Plant landscape trees in wet soil and keep plant roots wet during planting. The soil should stay wet for the first couple of days while these plants are getting established.
Bob Morris
Bob Morris is a horticulture expert living in Las Vegas and professor emeritus for the University of Nevada. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com. Send questions to Extremehort@aol.com.
This is the time of year that leaf-footed plant bugs increase in numbers and infest your fruit trees and your vegetable garden. Cordless hand vacuum cleaners work great for sucking them up.
Adding woodchips to the soil as an amendment has gained popularity largely because of social media. Woodchips applied to the soil surface as a mulch is OK, but mixing these into the soil can lead to problems if you aren’t careful.
Crop rotation has been around for more than 150 years as a good management technique for reducing disease and fertilizer problems, whether you grow a small number of plants or large numbers.
Asparagus usually grows well here, but there are some differences among the varieties. Stay away from heirloom varieties such as Mary Washington because they don’t produce enough spears in any climate.
Although large pine trees provide shade, they require excessive watering to remain healthy.
Grapeleaf skeletonizer and grape flea beetle were found in the orchard during the last couple of days. These two pests damage grape leaves but few other plants.
Q: The top ring of sago palmfronds died after I transplanted it but remain on the plant. I left this brown ring of fronds around the crown of the plant and it looks like new growth coming from the center is OK. Should I trim off the dead fronds without disturbing the crown or just let them fall off?
Q: I see many times where you’ve said fruit trees only need feeding in the spring. However, without periodic applications of nitrogen, my 3-year-old peach tree leaves become yellow. Could there something going on I should investigate?
Many people contacted me about whether they could plant seeds or put transplants into the ground because of this unusually cold weather. My answer was the same to them as it is here. It depends.
Maybe gardeners aren’t busy in Minnesota or Iowa during the winter, but for gardeners living in the Mojave Desert, it is probably our busiest time of year. I’m asked about spraying dormant oils on trees, but most people don’t know anything about them. It’s a shame because it’s probably the most important method to control bugs that may become problems during the coming year. It’s good insurance.
Q: I planted a Bosc pear tree seven years ago not realizing it required a second pollenizer pear tree. For several years, I did get a few pears even though the tree had lots of flowers. I think my neighbor’s pear tree was the pollenizer, but it seems to be failing. I have no room to plant a pollenizer pear tree. Not sure what to do.
Q: I recently installed an underground fertilizer injector, and I was told to discontinue fertilizing by hand. Does this injector replace fertilizing plants by hand? Is it beneficial as a supplement? If so, how often should it be used?
I know readers will be asking why their lemon or grapefruit did not produce any fruit this year. They will say, “The tree grew great, but it didn’t produce any fruit.”
Q: We are moving to a new house and want to plant a row of trees by the fence for privacy and security. A local nursery suggested Carolina cherry and Japanese privet, but we heard these trees will not do well in this climate. Another suggestion was the African sumac. What would you suggest? We want evergreen for privacy.