Q: A pruning company wants to prune my mulberries back to the stump. The man says it is good for the trees.

A: No. Send the company hiking. In most cases, they are tree hackers or fly-by-nighters -- here today, gone tomorrow. Check their credentials by calling the city or county. Nothing is harder on trees than removing all the growth, as hackers do. We are starting to see a lot of diseases in mulberries, and it because of the hacking jobs that are so prevalent. And you know you can't replace a mulberry now. Wait until the trees shed their leaves to do the pruning "right."

Q: What do I have to do to grow tulips in containers in my home?

A: Ideally, chill your tulips in the vegetable crisper in your refrigerator for five to six weeks before planting. This will improve your tulip display when they come into flower. If you don't have time to chill them, plant them directly in a container so soil just covers the bulbs. Place them in a dark cool place in your home. The emerging leaves will be sickly yellow-green, which is OK; they will green up when you bring them out in the light. As flowers begin to emerge, bring them out and keep them in indirect light. Keep soil moist through the growing season until flowers fade, and then throw out.

Q: Is it too late to plant bulbs?

A: There is still time to plant most spring-flowering bulbs, but get them in as soon as possible. Remember, bulbs need all the cold weather they can get to thrive, and we don't get all that much. Be sure to enrich the soil to make blooms even prettier. If drainage is a problem, plant bulbs elsewhere. When you are ready to plant, make sure you plant ranunculus roots with the prongs pointing downward. With anemones, point the circular scar, last year's growth, up. Young anemone bulbs taper more on one end; plant this end down.

Q: I found an overgrown bush in a vacant lot that has very unusual fruit about the size of softballs. We call it brain fruit as it looks like brains. Do you know what it is?

A: It is a Maclura pomifera, or Osage orange. It looks like bumpy yellow-green oranges. It is a tough plant that adapts to heat, cold and poor soil conditions. You must have a male and female tree present to get the fruit. A family in town places these "oranges" in each room and finds they keep bugs away.

Q: What is this weird-looking insect that looks like a praying mantis, but is tan?

A: It is a praying mantis taking on the colors of autumn. It is still around laying egg cases throughout your garden, so these good insects will continue on next year. Be good to them.

I always thought praying mantis were very docile insects waiting (praying) for insects to land in their "trapped arms" but I am wrong. They fight for their prey. This summer, I witnessed two mantises fighting each other with one arm and hanging on the stucco building and trying to trap an insect with the other. They both put up a good fight.

Q: What are the big globs of a tarlike substance on my peach trees?

A: Your tree has a good case of gummosis. It is a combination of many things:

1. It is a natural tendency of all stone fruit (apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums) to ooze sap. Small beads of sap often form on the bark of these trees. As long as the bark appears healthy, there is nothing to worry about.

2. Environmental stress is a factor. Trees that are under stress because they are growing in poorly drained or very dry soils may produce large quantities of sap, even though they are not diseased. Also, many fruit trees respond to rapid changes in weather conditions by gumming profusely.

3. Mechanical injury could be a cause. Almost all trees ooze sap when the bark or wood is wounded. Wounding results from limb breakage. Lawn mower injury, pruning, improper staking, tying or guying techniques and other practices that damage the bark and wood could be the cause. Avoid unnecessary mechanical injuries to the tree. Stake, tie and prune properly.

4. It could be diseased. Fruit trees respond to certain fungal and bacterial infections by forming amber-brown cankers that cause gumming. Gummosis is often one of the initial signs of infection. Remove badly infected, cankered branches by pruning branches at the trunk or at least six inches below the canker. Keep the tree healthy.

5. Insects could be the cause. Several species of insects bore into tree bark, causing clear sap to ooze from the damaged areas. The larvae of certain borers are the most damaging types of boring insects. Their tunnels in wood often become infected with decay organisms. Cut out and destroy all dead and dying branches. Paint the trunk with a white water-based paint on the trunk up into the scaffolding of the trees to deter the insects. Maintain tree health and vigor by watering and fertilizing regularly.

Q: Anyone have any suggestions about getting rid of crickets with natural methods? They have been invading my garage and yard, and I can't seem to get rid of them.

A: Bob Stauffer of Nevada Cooperative Extension says crickets live both indoors and out. They destroy fabrics such as wool, cotton, synthetics and silk, along with attacking tender sprouts of flowers and vegetables. Stauffer recommends insecticidal soap, or neem.

Neem is a natural product extracted from the neem tree. It is very bitter to insects, along with being a fungicide. Neem works best on sucking or chewing insects (including crickets) and used to repel and kill a wide range of pests including aphids, mealy bugs, scales, thrips and whiteflies. It is most effective when ingested, so direct the natural product on plants and other materials crickets feed on. Once ingested, insects loose their ability to molt and die.

Q: Will a queen palm grow in Las Vegas?

A: This palm is beautiful, graceful and immediately takes you to the topics. But as nice as it looks, Jack Frost is lurking on the horizon. You'll see some frost damage beginning at 25 degrees, but they will really show damage when temperatures get near 16 degrees. In 1990, when we had temperatures down to 5 degrees, it wiped out this special palm. We've had some mild winters since 1990, but you never know when Jack Frost and associates will return.

Queen palms are native to Brazil and will reach a height of 50 feet with a spread of up to 25 feet. In Brazil jungles there is a lot of humidity, and with our dry, low humidity environment, you will always have some tip burn.

Q: How do you tell when pomegranates are ripe?

A: It's time. Cool weather puts that touch of sweetness in the fruit. Check a few for sweetness.

Linn Mills writes a gardening column each Thursday. You can reach him at linn.mills@lvspringspreserve.org or at the Gardens at the Springs Preserve at 822-8325.