Plants originally coming from a desert are watered less often than those that don’t come from deserts. This is because desert plants have methods of surviving a longer time between irrigations.
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.
Big trees use quite a bit of water. The cost of watering these trees must be balanced with the need for cooling.
Bright, cloudless skies and strong winds equals high water use in our desert climate. It’s time to water during bright windy weather.
Grapevines do best in our desert when planted like fruit trees — planted in amended soil and the soil covered in woodchips.
The gardening trend seen most often now in Southern Nevada is growing “exotic” plants, those plants that don’t naturally grow here or are difficult to grow here. But these exotic plants require more effort and money on our part to ensure their good health.
Most of the damage done to plants during high summer temperatures was due to a lack of water. And if there are strong winds, they also use more water. The bottom line, if it’s a hot, bright, windy day, it’s time to water now.
Trees grown in containers are more finicky than those planted in the ground because the roots don’t have access to as much soil mass. The limited soil volume in containers makes watering and applying fertilizers more complicated; the tree runs out of both more quickly.
You don’t need an airless sprayer for flawless results when painting trim. All you need is a steady hand, a quality brush and patience.
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?
Q: Is Ironite safe to use in a vegetable garden? I have read somewhere that it’s not, but the label says you can use it.
Q: Why does your list of recommended fruit trees have no citrus? I understand the problem with freezing during the winter, but nurseries and garden centers here sell citrus. If I could provide some sort of wind block from cold winter winds and some frost protection, would lemons or oranges have a chance or are they just generally doomed?
Fall and early winter are excellent times to prevent insect problems that occur next year. I received reports of worms or grubs feeding now on the roots of plants. The most common are white grubs.
Question: When is the best time to spray olive trees to minimize olive fruit? One of our olives can make a mess on our neighbor’s front sidewalk and entry patio if not sprayed.
Reports from the weather station at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension orchard in North Las Vegas put the low temperatures Dec. 6 and 10 at 20 F with daytime highs around the same as the inside of a refrigerator. I am sure this caused some damage to plants. I posted the weather report on my blog for those interested.
Q: Because of the wind the other night, the tops of two Italian cypress trees broke off about 11 feet from the ground.