon, email A: They are probably the webs of funnel weaver spiders. They are completely harmless and indeed eat aphids, moths, chinchbugs and other lawn pests.

Q: This year and last on our Rose of Sharon bush there have been a considerable amount of blooms that never fully open. They turn yellow and drop. — Harry DeNegre, email A: In my experience, two things cause Rose of Sharon bud fall: The soil is too dry or too wet.

Q: We just had some new zoysia sod put in, and crows are out there every evening plucking it out of the ground. Any suggestions? — Paul Long, Cobb County A: I consulted my University of Georgia Cooperative Extension friends, and they say the crows are likely looking for grubs or earthworms.

Q: I planted two Limelight hydrangeas last year. They look very healthy but will they bloom if I didn’t prune them this spring? Suzanne Boesl, Kennesaw, A: They will be fine and will bloom in late summer. ‘Limelight’ is a panicle hydrangea. It can tolerate full sun and produces large, light green blooms which turn pink as summer ends.

Q: My peonies have outgrown the place where I planted them. I would love to transplant them now, but everything I have read says to wait until October. — Chrystal Griner, Covington A: If the clump is so big that it needs dividing, I’d wait until October to do it.

Q: My peonies have outgrown the place where I planted them. I would love to transplant them now but everything I have read says to wait until October Chrystal Griner, Covington A: If the clump is so big that it needs dividing, I’d wait until October to do it.

Q: What is your opinion about using branch spreaders to increase the crotch angle between the trunk and branches that are growing more upright than horizontal on a mountain ash tree? Is it a good idea or just a waste of time? -- Kurt Diegel, Cleveland A: Apple growers use branch spreaders all the time to make their trees have better spaced and angled limbs.

Q: Are there any fragrant varieties of crapemyrtles? -- Mark Martin, Hart County A: Some gardeners claim to detect a faint scent but I don’t believe any crapemyrtle could be called “fragrant." In my view, this is a good thing because folks would plant even more of these beautiful, ubiquitous, indestructible plants than they do now.

Q: I have put a lot of composted horse manure and chicken manure in my garden and everything seems to be growing very well. The broccoli I planted last year is growing very lush and thick, with huge, healthy green leaves, but the broccoli heads that formed were narrow and spindly.

Q. I got some lily-of-the-valley plants from a co-worker to fill in around my hosta. I'm reading online that they can be invasive. Any advice? -- Kelly Turner Davis, Paulding County A. Growing in perfect conditions lily-of-the-valley could be "pushy," but I don't think you'll have a problem.

Q. My mother has two lilacs. They are growing and doing well but only one of them flowers every year. Why is that? -- Devra Mallner, Marietta A. In order to bloom, some lilacs need more winter chill hours than others. This is why transplanted lilacs that bloomed wonderfully in Chicago or Boston sometimes refuse to flower in Georgia.

Q: On a recent radio show, you mentioned using polyester row cover to overcome squash vine borer. I purchased some, but when do I cover the plants? — Marion Nelson, Baldwin County A: The lightweight cover prevents squash vine borer moths from laying eggs on the stem of a squash plant.

Q: I want to grow the green beans they call "haricot vert" at the grocery store. Any varieties you suggest? Connie Hyder, Fayette County A: Haricots verts (French for green beans) are just a skinny version of our typical green snap bean. Varieties like Rolande, Maxibel and Emerite are readily available online.

Q: Would it be OK to plant apple and peach trees near each other? I worry the cross pollination would produce a weird fruit. Lori De Pucci, Alpharetta A: You won’t get an appeach! An apple is in the genus Malus, while a peach belongs to genus Prunus.

Q: Is it too late to prune my peach tree? It has started to bud. — Glenn Hope, Fulton County A: Early to mid-March is a fine time to prune peach trees. Your goal should be to have a 3- to 4-foot tall central trunk with limbs that flare out to form an open center for the tree.

Q. Is it too late to prune my peach tree? It has started to bud. -- Glenn Hope, Fulton County A. Early to mid-March is a fine time to prune peach trees. Your goal should be to have a three- to four-foot tall central trunk with limbs that flare out to form an open center for the tree.

Q. My parents planted a store-bought magnolia tree 10 years ago. It has never bloomed or even shown buds. My mom is still around and would love to have blooms. -- Neel McMaster, Avondale Estates A. Magnolias are famously recalcitrant in blooming. They might do so a few years after planting or might wait much longer.

Q: I have been trying to reproduce a goldenrain tree for 12 years. How do you get the seeds to germinate? -- Jack Williamson, e-mail A: The key is harvesting and planting the seed when fresh. Sow them shallowly, an inch apart, in a protected location immediately after the pods drop in fall.

Q: I'm creating a landscape/flower bed that will be under two water oak trees with little sun. What is a shade-tolerant plant I can put in this shady bed? The more colorful, hardy and perennial the better. Eric Bruce, Covington A: For shade tolerance you can't beat aspidistra, plum yew or autumn fern; however, they don't sport much color other than green.

Q: My ‘Burgundy’ loropetalum plants are six feet tall and doing well. Last year, I cut them down to three feet in early spring. They quickly rebounded and ended the season bigger than they need to be. -- David Allen, Acworth A: It’s hard to believe that pink-flowered loropetalum was first introduced to the U.

