Different colors of roses mean different things

Questions about a variety of topics have come my way this week. Here are my answers to them:

Q: Some time ago, you told us what rose colors meant. Could you remind me again?

A: Since roses are the No. 1 flower for Valentine's Day, colors have many meanings. Let the following be your guide: Red means love and respect; deep pink, gratitude and appreciation; light pink, admiration and sympathy; white, purity, humility and reverence; yellow, joy and gladness; orange, enthusiasm and desire; red and yellow blends, gaiety and joviality; and pale blend tones, sociability and friendship.

Q: How many Christmas trees did your recycling project take in this year?

A: Marcel Parent of the Springs Preserve was excited about the recycling project.

"After counting, people contributed 18,951," Parent said. "That was double last year's response and our goal this year was 12,500. Next year, our sights are on recycling 25,000."

Q: What can we do to control crabgrass and spotted spurge in our lawn this summer?

A: Around March 1, zap them with a pre-emergent weed killer. You might want to use corn gluten meal as an organic pre-emergent herbicide. It also is high in nitrogen, so you take care of your lawn's fertilizer needs at the same time.

Pre-emergent herbicides form a barrier over the soil surface. When seeds attempt to reach through the barrier, it zaps them. Words of caution, if you must aerate or dethatch your lawn, do that before applying herbicide so you don't reduce the effectiveness of the barrier.

Nurseries offer a wide range of proven herbicides. They'll advise you of the best herbicide to get rid of these persistent weeds.

Because of our intense heat, lawns struggle and these weeds proliferate. If you have bare spots and compacted soils, these opportunists colonize those spaces.

Mowing fescue lawns too short becomes an open invitation, because they need light to germinate. Research found tall fescue mown an inch high had 70 percent more weeds than a 3-inch high lawn. The take-home message is to mow higher to shade soil surface.

Q: What kind of fertilizer do you recommend for my lawn?

A: Use a balanced fertilizer high in nitrogen, low in phosphorus and high in potassium. Nitrogen makes the lawn lush, potassium makes it more resistant to heat and phosphorus encourages root production. Follow all feedings with a good irrigation to move nutrients into the soil.

Q: Where can I get the glass mulch like that on display at the preserve?

A: As far as we know, no one sells it locally. Go to www.americanspecialtyglass.com to find a source. When opening this Web site, it will amaze you the products available to decorate your landscape or in your home. People become concerned about being cut by the glass, but Eileen Holscher, gardener at the preserve works, mulches with her bare hands and hasn't cut herself yet.

Q: We are moving to Las Vegas and wondering if we can grow citrus?

A: Yes, but, you need to protect it from frosts. The most persistent bearers of fruit are in protected areas or in containers. Homeowners place them in a sheltered area on the patio.

Q: What varieties of grapes do best in Las Vegas?

A: Thompson Seedless is by far the most popular, but close on its heels are Perlette, Flame Seedless and Black Munukka.

Q: When do I prune cape honeysuckle and how do I do it?

A: Cape honeysuckle is a vigorous, plant that thrives in heat and becomes rampant if left unpruned. Prune it in the spring by cutting it to the ground every few years to keep it under control. Because it grows rapidly, nip at it often to keep it manageable.

Q: How do you prune an African sumac? It develops thick top growth and wants to tip over.

A: Open the tree up so the wind can sail through. You want to be able to see through the tree. Thin out branches, keeping about 10 inches between branches. During the summer, continue removing new sprouts. I might add, if someone in your home suffers from allergies, it is producing pollen right now. The excess growth also indicates you are watering too much.

Q: How do you get rid of what I call goatheads or puncture vine?

A: Right now, hoe out existing plants. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide such as Surflan or Barricade before the weeds can germinate as temperatures rise. Some seedlings escape the effects of a herbicide. If this happens, hoe them out or spray with Roundup before goatheads mature.

Q: What is the white powdery stuff on my rose leaves and how do I control it?

A: It is powdery mildew. Remove and destroy all leaves and open up bushes for good air circulation to control it. If it persists, use a strong jet of water to wash it off leaves and if it continues, make a baking soda solution to eradicate it.

Q: We had zoysia grass elsewhere. Can we grow it here?

A: Yes, it is a very attractive grass, particularly during summer and is water resourceful. I must warn you, it does turn a beautiful golden in winter. Most of us just say it browns out.

Q: When do I cut back my ornamental grasses?

A: Do it in early March. Cutting it sooner means you will be looking at a stump of dead grass longer. Do it as new growth emerges from stump. Right now, straw-colored grasses are beautiful at the preserve and seed stalks are giving birds much needed food.

Cut grass back to within 6 inches of the ground. If they are large stumps, divide them by uprooting stumps and divide further into three or four sections. Transplant divisions elsewhere or give them away, but water thoroughly after planting.

Q: When do we prune our palms?

A: Surprisingly, I have had several calls about this lately. Experience shows you only need to remove dead fronds and seed branches when they emerge, which is later in the summer. If the palms are tall, do the work with a hydraulic lift to be on the safe side. And never climb a tree with spurs, because they damage the trunks. Leave green fronds up there, because they are still producing for the plant.

NATIVE PLANT GIVEAWAY

Drop by Dr. Green Thumb's booth at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., from 10 a.m. to noon today to get a native plant. Choose from 12 species, answer the question attached to it and take it home.

"We want to make this a tradition by giving away native plants on holidays such as Valentine's Day," said Laura Eisenberg of the Springs Preserve. "We are anxious for homeowners to incorporate these beauties into their landscape."

Linn Mills writes a garden column every Thursday. You can reach him at linn.mills@springspreserve.org or at the Gardens at the Springs Preserve ay 822-7754.