Loquats can add evergreen beauty to yard

Here are some questions I encountered this week.

Question: Can we grow loquats here?

Answer: Yes. It's a beautiful evergreen, making a wonderful addition to any landscape and produces a sweet fruit. It's very symmetrical, with a compact, dense crown, and can get about 20 feet high and wide. If you plant it for fruit, plant it on the southeast side of the house to protect it from frost. It doesn't require much pruning or attract many pests.

Q: When can I trim my rosemary plants?

A: The invasive plant requires regular grooming around companion plants. In the spring, renew your plants each year by cutting those extending branches back into hardwood. During the summer, remove any extending branches beyond the plant's silhouette.

Q: What are the black beetles with orange markings on their backs covering the walls and on our patio?

A: You described box-elder bugs. They are harmless and don't cause much damage as they feed on your plants. They will eventually move on.

Q: My tomatoes are through producing. Do I pull them out?

A: Please don't yank them. Cut your tomato bushes back so only a foot of stems remains. The plant will regenerate new growth and eventually fruit this fall. Or plant new tomatoes from seed. Because of the warm weather, they'll grow quickly and set fruit when it cools.

Q: What is causing the inverted holes in the sand around my garden?

A: It's antlions preying on ants. It's interesting the way they catch their prey. Larvae dig cone-shaped pits in the sand and bury themselves at the bottom. An unsuspecting ant or small insect falls into the sand and can't escape. The larvae, called doodlebugs, grasp their prey to feast on.

Q: I want to add security to my yard by placing nasty thorned plants along the fence line. Do you have any suggestions?

A: Here are some to consider: pyracantha, mesquites, chollas, cactuses, yuccas, agaves, palo verdes and ocotillos.

Q: I planted autumn sage in June and it's not blooming as I expected. Why?

A: It's semidormant during the heat but will bloom again in the fall and spring. In the meantime, don't overwater it. Some branches might look dead, but they'll leaf out this fall.

Q: How do you grow creosote from seed? They get 2 inches tall and die. I heard it needs caliche soils to grow in.

A: Place seeds in a shallow pan and cover them with boiling water to soak overnight. Place seeds in pots filled with soil and water them. Thin out seedlings as they emerge to plant in their permanent location. I think they are dying because containers constrict the development of the taproots. The creosote bush thrives in well-drained soil that also retains water.

Q: Why isn't my bougainvillea blooming much?

A: Bougainvillea, once established, requires very little fertilizer and water. If overwatered they will not bloom as much. I recall the abandon subdivision next to the airport. Those abandon bougainvilleas were beautiful without any irrigation.

Q: We're planting a hybrid Bermuda to save water. Now we find out we must mow it with a reel-type mower to keep it looking sharp. Can't we grow it taller to shade the turf and save water that way?

A: By letting it grow taller you're exposing more leaf surface, so you increase evaporation.

Q: Where in town can I get free mulch?

A: You can get it at the Nevada Cooperative Extension orchard, at 4600 Horse Drive in North Las Vegas, from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Bring a tarp to cover the mulch while driving home.

Q: A contractor planted shrubs and installed a drip system for me. Two died. I dug them up and the root balls were dry. What went wrong?

A: The irrigation emitters were too far from the root ball, causing it to die. Either move the emitter or extend the tubing directly over the root ball to water the rooted area. Also add more emitters under the plants to water the surrounding soil.

This mistake is a classic example of soil interfacing: Water won't pass from one soil (native soil) to another soil (root ball) the way you think it would. Therefore, you must put emitters over both types of soil.

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