Southern blueberry varieties withstand desert climate better

: I was wondering if you could tell me if there is a blueberry that will grow well here?

A: As you know, this is not blueberry climate nor is it the right kind of soil for them. However, if you want to have some fun with blueberries, there are a few that will work for you.

In the past, most blueberries have been from Northern highbush blueberry varieties that required not only acidic soils but also long cold winters with adequate chilling temperatures. They did not work well in our climate. The newer Southern highbush blueberries have solved the low winter chilling requirement that was needed but not the soil and high temperature problems. Avoid planting them in the hottest parts of the yard. They will need lots of morning and early afternoon sunlight.

Make sure you plant two varieties together for better yields. Depending on the variety, they will mature for harvesting from about May to about August. Early bearing varieties include the first Southern blueberry introduced, called O’Neal, as well as Misty and Southmoon.

Midseason blueberries include Cape Fear and Georgia Gem. Other varieties to consider include Sunshine Blue for its better tolerance to our soils and Sharpblue. I am not sure if these varieties are available locally but they are available over the Internet.

These plants need lots of acidic soil amendments, compost and organic mulch that will decompose throughout the growing season. Soils growing these blueberries must be heavily amended.

To be on the safe side, avoid all commercial fertilizers high in nitrogen and use organic fertilizers such as fish emulsions, manures and the like. There are some reports that nitrate-type nitrogen fertilizers can be damaging to blueberries.

You may have trouble with these plants using traditional drip irrigation so you might want to consider flooding the areas around the plants with flooding bubblers on drip or bubblers when you irrigate. The soil should not be allowed to become overly dry between irrigations. The organic mulch will help even out the soil moisture between irrigations.

You might want to try growing them in containers. They make great container plants. If you put them in containers, make sure they drain easily after an irrigation and irrigate them until you see water leaving the bottom of the containers.

Q: I have some pindo palms that have either died or that have fronds that have turned yellow and become covered with brown splotches. They have been in the ground for more than five years. I feed them regularly with palm fertilizer and occasionally supplement with Miracle-Gro when I fertilize other plants. I believe that they are sufficiently watered.

They were planted in a sandy soil and surrounded with 1- to 3-inch red rocks as a ground cover. I have noted the same problem around the valley and specifically in my neighborhood. Is there any hope or should I just pull these out and start over with something else?

A: It is probably a micronutrient-based problem. I am taking a wild stab at it but I think it is most likely iron. There are other nutrients that can cause similar problems but iron is the most likely culprit. Apply some iron chelate now, just below the soil surface next to drip emitters or bubblers.

You can use KeRex iron chelate, which you can find in nurseries in small quantities, or Sequestar, which can be purchased in a larger bag if you have to make lots of applications. Apply this along with your normal fertilizer in the spring before you see new growth.

I also would apply a liquid fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro or Peters to the foliage and use a wetting agent (also called a spreader or sticker) to help it penetrate into the leaves. You should apply this liquid spray multiple times this spring before it gets hot. The liquid spray must be applied several times about one week apart for results — if the problem is in fact iron.

You should see a response from the soil-applied iron in the new growth but perhaps not the older growth. The foliar sprays may help you clear up the yellowing on older foliage if it is not heavily damaged. If they are heavily damaged, remove the fronds.

Q: I have a small backyard with a few fruit trees. I am new to the desert climate and do not know how to care for these trees. They are planted in a flower bed area that has rocks around them and a drip system.

Last year I did not do anything for the trees, which are about 4 years old now. The apple, apricot and fig did all right but the pear did not. At first, the leaves were OK; then they died and the small fruit died, too. Could you please tell me what to get and do for them?

A: It is very difficult to give you all the information you need in a short answer. But, in a nutshell, you need to get fruit trees surrounded by organic or wood mulch, not rock mulch.

Secondly, fertilize them with an all-purpose fruit tree fertilizer that is high in phosphorus. This should be combined with an iron fertilizer and applied a couple of weeks before new spring growth.

Irrigation timing and amounts are critical or you may see a lot of fruit drop. The amount of water you need to apply varies with the size of the tree. Trees that are approximately 7 to 8 feet tall and about 8 feet wide will need somewhere between 15 and 20 gallons applied each time you water. I cannot tell you how many minutes that is since every irrigation system is different.

Basically, you want water to penetrate into the soil where the roots are located to a depth of about 18 to 24 inches each time you water. On a drip system, two emitters per tree is adequate for the first couple of years but you need to get the trees on at least four emitters as they get older. The four emitters are placed in a square pattern under the canopy of the tree about 18 inches from the trunk.

Newly planted trees need emitters closer than this until they get larger.

How often to apply water varies with the type of soil. We have a sandy loam soil at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Orchard in North Las Vegas and we are irrigating now once a week as we are seeing new growth. The frequency will be increased to twice a week around May 1. It reaches three times a week when temperatures are consistently above 100 degrees F.

I hope this is enough information to at least get you started.

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 extremehort@aol.com.