(Video 07/12/10) No trees show off more bright, flowery colors during the summer than crape myrtles. On this edition of Get It Growing, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill offers some advice for selecting and growing these beautiful and popular landscape trees. (Runtime: 1:36)

(Video 07/26/10) Blue flowers can add a cool touch to hot summer gardens, but are all flowers that may be called blue truly blue? In reality, relatively few flowers in nature actually are blue. In this edition of Get It Growing, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill is in search of some of those true-blue flowers. (Runtime: 1:45)

(Video 07/05/10) During the heat of summer, flowers obviously need to be well-watered to keep them alive and attractive. On this edition of Get It Growing, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill describes a hardy plant that is drought tolerant, while also maintaining its color throughout the entire summer. (Runtime: 1:37)

(Distributed 07/30/10) INTRACOASTAL CITY, La. – Students attending this year’s LSU AgCenter Marsh Maneuvers received a rare, behind-the-scenes view of what is involved in the fight against the BP oil spill at the Vermilion Parish Command Center.

(Distributed 07/30/10) Kody Beavers knows his way around a cotton farm. The high school student from Franklin Parish helps out with his family’s farm. But Beavers wants to learn more about the cotton industry, so he is participating in the LSU AgCenter’s Louisiana Young Ag Producer Program.

(Distributed 07/30/10) JEANERETTE, La. – Farmers who assume the soil in their fields is uniform could be shortchanging their crop with too much or not enough nitrogen. “It’s not as uniform as you think,” advised LSU AgCenter agronomist Sonny Viator at the Sugarcane Field Day held here July 28 for farmers in Iberia, St. Mary and Vermilion parishes.

(Distributed 07/30/10) We often associate many of our warm-season bedding plants with the spring and summer growing seasons. Often overlooked is the fact that many of these plants may actually do better in our Louisiana landscapes during mid- and late summer through fall. Zinnias and marigolds are two excellent examples of warm-season bedding plants to try from August through the first killing frost.

(Distributed 07/30/10) Hot summer weather can pose special health risks to older adults, according to LSU AgCenter nutritionist Beth Reames.

(Distributed 07/29/10) A recent study funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service suggests that a woman’s weight during pregnancy may influence the likelihood of her child becoming an overweight or obese adult.

(Distributed 07/29/10) David J. Boethel, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor for research and director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, has been elected as one of 10 Fellows of the Entomological Society of America for 2010. The election acknowledges outstanding contributions in research, teaching and administration.