There are three reasons why sago palms are yellowing: their location, needed soil amendments and improper watering.
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The Extension Botanic Gardens feature more than 1,500 species of plants, including many found nowhere else in the Las Vegas Valley.
Podocarpus or yew pine doesn’t like soil covered in rock. It is not a desert plant.
When making a spot that attracts butterflies, choose a warm location out of the wind. Choose flowers in yellow, orange, red and pinks that bloom in spring or fall when it is cooler, and plant them in large numbers.
If young trees are given a lot of nitrogen fertilizer then new growth will be pushed at the expense of flowering.
Roses are a good choice for our Las Vegas climate and soils if kept healthy. If they are not healthy, they suffer in intense sunlight, summer heat and soil problems.
It is important to select good varieties of vegetables to plant in the fall, and the publications by Dr. Sylvan Wittwer, formerly of Logandale, make some solid, old-fashioned varietal recommendations he has had success growing in this area.
Rock placed on top of the soil contributes to a soil problem, but wood chips won’t. Spraying the plants with iron fertilizer might be a temporary fix but not a long-term one.
I know readers will be asking why their lemon or grapefruit did not produce any fruit this year. They will say, “The tree grew great, but it didn’t produce any fruit.”
Q: Are eggshells good for your garden and should they be added to your compost? Conventional garden wisdom says yes, but I believe that we have too much calcium already in the soils here in Southern Nevada, so adding eggshells is not a good idea. What do you think?
Q: Your advice has helped me get a couple of dozen figs off my relatively young trees this year. However, the attached photos show where there were two figs a few days ago and now they are entirely eaten. I have a net over them so I don’t think it’s birds, and I cannot see bugs anywhere on the plant.
Reading some of the national gardening blogs and articles gives me a chuckle. Frequently they are out of touch with gardening and horticulture in the desert Southwest. For instance, one recently said there was little to do during the winter months. Obviously, they have never lived in our climate.
Q. I am interested in raising dragon fruit. Any suggestions or comments?
Q: I was wondering if there is a trick to container gardening. I have been using potting soil, along with plant food, and my plants keep wilting. What am I doing wrong?
Question: We have a question about our 5 to 6 year old naval orange tree. For the past 2 to 3 years, we left the fruit on the tree until the weather man said freezing temperatures were coming. But with just cold nights, the fruit seems to dry out. Can we pick the fruit early and let the oranges ripen in the house?
