Q: We have lost a tremendous section of our garden. In researching, it appears fire blight disease is the problem. Our red-tip photinia was the first and, in a very short time, it looked as if someone had taken a flame thrower to the plants. Euonymus hedges, flowering pink hawthorn and some rose bushes are starting to show the same problem.
Hot weather favors lawn diseases common here. Now is an optimum time for controlling lawn diseases before they in get into full swing. If your lawn had disease in the past, now is a good time to apply a fungicide. Fungicides are primarily preventive and work best when they are applied before the disease rears its ugly head.
Historically, the last frost date is March 15 in the Las Vegas Valley. Planting warm-season vegetables before this date, such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, can be a bit risky because of a chance for frost.
Question: I want to plant potatoes here in Las Vegas. Our season is timed different than others, though, so there aren’t seed potatoes available now for a mid- or late July planting.
Question: On the north side of our house, we have a 10-foot-wide space we are trying to landscape. Several have suggested planting bay laurel trees, but we are concerned about the tree’s size for the space. When we went to the nursery, their suggestion was the Majestic Beauty hawthorn tree. Will the hawthorn tree do well in our climate and soils?
Question: I have a small fescue lawn that is being taken over by what appears to be Bermudagrass or some type of large-blade thick, dense grass that is much greener and thicker than the fescue grass.
Question: We planted a pluot this past spring along with four peach trees of different varieties. The pluot just started oozing sap or gumming on the lower truck.
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?
Question: I have “burlap” growing between the fronds at the trunk of my 4-year-old male date palm. They look awful and are difficult to manage. Please advise.
Question: For many years, my family has had access to wild, abandoned quince bushes in the east San Francisco Bay area. We have since moved from there and see that you list this fruit as a tree that may survive here in the Las Vegas area with the proper soil.
