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.
Q: I planted six Podocarpus in March, three by the north wall and three by the south wall. Now the three on the north wall have leaves that are turning brown. The three on the south wall are fine. I didn’t realize that the trees would get this much sunscald. Any suggestions on what I can do, besides give them macronutrients and hope for the sun to change course?
Question: We planted a very small fig tree next to our wall 11 years ago, and now it is taking over the whole backyard. I heard the roots can do considerable damage to our plumbing and wall.
Q: Because of the wind the other night, the tops of two Italian cypress trees broke off about 11 feet from the ground.
Question: Do you have any solutions for keeping rabbits from eating plants? I live in Sun City Anthem, and they are a real problem. I just planted some lovely gerbera daisies, and they’ve eaten the plants to the ground.
Q: I was wondering if there is a trick to container gardening. I have been using potting soil, along with plant food, and my plants keep wilting. What am I doing wrong?
We planted three creepers this spring, and all but one is thriving. The leaves are being stripped. I’ve checked at different times of day for bugs, but all I can see are a few ants. Any suggestions?
Q: I grow tomatoes in boxes I have built. I know one is supposed to plant tomatoes in a different place every year and I don’t want to just throw away the dirt in these boxes. I don’t have many places to put this dirt so my question is, “Can I put this dirt in my compost bins?” I have two cement block bins. What, if anything, can I do to that dirt to use it in the same boxes next year at planting time? It’s expensive to buy new dirt and I am poor.
I’m an official resident of Florida now. My neighbor is also a widow and her attorney recently set her up with something called a “Lady Bird deed” to ease the transfer of her house upon her death.
Question: I have a small fescue lawn that is being taken over by what appears to be Bermudagrass or some type of large-blade thick, dense grass that is much greener and thicker than the fescue grass.
Q: I was hoping to put up a nice strong wind and sun block on the west and southwest corner of our front yard, approximately 20 feet each way. Could you give me some suggestions?
Question: We planted a pluot this past spring along with four peach trees of different varieties. The pluot just started oozing sap or gumming on the lower truck.
Q: We notice that some of our trees don’t seem to be rooting into the soil properly. We assume it’s because of improper root ball preparation or girdling roots. Our test to see if the tree has rooted after at least one growing season is to bend the tree trunk back and forth. If the root ball under the soil easily moves when the tree is pushed, we assume that the tree has poor or little rooting into the surrounding soil.
Question: We have nine pine trees, and they are dropping lots of needles. We have a large berm under the trees and water inside the berm twice weekly. Should the needles be removed or left inside the berm?
Q: I have read that African sumacs are fast growers. The African sumacs here seem to be at a stand still. I have had two in my backyard since April. They are alive but the canopy and trunk just seem the same; there has been perhaps 10 percent growth. The trees are solid with tall, thin trunks, about ½ to ¾ inch in diameter, with a canopy that branches out at 8 feet. There are no branches or leaves below that. The trees are staked high and the stems are all finger diameter. Will they take off eventually?
Question: I have been growing grapes for seven years. Can you please tell me what is wrong with my vines? They are still producing grapes.
