Local Host Stephen Brueggerhoff • Thursdays, noon – 1 p.m.
Read About Host Stephen Brueggerhoff
Garden Success with Stephen Brueggerhoff is a call-in gardening show airing each Thursday from noon to 1:00pm on KAMU-FM. Stephen, an extension specialist in horticulture at Texas A&M Agrilife, serves as your garden consultant, answering questions to help you grow a bountiful garden and beautiful landscape in the Brazos Valley. Stephen will give you time-saving tips, guide you to the best plants selections and provide proven pest management strategies including both conventional and organic techniques.
Call in your lawn and garden questions at 979-845-5689, or e-mail them during the show to: gardensuccess@tamu.edu. Listen to past episodes below.
Episodes
Garden Success – 11/6/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff November 6, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses the fall pecan season, the state pecan show, Emerald Ash Borer, planting Burr Oak acorns, spots on Texas A&M's campus to gather oak acorns, Texas Arbor Day, ideal diversity of tree species in a landscape, Fig Rust, Leaf-Footed Bugs, and managing an evergreen in Brazos Valley winters. Garden Success – 10/30/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff & Dr. Stephanie Adams October 30, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff & guest Dr. Stephanie Adams, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist discuss her professional background, Texas Arbor Day, Post Oak research, Junipers, types of tree roots, Oak Wilt research, Emerald Ash Borer, root collection, urban tree planting, a caller's question about ants in a tree, another question about viability of a Water Oak, and pecans. Garden Success – 10/16/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff October 16, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses supplemental landscape irrigation and water conservation, a Burr Oak with white spots on leaves, mushrooms and other fungus on trees, Cleveland Pear, upcoming local events, and Mesquite tree removal techniques. Garden Success – 10/9/2025: All About Trees October 9, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses cultivating trees, benefits of having trees in a landscape, the best time to plant a tree, soil testing, and identifying planting locations. Garden Success – 9/11/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff September 11, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses sweet potatoes, turk's cap, a volunteer mulberry tree, butterflies, upcoming local events, Go-N-Grow gardens & College Station water rebates, mealy bugs, washing black mold off of plants, winterizing lawns and container plants, and sourcing valencia peanuts. Garden Success – 9/4/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff September 4, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses a listener's email about a tree having leaves with necrosis & a possible pathogen, transplanting container trees, Moringa tree suggested planting method & leaf harvest time, Indian Hawthorn, upcoming local events, pollinator-friendly plants, and native plants for landscaping. Garden Success – 8/21/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff August 21, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses Asiatic Jasmine, mushrooms growing alongside a tree, identifying a listener's variety of Southern Magnolia, an upcoming honeybee webinar, pruning roses, horticultural oils, an oak tree with decay, and an update on the harvest from his home garden including bell peppers and sweet potatoes. Garden Success – 8/14/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff August 14, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses jujube trees, asian jasmine, a post oak tree shedding bark, lightning damage to trees, cinch bugs, bee hotels, chinese pistache, water conservation, upcoming local events, changes to local farmers' markets. Garden Success – 8/7/2025: A Conversation with Dr. Juliana Rangel, Associate Professor of Apiculture in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M August 7, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff and Dr. Juliana Rangel, Associate Professor of Apiculture in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University discuss Dr. Rangel's history and duties with Texas A&M Entomology, education and research projects including how bees select between pollens, regulations regarding bees, foraging behavior, use of pollen by other pollinators, tips for making home landscapes attractive and beneficial for pollinators, concerns of commercial beekeepers, honeybee nutrition, beekeeping schools and clubs, and the new Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Apiculture Specialist. Garden Success – 7/31/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff July 31, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses salvia plants, canna lilies, bougainvillea, soil testing for PH, killing grass under trees without harming the trees, asparagus, pruning roses, cedar elms, and upcoming local events. Garden Success – 7/24/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff July 24, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses salvia plants, bell peppers grown in containers, citrus, a lawn with both St. Augustine and Bermuda grasses competing, upcoming local events, a tree in decline, mulberry trees, live oaks, and propagating plant cuttings. Garden Success – 7/3/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff July 3, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses the morning rains, a vinca plant with fungal pathogens, cultivating cantaloupes and musk melons, tomatoes, sago palms, barrier plants, okra plants getting chewed on by animals, and upcoming local events. Garden Success – 6/26/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff June 26, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses recent rains in the Brazos Valley, splitting fruit as a result of the rains, Green Zebra tomatoes, Blue Belles, Caladiums, Zinnia flowers, upcoming local events, and tips to prepare for fall tomatoes. Garden Success – 6/19/2025: Q&A With Skip Richter June 19, 2025 Guest host Skip Richter discusses reasons to leave grass clippings on the lawn after mowing, turf pests and diseases, filling in bare spots in turf, upcoming local events, fertilizing shrubs, sooty mold on crape myrtle, cycle & soak watering method, hypoxylon canker in white oak trees, southern peas, and warm season greens and okra. Garden Success – 5/15/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff & Hannah Ayala May 15, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff & Hannah Ayala, Head Diagnostician at the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab discuss plant samples accepted by the lab, common diseases the lab sees on a regular basis, how to submit samples, a fungal infection on a caller's grapevine, upcoming local events, and why to not move citrus, but rather buy locally. Garden Success – 5/1/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff May 1, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses blackberries, peaches, oak trees, how often to replace soil in container plants, magnolia, fungicides, curly dock, upcoming local events, crape myrtle bark scale, and roses. Garden Success – 4/24/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff April 24, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses water needs for home fruit trees, honeysuckle vine, oak tree flowering, upcoming local events, container bougainvillea plants, how often to replace potting soil, and edible flowers. Garden Success – 4/10/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff April 10, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses bluebonnets, other contenders for the Texas state flower, fruit tree pests including plum curculio, effectiveness of organza bags on growing fruit, tomato fertilization, spring lawn fertilization schedule, upcoming local events, and texas sage. Garden Success – 3/13/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff March 13, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses transplanting trees and other plants, re-potting plants, fruit tree planting and fertilization, upcoming local events, identifying a wax myrtle, fast growing trees, next week's special guest, and fall aster. Garden Success – 2/27/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff February 27, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses Texas A&M campus landscaping, native grasses, pre-emergent treatments for the lawn, transplanting vegetables into a bed that had been treated with a pre-emergent herbicide, upcoming local events, raised beds, soil testing, and organic herbicide. Garden Success – 2/20/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff February 20, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses palm tree biology and pruning advice, a follow-up on insect identification, upcoming local events, weed control in St. Augustine and Bermudagrass lawns, and reasons to go outside and enjoy nature. Garden Success – 2/13/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff February 13, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses the return of winter temperatures to the Brazos Valley, identifying pests on a listener's indoor pepper plants as well as providing treatment solutions, info on a presentation on heirloom bulbs, pruning climbing roses and crape myrtles, types of garden mulch materials and colorants, upcoming local events, and plum trees. Garden Success – 2/6/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff February 6, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses home canning of citrus, upcoming local events, identifying a plant with heart-shaped leaves, where to have mulch material tested, care & watering of potted bougainvillea, and more. Garden Success – 1/30/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff January 30, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses how he protected his plants from the recent freeze, anna apples, success in keeping a meyer lemon alive through the freeze, upcoming local events, cosmos, cauliflower, when to plant potatoes, and more. Garden Success – 1/23/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff January 23, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses identifying causes of plant tissue damage, when to start transplanting greenhouse plants, upcoming local events, trapping armadillos and other control methods, dwarf yaupon, and more. Garden Success – 1/9/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff January 9, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses freeze preparation for plants, turk's cap, winter pruning advice, landscape edging, helping a banana survive a freeze, canna lilies, upcoming local events, when to prune oak trees, thornless blackberries, and planting bulb onions. Garden Success – 1/2/2025: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff January 2, 2025 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses freeze preparation for plants, what to do with a poinsettia after the holiday season, preparing for a spring garden, upcoming local events, how to prepare a sample for the Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab, where to drop that sample off, when to plant a mix of wildflower seeds, and more. Garden Success – 12/5/2024: A Conversation with Dr. Kevin Ong December 5, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff is joined by Dr. Kevin Ong, Director of The Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory & Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology & Microbiology about his background, The Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, plant breeding programs at Texas A&M with a spotlight on potatoes, how to grow disease-free plants, turf fungus & other pathogens & tips to prevent them, emerald ash borer, fungal disease in corn, citrus quarantine zones, and more. Garden Success – 11/28/2024: A Conversation with Nick McKenna November 28, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff is joined by Nick McKenna, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Field at Texas A&M Athletics, and they discuss Nick's background, his time working at Virginia Tech, the scope of his responsibilities at Texas A&M, differences between a residential lawn and his sport fields, involvement with state and national organizations, standards and specifications of sports fields, maintenance throughout seasons, challenges with local water quality, experiments with automation, the types of grass used by A&M Athletics, and more. Garden Success – 11/21/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff November 21, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses night blooming cactus care tips, mulberry tree varieties for Brazos county, propagating peggy martin roses, nut sedge removal, covering materials for garden pathways, a listener's pictures of their successful datil pepper plants, and more. Garden Success – 11/14/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff November 14, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses today's amazing weather, how to prune Aprium & Nectaplum, Crimson Bonfire, Fish Fertilizer, growing Broccoli & Cauliflower from seed, succulent plant suggestions, Asparagus, Crape Myrtles, transplanting a Live Oak tree, and more. Garden Success – 10/24/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff October 24, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses a gardenia with yellowing leaves, when to establish pampas grass, banana tree fruiting & other care tips, upcoming local events, meyer lemon and orange frost satsuma with insect leaf damage and yellowing leaves, recommended vining plants for a shaded arbor, and more. Garden Success – 10/17/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff October 17, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses regulations surrounding importing seeds from overseas, broccoli plants, citrus quarantine restrictions, treating pests on iris, upcoming local events, weed control and removing unwanted trees in lawns, and more. Garden Success – 10/10/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff October 10, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses gardenia leaves looking unwell, citrus leaf miners, spotting on peach leaves, figs, upcoming local events, cucumbers, spider mites, nut sedge, pruning vincas, when to prune roses, and more. Garden Success – 9/19/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff September 19, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses Roundup-resistant weeds, establishing a fall garden, butterflies, deer repellant, crabgrass, turfgrass, upcoming local events, redbud trees, roses with fungal pathogens, and more. Garden Success – 9/12/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff September 12, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses the Waller salt mine, shrub identification, earth kind landscaping, a call about tomatoes with fungal pathogens, scarlet pea, a call about when to trim a live oak tree, broadleaf weed control, a rose with browning leaves, upcoming local events, a pest insect on a pumpkin plant, and more. Garden Success – 9/5/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff September 5, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses Frogfruit, a call about stopping a tallow stump from resprouting, crape myrtle bark scale, identifying an oak tree with pictures of leaves and acorns, info on the Brazos Valley Bee School, upcoming local events, rain & fungal pathogens, pruning roses, and more. Garden Success – 8/22/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff August 22, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses listener questions about Miracle Gro application amounts, where to locate seed-free compost for their lawn, Cobalt St. Augustine turf, chinch bugs, gray leaf spot, the best times to water turf, upcoming local events, lichen, squash bugs, and more. Garden Success – 8/15/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff August 15, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses galls on trees, oak wilt, pruning oak trees, cultivating palm trees, pruning roses, shasta daisies, upcoming local events, identifying an oak tree, crape myrtle bark scale, and more. Garden Success – 8/1/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff August 1, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses the recent Agrilife Extension conference, Jujube trees, fall garden plants, upcoming local events & programs, local parks, diagnosing a sample of yellowing turf, planting Cobalt St. Augustine plugs in an existing lawn, Yaupon trees possibly putting oak and other trees at risk in a yard, treating winter squash & pumpkins with powdery mildew on leaves, environmental stressors on trees, and more. Garden Success – 7/18/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff July 18, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses different types of grasses, the Texas state grass, Texas Superstar plants, upcoming local events, listener questions about removing grass around an oak tree without harming the tree, when to pick a ripe watermelon, and more. Garden Success – 7/11/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff July 11, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses Yaupon and Nellie R Stevens hollies, heat mats for starting plants, grass identification, starting tomatoes, smaller okra varieties for a raised bed, controlling nematodes, lawn mowing tips, upcoming local events, and more. Garden Success – 7/4/2024: Q&A With Stephen Brueggerhoff July 4, 2024 Stephen Brueggerhoff discusses suggested plants around a shaded fountain, tips for gardening in summer heat & efficient watering, upcoming local events, red white & blue plants for July 4th, struggling bell pepper, cucumbers, fall tomatoes, online resources, basil, eggplant, seed saving, and more. Garden Success – 6/27/2024: Q&A With Skip Richter & Stephen Brueggerhoff June 27, 2024 Skip Richter and co-host Stephen Brueggerhoff discuss holes in canna leaves, gardening in galvanized stock tank, eggplant pest problems, Skip's new bird bath, bees & wasps, upcoming local events, grape identification, lawn weed strategies, BV Water Smart, and Skip's departure from Garden Success. Garden Success – 5/30/2024: Q&A With Skip Richter May 30, 2024 Skip Richter discusses recent rains and the mosquitos they brought, benefits of mulching for the summer, webworms, listener questions about plant propagation, plant identification, why a fig is not producing fruit, and more. Garden Success – 5/16/2024: Q&A With Skip Richter May 16, 2024 Skip Richter discusses summer squash planting, crape myrtle varieties, powdery mildew protection, mulching for weed control, shade tolerant grasses, trees leaking sap attracting butterflies and wasps, protecting peach fruit from squirrels, a meyer lemon with iron deficiency, and more. Garden Success – 5/9/2024: Q&A With Skip Richter May 9, 2024 Skip Richter discusses listener questions about how to find and plant palmetto grass, a beekeeper asking about the timing of our nectar flow, how to landscape for bees, how to plant vitex, redbud drought damage, and more.
Garden Success – 4/18/2024: Q&A With Skip Richter April 18, 2024 Skip Richter discusses How to select the right fertilizer for your lawn or trees, soil testing information, listener questions about dwarf yaupon & fuzzy black caterpillars, and more.
Garden Success – 4/11/2024: Q&A With Skip Richter April 11, 2024 Skip Richter discusses listener questions on an oak tree with separating bark, what's happening with juniper trees around town, lawn weed identification & treatment plans, and other information including how to evaluate your lawn's irrigation system to ensure adequate watering with minimal wasted water.