Q: Can you tell me how to propagate mangoes from seeds? -- Molly Darden, DeKalb County A: Pick a very ripe fruit, peel it, then remove and eat the pulp. Let the flattened seed inside dry for a few days to make it easier to handle. When you can hold it without it squirting out of your hands, use heavy kitchen shears to gently remove the thick skin of the seed.

Q. I think my Meyer lemon tree is confused! It is flowering and has baby lemons started in winter. I pruned it last January, hoping the new growth would stimulate flowers in April, but just got more green foliage. What do I do? -- Kristen Herndon, Buford A.

Q. I brought back a few dried olives from Israel. I would like to plant them in our back yard. What is the best way to ensure they will grow and how do I care for them? -- Joseph Wallenstein. e-mail A. Georgia once had an olive growing industry along our coast but a hurricane in 1898 wrecked the olive groves.

Q: I have a friend who wants me to build containers for her blueberry bushes to plant by a creek. That area sometimes floods and the ground is very moist but it gets full sun. What size container should she have? — Robert Leonard, e-mail A: To minimize how often you have to water them, I’d go for a 2-by-2-by-2-foot container.

Q. I have a friend who wants me to build containers for her blueberry bushes to plant by a creek. That area sometimes floods and the ground is very moist but it gets full sun. What size container should she have? -- Robert Leonard, e-mail A. To minimize how often you have to water them, I'd go for a container that’s 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet.

Q: Next to the parking lot of my office, a wisteria vine covers some tall pine trees. When I leave in late afternoon, I can hear irregular "pops" coming from up in the tree and then the sound of seeds falling through dry leaves. Is this seed dispersal or could it be squirrels eating them? Gus Callaway, personal communication A: Your initial guess is correct.

Q: My deceased mother lived in Brunswick. She had a plant in a nursery pot called a tulip tree. This past spring, it had pinkish/purple tuliplike flowers. Could I move that plant up here? -- Monte Freeman, Tucker A: Your flower description tells me that you have a saucer magnolia, Magnolia x soulangiana, otherwise known as tulip tree.

Q: Several years ago my uncle gave me a snowball bush. It has bloomed several times and is beautiful in the spring. It needs pruning, but I don't know when to do it. Brenda Deese, e-mail A: I think you are referring to Chinese snowball viburnum, Viburnum macrocephalum.

Q: I’m the community moon vine grower. What’s the process for harvesting and storing the seed until next year? -- Jimmy Terrell, Winder A: Moon vine, Ipomoea alba, is a great annual vine. I love how the big white flower opens late on summer afternoons, spends the night attracting pollinating moths and then wilts by mid-morning the next day.

Q: We saw a television program that mentioned the first pecan tree planted in Georgia. Being from South Georgia, I thought pecans were native to this area. -- Elizabeth Neace, Dacula A: The pecan, Carya illinoinensis, is native to North America, specifically the Midwest.

Q: When is a good time to cut back azaleas? When is a good time to transplant them? -- Debbie Walker, e-mail A: The very best time to trim azaleas is after flowering in spring. However, the best time to transplant is in fall, after the next year’s bloom buds have formed.

Q: I was glad to see the identification of dogfennel in your e-mail newsletter. The foliage smells like the herb fennel. Is dogfennel edible? -- Diana Tope, LaFayette A: My general rule is that if cows won’t eat a plant, I won’t eat that plant. As I wrote, cows avoid dogfennel, Eupatorium capillifolium; it makes their milk taste bad if they accidentally munch on it.

Q: When is the best time to plant a pomegranate bush? Cheryl Williams, email A: The best time for planting all fruit plants is fall. These shrubs, vines and trees are able to begin developing a good root system long before summer heat appears. Pomegranates need a spot in full sunshine plus regular feeding in spring and summer.

Q:  Would Lenten rose thrive through winter in pots outside on a covered porch? -- Linda Jarrell, Haralson County A: Lenten rose should be fine in a 12-inch or larger pot. Be sure the pot is supported off the porch floor so it drains after watering. Fertilize lightly in spring.

Q: I’ve heard that sassafras can cause cancer. Should I pull up all that's growing in my yard? Mike Christie, email A: I wouldn't pull the plants up unless you have an uncontrolled urge to chew the roots. The harmful component in sassafras is safrole, which has been shown to cause liver cancer in mice.

Q: I have Miss Huff lantanas that seem to have gone into a decline. They’re half the height of last year. I pruned in spring but did not fertilize. Von Woods, Peachtree City A: I’ve noticed the same thing with my mother's plant near her front door. Although lantana isn’t noted as a heavy feeder, it does need fertilizer each year.

Q: I have a weed with flowers along the stem which grows in my flower bed in late summer. How do I get rid of it? -- Gail Harden, Fulton County A: The most common fall weed I see is mulberry weed, so named due to a slight resemblance of its leaves to those of a mulberry tree.

Q: I planted some naked lady lily bulbs two years ago. Every spring they put up beautiful foliage, but no blooms appear in late summer. Should I give up on them? Betty Roper, e-mail A: Don’t give up, the unclothed beauties will eventually appear! Naked lady, Lycoris squamigera, (also known as surprise lily) grows foliage in spring.