Cut rose food in half during summer

Here are some questions I dealt with this past week.

Question: Do I wait until it cools down to feed my roses?

Answer: The Las Vegas Valley Rose Society recommends using a rose food at half the recommended rate now. In September and October, go back to recommended dosages. If you want to grow champion roses, also feed them fish emulsion, sulfur super phosphate, magnesium sulfate. Follow each feeding with a good irrigation.

Q: Our irrigation system failed while we were on vacation and our fruit trees had dropped their leaves. Will they recover?

A: Most trees can withstand some drought. In fact as they become stressed, they begin dropping their leaves as a way to reduce their need for water. Give them several deep irrigations, and if you see new growth, you'll know that they survived their dilemma.

Q: What is the best way to counteract dog urine on our lawn?

A: Control your dog trips to the lawn. Allow them to freely run around for a period of time and then give your lawn a good irrigation to dilute the salts.

Dennis Swartzell from Horticulture Consultants finds that Grow Power helps prevent the problem. There's a lot of microbial activity going on in the fertilizer that will clean up the urine situation.

Notice the deep green grass circling the dead spots. It's greening up because of the nitrogen in the urine. It becomes an excellent indicator that your lawn needs more fertilizer.

Q: We planted a lemon tree loaded with lemons last year. Why we didn't get a bloom this year?

A: Swartzell said to fertilize it more. Swartzell went through the same situation with his lemons and is convinced you need more fertilizer. He fertilizes his tree on Valentine's Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day with a citrus fertilizer, and it's loaded with lemons.

Ideally, you want your tree to produce a strong structure in its early years before it really gets into full production, which takes about six years. You'll get a few along the way.

Q: Why are my hibiscus flower buds drying and dying?

A: Swartzell wonders if your shrub is lacking nutrients and water. Hibiscus plants love acid soils and high humidity like in the Southeast. Of course, we don't have those conditions in Las Vegas. He suggests using acid-based fertilizers and even sulfur to pull the pH down and to mulch under the tree.

Swartzell finds many gardeners plant their hibiscus plants against their property-line fences. The cement used in building these fence foundations is highly alkaline and exasperates the problem.

Whenever I see healthy hibiscus plants, they have smaller shrubs growing under them and are heavily mulched. These shrubs and mulch help modulate the temperature and raise the humidity for much happier plants.

Q: Why did my potatoes bloom and then die a short time later? When I went to dig them up, the plants didn't produce any potatoes.

A: You didn't say when you planted them, but most likely they were planted too late. You need to plant them in February in a highly organic soil.

Many gardeners want to plant the potato seeds too deep. Plant them just below the soil surface. As the plant grows, the potatoes develop above the seedlings, not below them. Then as the season progresses, hill the soil up so the tubers can grow in the friable soil. Or plant them and cover the ground under the plant with straw. Your tubers will now grow in the straw. It makes it so much easier to harvest them.

Q: I know I'm supposed to be harvesting my pears, but they are hard as rocks. What do you suggest?

A: Gilcrease Orchard manager Mark Ruben said to test for ripeness by cutting a couple open and looking at the seeds. If they are brown, they are ready to harvest. Store them in the refrigerator for a week or longer. This allows the ripening process to continue off the tree.

As you are ready to eat them, allow them to remain at room temperature for a few days until they soften. If pears fully ripen on the trees, they develop a woody texture.

Ruben said the orchard's yellow pears are ready for harvesting.

GROWING A VEGETABLE GARDEN

It's time to plan your fall vegetable garden. The weather is working for you not against you. Master Gardener Helen Brown will be presenting a fall gardening class at 11 a.m. Saturday at Whole Foods Market at 100 S. Green Valley Parkway in Henderson.

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