Damaged agave probably won’t survive

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Q: The agave in my front yard (maintained by my homeowners association) is dying. I was informed by an arborist that it was getting too much water. I relayed this to the HOA and when they looked at it they said it needed more water and ran another dripper line, which drips about every day. Can this once-beautiful plant be saved?

A: This is either too much water or agave weevil damage. The weevil deposits eggs in the crotches of the leaves at the base and the eggs hatch. The larvae then invade the roots, where they feed, causing the agave to collapse, just like in your picture.

Overwatering can cause the roots to rot easily and cause exactly the same symptoms: collapse of the outer leaves and death of the plant. Unfortunately, you get the same result, and there is not much you can do at this stage.

I predict the plant will die and it will have to be removed. American agave is probably one of the worst ones for agave weevil infestation. Replanting with a different agave suitable for our climate would be a better choice .

There are two types of overwatering. One is watering too much and the other is watering too often. This is more of the watering too often kind of problem .

I have sent a brochure from the University of Arizona on this weevil problem and some recommended preventions from one of the arboreta. I also attached a picture of the weevil larvae you would find in the roots if that was the cause . This publication and pictures will be posted on my blog.

Q: I accidently have a papaya tree growing in my yard. When we moved in, I set up a compost bin. After moving the compost bin, one of the papaya seeds in the compost pile sprouted and I decided to keep it. Now I'm concerned about getting it through the winter . I'm thinking about building a simple green house from sheet plastic and PVC pipe. Would that work ?

A: Yes, I have encouraged people to consider papaya in Las Vegas. Why not? A man is growing bananas here. This is the desert and a less than an ideal place to grow papaya. It is tropical and it will be tough to grow here, but it could be fun to try on a very small scale.

Some varieties, such as the Hawaiian Solo types, are highly productive. Some can bear fruit nine months after planting from seed. Generally, they will set fruit during the warm spring and fall months and drop fruit and flowers when it is too hot. You can find seed sources online at http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/crop/crops/i_papa.htm .

They will grow in the desert as well, such as in Phoenix, with some precautions. Visit http://www.phoenix
tropicals.com/papaya.html for details.

For our area the two enemies to this papaya will be winter cold and our desert soils. You will have to modify both . On the temperature end, papaya is much more tolerant of summer heat than winter cold or even cool weather. It also will not particularly like places that are scorchingly hot and windy.

I would pick a location that has some protection from the late afternoon sun and gets as much light in the morning and early afternoon as possible; a minimum of six hours is needed.

Winter cold will kill it for sure, and you may see some damage at temperatures below 50 F. It will have to be protected from cold winds and winter temperatures. I would not use just plastic at night to protect it. It will need some sort of insulated blanket thrown over the structure when temperatures drop below 50 F and removed after temperatures have warmed.

Your structure could be opened during the day to get a good air exchange and reduce disease problems.

The papaya tree grows as high as 30 feet, so you will not be able to keep it very long before it is too tall to protect during the winter. So plant them in succession and plan to remove them when they get too tall.

Next is soil modification. The soil must drain easily, so add lots of compost and phosphorus-based fertilizers at planting time. Stake it so it does not blow over. It is shallow rooted.

Q: Our association lawns are infested with a weed that spreads rapidly. We have been told it is spurge. Some owners were told by a nursery that spurge control is accomplished by spraying in June and about every six weeks through the summer. Others have said that spraying can't be done when it is very hot. Please give your opinion on this matter.

A: If this is spurge you are fighting, it is a very poor competitor with a lawn. Most of it can be kept out by increasing the competitiveness of your lawn by keeping it growing, full and healthy. Follow some simple rules.

n Mowing height must be a minimum of 2½ inches for fescue and between ½ and 1 inch for Bermuda grass. Use a mulching mower.

n Keep the lawn dense by keeping its fertilizer program current. If this is a fescue lawn, fertilize every Labor Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. If this is Bermuda grass, fertilize Labor Day, Memorial Day and Fourth of July.

n Make sure it is getting water at the right times and avoid stress during the summer months. Irrigation systems must apply water evenly to the turf area. Get rid of mix and match nozzles, and make sure the system applies water that sprays from head to head.

n If this is fescue, all irrigation heads must pop up out of the ground a minimum of 4 inches. Replace irrigation heads that are less than this with 4-inch pop-ups. If this is Bermuda grass, they need to pop up only 2 inches.

n Do not use line trimmers to trim grass around irrigation heads or along hard surfaces like sidewalks. Use a steel edger.

Weed killers for stopping the germination and invasion of spurge must be applied in February and followed up about every six weeks. Weed killers applied after it is already up can be applied any time .

Whenever using weed killers always read the label and follow instructions .

Bob Morris is a horticulture expert living in Las Vegas; he is on special assignment in the Balkh Province, Afghanistan, for the University of California, Davis. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com.