(Distributed 04/26/13) HAMMOND, La. – One of the nicest small, flowering trees for Louisiana landscapes is the chaste tree or vitex (Vitex agnus-castus). Midspring through early summer is the main time for flowering on this increasingly popular plant.

(Audio 04/29/13) It is not too late to add roses to your landscape. Plant roses into well-prepared beds enriched with organic matter. Remember, roses enjoy full sun. (Runtime: 60 seconds)

(Audio 04/29/13) Caladiums allow gardeners to work in the shade during summer. These plants grow from tubers and can be planted in May and June. (Runtime: 60 seconds)

(Audio 04/29/13) Gardeners can begin planting more heat-tolerant vegetables in May. The temperatures will be hot as the vegetables develop. Listen to learn what vegetables can be planted this month. (Runtime: 60 seconds)

(Audio 04/29/13) Bell peppers are popular in home gardens. You may see bell peppers in red, yellow and orange. These are simply green bell peppers that have stayed on the plant long enough to fully ripen. (Runtime: 60 seconds)

(Audio 04/29/13) Louisiana gardeners use a wide variety of evergreen shrubs and trees in their landscapes. Even though evergreen plants never drop all their leaves at once, it is important to know that leaves do get old, will turn yellow and drop off the plant. Generally this is nothing to worry about. (Runtime: 60 seconds)

(Distributed 04/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Matt Fannin, an associate professor in the LSU AgCenter Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, has been appointed as associate director for analytic and academic programs in the Rural Policy Research Institute.

(Distributed 04/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The day after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig – April 21, 2010 – Linda Hooper-Bui, an LSU AgCenter entomologist, had a graduate student sampling insect populations in the marshes of southeast Louisiana.

(Distributed 04/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana cotton producers have the opportunity to provide direction for prioritizing cotton research in Louisiana by participating in a survey being conducted by the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 04/23/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Many area students who know little about where their food comes from received a lesson complete with live farm animals when they attended Farm Day at the LSU AgCenter dairy on April 18-19.