Plus, horticulture expert Bob Morris answers questions on planting hole size, drip irrigation systems and more.
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.
When moving any kind of tree from one location to another, I recommend removing about one-quarter to one-third of the tree’s canopy to compensate for the loss of roots.
A volunteer opportunity to plant shrubs and flowers around the Nevada Garden Clubs Center will be held March 4 starting at 7 a.m.
Bunch diseases attack only grape bunches. At the beginning of summer is when we notice disease problems on the berries of grapes such as the so-called bunch rots.
It is best to think of plants along a continuum (mesic vs. xeric) regarding whether they grow best in dry or wet soil or the type of mulch covering the surface of a landscape soil. So, instead, we group plants into these two categories for convenience.
When plants are at their healthiest, strong and most resilient, they can better resist the high temperatures and, to a lesser degree, even the low temperatures that surround them.
Rose of Sharon is a hardy and fun deciduous shrub for our climate. It’s considered mesic in its water use and not meant for desert landscapes.
Plums and pluots improve in flavor when they are kept on the tree longer and harvested closer to their mature date. These fruits are normally harvested from the end of July to the first or second week of August in our climate.
If you deploy pheromone traps in early May, the principal insect pest caught in the trap will be the peach twig borer. The peach twig borer causes wormy peach, nectarine and apricot.
The annual South Valley Rose Show will be held Nov. 9 at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension offices on the corner of Windmill Lane and Paradise Road. Rosarians will be present to answer questions about growing roses in our hot desert climate and poor soils from 1 to 4 p.m.
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.
Q: Peaches from my dwarf peach tree were very small again last year. This is the third year the fruit developed into a small size. We fertilize them twice a year with vegetable spikes and our in-ground system fertilizer system has Dr. Benson’s Natural Mix added five times per year. Any suggestions?
Q: I have a Mexican bird of paradise that was planted five years ago that suddenly died. It had flourished until now. I pulled out the plant and sent you some pictures of the dead plant, girdling or circling roots and borers that I found in the center of the stem that probably killed it.
Q: You have converted me to the doctrine of using wood chip mulch. Is there any reason why I couldn’t use wood chips in my strawberry bed? My wife used to put strawberries in pots, and they never did well.
Q: My son and I are thinking of landscaping his front yard in December. Will plants and trees survive when planted that time of year?
