In the hot desert, loss of shade from an irrigation problem leads to attacks by borers.
Local Columns
Q: I planted a sweet lavender plant last year and it grew great until this August and then suddenly died. It was getting about 2 gallons per watering via two emitters. I would like to replace it with another lavender. It gets morning sun and afternoon shade. What variety of lavender would you recommend we try?
The mostly flat Historic Railroad Trail allows walkers and bicyclists to travel back to the early 1930s.
Branch dieback in citrus, particularly lemon, is very confusing. Most likely it is a disease issue called “shoot and twig dieback” of citrus.
This is the Mojave Desert. Las Vegas and the high or middle deserts can have cold winters, unexpected early spring frosts and winds. Depending on the type of citrus, fruit trees can survive cold temperatures ranging from the mid to low 20s all the way to no freeze at all.
Selecting a fruit tree that gives you improved tolerance to freezing winter temperatures may be a better idea in the long run
Darryl McDaniels, a founding member of the rap group Run D.M.C., highlighted education and called the ABCs “the greatest rap of all time.”
One way to find out if an unnamed plant is xeric is to water it less often during the cooler months. If it starts looking bad to your eyes or dies, then it is most likely not xeric.
Mural admirers don’t need a defined path to get the most from a near decade of creativity left behind by the annual Life is Beautiful music festival in downtown Las Vegas.
Native plants have a very wide and established root system. Big native plants look beautiful but are exceedingly difficult to move from the wild primarily because of their established root system.
Smaller plants do the same job as larger plants and use less water. If you already have large trees and shrubs, prune them smaller.
Great Basin bristlecone pines are gnarly, twisted tales of survival and inspiration. Lucky for local desert dwellers, hiking paths wind past these ancient, animated trees high above the valley floor.
In Clark County, a fruiting olive is not permitted by county regulation. If you live outside of Clark County, then growing fruiting olives is acceptable by regulation.
Q: Our sweet bay laurel trees face east and are watered by a drip irrigation system on a separate line for trees only. Obviously, these trees are not doing well. They were originally 24-inch boxed trees planted in 2013. Our HOA contends they are close to the end of their lives, and they will be removed. Any ideas?
Nematodes are a rare occurrence in young plants. It is normally not something that happens to recently planted trees unless you have nematode-infested soil.