It is finally time to plant pansies. As many of you know, they have been sold at nurseries since early September, but it is just too hot for them until we get to about the middle of October.

Just like every other flower bed, pansies can be invaded by weeds. The weeds in pansy beds are usually annuals such as chickweed and bluegrass. In small plantings, most can easily be controlled with mulches and occasional hand weeding.

In larger plantings, we often turn to herbicides to control weeds. But the number of chemicals you can use on pansies is limited. A few pre-emergent products are Dimension (dithiopyr), pendimethalin, Surflan (oryzalin), XL (oryzalin and benefin), and Snapshot (isoxaben and trifluralin).

These can provide excellent control of many weeds coming from seed. Some of them come in both granular and spray forms. Granular forms are more popular, as they don't require mixing and are more forgiving when you don't apply them just right.

After you put out the pre-emergence herbicides, they need rain or watering of about an inch within a week or they lose effectiveness.

Keep in mind that none of these products control all possible weeds. There is no magic potion when it comes to herbicides. Most of these products, though, will control 80 percent to 95 percent of the weeds from seed. You will always have some weeds, particularly perennials, that you can't control with pre-emergent herbicides. Most of these will need to be removed by hand.

Once weed grasses have emerged in pansy beds, only one product, sethoxydim (Post Emergence Grass Killer, Vantage), is labeled to control them without hurting the pansies. Sethoxydim is mixed with water in a pump sprayer and sprayed over the top of pansies to control emerged and actively growing grasses. It will not keep seeds from germinating. Don't apply sethoxydim on hot, sunny days, as you increase the risk minor damage to the pansies.

Before using any herbicide, read the label. Also, consider the health of the plant. Make sure you consider the cultural requirements, too. One of the best defenses against weeds is a quick canopy of pansy flowers and foliage to help out-compete them.

Plant pansies where they'll get at least four to six hours of direct sun. The bed should drain well, and it always helps to amend the planting bed with some organic matter. Have the soil tested. Make sure the pansies are being adequately fertilized. Fertilizers with nitrate-nitrogen are a good way to feed them during the colder months.

Most important, mulch the pansy bed after you plant. Besides adding organic matter and maintaining soil temperature, mulches help keep weeds from germinating.

A good 2- to 3-inch layer of pine bark, pine straw or shredded hardwood bark should help make for beautiful, healthy pansies.

Azalea caterpillar

I was surprised a couple of weeks ago to find several red-headed caterpillars defoliating one of my azaleas in the backyard. There are several azaleas in the bed, but they were eating only one (fortunately). In addition to the red head, these caterpillars have reddish brown legs, with the body being black with rows of white or pale yellow spots.

The caterpillars become active during late summer. The caterpillars cluster and feed together when they are young and disperse when they mature.

The damage on my azalea was minor. They had eaten several leaves on only one limb of the plant. There were two sets of them clustered together on the leaves, totalling about 15 caterpillars. I just picked them off and disposed of them.

For insecticide control, options include the organic, Bacillus thuringiensis (Dipel) if the worms are less than 3/4 inch long. For larger caterpillars you can use carbaryl (Sevin), various pyrethroids (all the insecticides that end in "thrin") or acephate.

These insects prefer azaleas but they will occasionally feed on witch hazel, sumac, apple, and red oak.

SID MULLIS IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA EXTENSION SERVICE OFFICE FOR RICHMOND COUNTY. CONTACT HIM AT (706) 821-2349 OR SMULLIS@UGA.EDU.