Question: I often enjoy your pieces, and your suggestion of replacing rock mulch with wood chips caught my attention. I have an 18-year-old velvet ash in a small (20 feet by 20 feet), rock-covered front yard. Does this tree do better with rock or wood chips around its trunk?
Question: I am having a serious problem with my grapevine. It seems to have stopped growing and is losing leaves. I used a lot of bone meal on the plants, and I am wondering if I have over-fertilized it? The ground is never dry; the flower bed it’s in is on the same drippers as prior years.
Question: What can be done to keep birds from eating all the fruit in an orchard? My brother has an orchard in southern Utah. There are about 100 trees, mostly dwarf and semi dwarf. Last year, birds got 90 percent of the fruit. He has tried scarecrows, but that didn’t work. He has also tried aluminum foil pie tins, but that only worked temporarily. Is there any solution for him other than buying netting to cover the trees?
Question: I have a huge ash tree that I want to either stop from seeding or kill. I heard about a product that can stop seeding, but I am told due to the size of the tree, it is impossible to spray the blooms. This tree is at least 50 feet tall. It is a real nuisance.
Question: I am in the process of ordering a couple of fruit trees online. What are the chill hours for Sun City Anthem in Henderson? I thought it was 300 hours or less. A couple of apricot trees you have recommended have been 400 and 500 hours (Blenheim and Royal Rosa), and I am wondering if that is too many.
Question: Last year, we planted a yellow bells plant. It appears to have died over winter. Do we need to trim it back to bring it back to life or just be patient and wait?
Question: Inspired by you, I have planted a tree from your recommended tree list and another that I don’t think is in there, a Meyer lemon. I planted a lemon after seeing other people in the valley having success with it. I would like to know what precautions I should take growing a lemon tree here.
Question: We want to plant a pecan tree. Would you please recommend one for Las Vegas? If we plant one, can we cut it way back and keep it small like we did our other fruit trees?
