Desert lawns require special care

: I have a backyard that has gotten patchy and ugly. When we moved in, the grass here was in bad shape. Then, with our golden retriever and being out of town, it got worse. We want to remove our pretty turf from the front and go to desert landscaping. Could we move that nice grass into the back and start over? Should I give up on grass in back and go to just a combination of groundcovers, sand and rock and paving? I do not want artificial turf. We moved from southeast Idaho and so we are used to a hostile environment, but we did have water up there.

A: You have a lot of questions that would take a couple of newspaper columns to answer.

You could move your existing lawn to the back and it is admirable you might attempt it. The sod would have to be cut evenly and all at the same depth. To do this you would need to rent a sod cutter, if you can find one. The soil preparation for moving a lawn would be the same as it would be for new one. Make sure the irrigation heads are 4-inch pop-ups if this is fescue.

The nice thing about a lawn is that it can take traffic like no other living groundcover. If you need that kind of surface, then you might want to consider learning how to manage a lawn in this climate.

Yes, it can be a pain trying to have a lawn and a dog at the same time without following your pet around and immediately diluting the area where your animal urinates. Lawn grasses cannot tolerate the high level of salts in urine.

I think you are right about installing artificial grass, especially if this area receives a lot of use all season long. They produce very high heat levels, 165-170 F surface temperatures anytime daytime air temperatures exceed 100 F.

Idaho might have had a hostile environment but the Las Vegas Valley is an out and out plant killer. I would highly recommend taking one of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Desert Landscape Design series of classes.

Desert landscapes can provide some beautiful shaded spots for your pet. The drawback will be that everyone going outside will track in more dirt. If not designed and managed appropriately, desert landscapes can end up using more water than just having turfgrass.

Q: I would like to plant some dwarf fruit trees, specifically a peach and apricot, in the same hole. Please provide me the names of some for the southeast Henderson area along with the nursery that provides them.

A: I am an advocate of planting multiple fruit trees in a single spot in small urban landscapes. This allows people to get smaller amounts of fruit over a longer period of time. You can see this application at our University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Master Gardener orchard.

The trees are spaced about 18 inches apart and can range from two to four plants in the same spot. If three trees are planted together they are planted in a triangular pattern, each 18 inches from the other. If four are wanted, then they are planted in a square pattern all 18 inches apart.

I have estimated that a backyard 12 feet deep and 60 feet long could have as many as 30 fruit trees planted in this area. It would provide fruit from early May until mid-December. I am working with two homeowners in Las Vegas to demonstrate this concept.

This will not work unless you are willing to manage the trees so they can occupy these spaces without crowding out the others. The general rule of thumb is to plant only stone fruits in the same space when dealing with peach, apricot, plum and the like. If your desire is pome fruits like apples and pears, then only plant pome fruits in the same spot.

Select plants that will provide a sequential harvest such as an early, mid- and late-harvest peach for the same spot. Examples would be Mid Pride, Elberta and Fairtime peach. There are others as well.

Apricots you might consider include Royal Rosa, Blenheim and an aprium. Aprium is not an apricot but a fruit similar to apricot that you definitely should have if you like apricots.

Bob Morris is an associate professor with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Direct gardening questions to the master gardener hot line at 257-5555 or contact Morris by e-mail at morrisr@unce.unr.edu.