Wait till February to start growing vegetables

Here are some questions I dealt with this past month.

Question: We are new to the area. With the weather like this can we still plant a vegetable garden?

Answer: You need to wait until February. Since you're new to the area, visit Nevada Cooperative Extension's website www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2001/sp0115.pdf for a yearly planting guide for this area. The late Bill Tomiyasu developed this guide by planting vegetables every two weeks for several years.

Q: Are Epsom salts good for roses?

A: Yes! The Las Vegas Valley Rose Society swears by them. They encourage basal canes, which means more blooms and puts more substance in your roses. The society applies them in the early spring.

Q: Will queen palms grow here?

A: Yes, but as beautiful as they look, Jack Frost is lurking on the horizon. You'll see some frost damage when temperatures get around 25 degrees and even more once it drops below 20 degrees. A stretch of single-digit temperatures in 1990 wiped them and many other palms out.

We've had mild winters since, but you never know when Jack Frost will return.

Queen palms are native to Brazil, where it's very humid. You can expect some fronds of queen palms planted here to have tip burn here because of our low humidity.

Q: Our chrysanthemums are blooming but they won't stand up and they look unsightly. How can I keep them upright?

A: Place stakes around the plant and use string to pull them up and improve the looks. Your problem began last summer by not pinching them back. Pinching stiffens the stems to prevent sprawling and creates more blooms.

Q: When do we cut back our ornamental grasses?

A: Next spring. As long as something is green, they are putting nutrients in your plants. In the meantime, enjoy the dancing plumes, even if they are brown. They are far prettier than looking at stumps of grass until next spring. Cut them back when you see new grass emerging from the plant next spring.

Q: How do we take back our straggly 8-foot-tall red bird of paradise to 4 feet?

A: It may freeze down this winter. If it does, remove the frozen canes down to your desired height. Next season as branches reach up, nip them off as they grow past that desired height. This will also thicken the bush.

Q: I have an 8-year-old saguaro and wonder why it's turning yellow and leaning.

A: You didn't say how you watered it. Saguaros need a well-drained soil to drain away any excess water. Otherwise root rot sets in. I suspect water is not draining away.

Drill some holes through the rooted area into the native soil to drain away the excess water.

Readers, please take note. When you send in questions, it is so much easier for us to diagnose problems if we know the size of the emitters and the length of time you run them. A single one-gallon dripper watering a mesquite tree will not deliver enough water to keep it alive but it will provide adequate water for a single petunia.

Q: Why are pecan leaves at the end of each branch small? I fertilize the plant yearly.

A: It's a zinc deficiency; we call this "little leaf." So, add some zinc. It may take a few years to correct the deficiency.

Q: Why does my 3-year-old mesquite lean away from my house? It has lush growth, so we staked it. We were told if we cut back the water it will develop a strong taproot.

A: First, you planted it too close to the house, causing it to lean away to get more light. The lush growth suggests you are overwatering it, so cut back on the water and thin out the tree.

We recommend removing stakes after the first year. Trees become dependent on them and staking can weaken the trees down the road.

Mesquites develop a wide- spreading root system to take advantage of any available rainwater. Deep-water under the tree to create a strong root system.

Q: Why did my vinca flowers suddenly die?

A: One of two diseases - phytophthora or rhizoctonia - is likely causing the trouble. These soil diseases become active when there is excessive moisture in the soil. Adding extra water and fertilizer only accelerates the diseases. Give your plants deep irrigations but less often, so the soil has a chance to dry out.

Linn Mills' garden column appears on Sundays. You can reached him at liinmillslv@gmail.com or call him at 526-1495.