It’s expensive to have them trimmed twice a year. If their beauty outweighs their expense, keep them. But if you don’t enjoy them anymore, have them removed.
Home and Garden
Minor pruning cuts requiring hand pruners are done anytime you see a problem. You can do them now if you want. Just not large limbs.
The best time to plant winter-hardy trees and shrubs is during the fall, from around the end of September through mid-November.
When an ornamental shrub is pruned, the end result shouldn’t be obvious. The end result, just like a good haircut, should be a plant growing in its natural form. Pruning plants this way is a lot less work and done much less often.
Desert climates like Southern Nevada have low humidity, so plant diseases aren’t frequently seen unless we do a poor job choosing plants for the landscape spots, planting, watering or managing them.
Q: I have just about reached my maximum frustration level with my 35 Italian cypresses. Between spraying them down weekly in the summer to keep the mites off and them not standing on their own without staking and guy wires for 2½ years, I am ready to give up. I am thinking about replacing them with 5-gallon dwarf golden arborvitae because they are smaller and easier to spray.
You can typically remove about one-third of the total tree roots with no problem. This is done sometimes when trenches are cut in the soil for burying irrigation lines. But when roots are cut, about one-third of the top should be removed as well.
Q: What do you recommend for controlling that ugly, leaf-footed bug that attacks my pomegranates? I want to be prepared.
Q: We installed a lawn 18 months ago, but it has a difficult time during summer months. I aerate it and fertilize it, and I know the drainage is good because the landscaper installed the system to our HOA requirements. I water twice daily, six days a week around 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. There is a decent amount of shade, and the yard faces south. Even the heavily shaded areas have problems. What can I do differently?
Q: Is it a good idea to work coffee grounds into the soil in flower beds? Does it help?
Q: Recently you mentioned that clematis can grow in Las Vegas. I would like to grow these very attractive vines here. Which ones do you recommend?