Coral plants aren’t invasive

Here are answers to some questions I was asked this past week.

Q: We want to plant coral plant (Russelia equisetiformis) but heard it's invasive. Is that true?

A: No. My 5-year-old plants don't spread or reseed themselves.

Coral plant is beautiful. Its feathery multibranched stems start out erect, then cascade with clusters of scarlet tubular flowers about an inch long that look like little firecrackers, inspiring its other common name.

Q: Why are my rain lilies dying? They get watered two times a week and have full sun through the summer.

A: They are supposed to die back and quietly disappear. When our summer rains arrive, the bulbs come alive again with shiny new leaves and eventually another nice show of blossoms.

Q: What is causing sap to ooze from my almond nuts?

A: It's caused by the leaf-footed plant bug. It inserts its snout into the green almonds and later sap oozes from the nut. This bug also feeds on peaches, pistachios and pomegranates. It is hard to control. Try pyrethrum or neem.

Q: When do we harvest our first almonds? The husks are splitting open.

A: The husks peel back to expose the shell to hasten maturity. As you move into fall, begin harvesting if you shake a nut and it rattles within the shell. If a nut snaps when you bend it, begin harvesting. Soft kernels go rancid.

Q: Why are my grapes shedding?

A: Our hot summer winds cause them to dehydrate and drop. It's a way to thin out the grapes so you get larger grapes.

Q: Why do I have so much clover in my lawn, and how do I get rid of it?

A: You're using a fertilizer high in phosphorous. It encourages clover production. Use a fertilizer that doesn't have any phosphorous in it. Hand weeding is about the only way to eliminate the clover right now. Recommended weed killers are volatile in our heat and will cause damage to broad-leafed plants.

I use clover as an indicator plant. If it's greener than my lawn, I add more nitrogen.

Q: Last week you mentioned suggestions for hedges. Why didn't you mention Arizona rosewood?

A: Nurseries start them from seed so you get a lot of variation in growth; some have dense foliage and others sparse. I have five in my yard and they are all different. Plants started from cutting will all have the same look.

Q: Is it OK to skin my palms, or do I leave the stubs on?

A: Horticulturist ML Robinson said skinning is unnecessary but doesn't hurt the palms.

If you skin your palms, use a linoleum knife and start at the base of the trunk. Make horizontal cuts about a quarter-inch deep into the trunk and around the tree. The broad paperlike base comes off with a slight tug. Move up a quarter of an inch and circle the tree again making the same cut. Keep circling the trunk until you approach the growing point (found near the top of the palm) until the underlying color becomes light tan. Do not expose it or you may kill the palm.

Q: How do I prune our first climbing rose?

A: After it finishes blooming, cut the canes back so they are 4 to 5 feet long. Provide a support for those canes. This will increase the number of flowers even more next spring. Feed them a balanced rose fertilizer, and if leaves yellow, add iron.

Q: When do I trim my bottlebrush?

A: Remove the spent flowers and seed capsules back to lateral branches and remove any dead infesting wood. If some branches extend too far out from the plant, nip them back to keep the bush compact.

Q: Will St. Augustine grass grow here?

A: Yes. It is a vigorous warm-season grass with broad coarse-textured leaves that tolerates partial shade. It greens up earlier and stays green longer in the fall than Bermuda grass. However, it does require more water than Bermuda. It's slow to recover if overseeded with rye in the fall.

Q: Why are the leaves on my ocotillo falling off and yet still blooming? It's drip-irrigated every day.

A: Ocotillo leaves occur as a response to increased humidity, not all the water you are giving it. Too much water will set it up for disease issues. If you notice, these plants occur in nature around boulders and in sandy soil. In either case they survive on limited moisture and have good drainage.

Linn Mills' garden column appears on Sundays. He can be reached at linnmillslv@gmail.com or 702-526-1495.