Xtremehorticulture

Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

Scorpions Entering Home Since September

Leave a Comment / Bark scorpion, How to kill scorpions, how to prevent scorpions from coming in the house /

Q. I thought I would send this to you about scorpions in our neighborhood.  I live in the Coventry homes area adjacent to Anthem Country Club.  In the past 17 nights armed with a UV light, screw drive and instant light propane torch I have killed 205 scorpions around our house. So far we have only had two in the house, lucky us.  Is there a better way to control the scorpions than getting out every night and hunting them down?  Bark scorpion A. They have been trying to get in to warm locations since it started getting cold. All of these critters are cold-blooded so they will tend to migrate into warm locations when temperatures cool in the fall. Homeowners threatened by having scorpions in their home or landscape may not get much comfort from this comment but these guys do a lot in controlling insects. They are insect predators. The good thing is they go after bad guys. The bad thing is they also go after good guys. They don’t discriminate between good insects and bad insects (from a human perspective). There are different approaches regarding the management of scorpions. One method is total extermination such as you are trying to do. It will seldom be totally effective but it will reduce their numbers considerably. Another management method is to put barriers down that prevent entry into the home. These also will not be totally, 100% effective but they should greatly reduce the numbers that enter the home. I generally recommend applying a barrier spray to the outside of the home, similar to the type of spray used to keep out spiders and cockroaches. Actually scorpions are quite easy to kill with insecticides. They are very susceptible to them and often times are killed when they eat other insects that have come in contact with many insecticides used for spider and roach control. Any barrier spray application to the foundation of the home will work. I wrote a piece on this for Viragrow. I will attach a link to that publication. Barrier Spray for Controlling Pests

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Rosemary likes infrequent Waterings Or There Will Be Problems

Leave a Comment / how often should I water Rosemary, why does my Rosemary plant have dead shoots, Why is my Rosemary dying /

Q. My Rosemarys are dying.  I planted quite a few thinking that I won’t have a problem with them.  I lost two already that were planted about five years ago.  I just planted six more this last spring. What is going on? They get enough water and fertilizer.  I am afraid that I’ll lose them all. The Rosemarys that died were planted on the east side about two yards away from the house.  They got a hole about 1, 1/2 feet deep and wide with mixed soil. They get sun in the morning and afternoon sun from the west.  The sprinklers go on only four days a week for 10 minutes in the summer, but in the winter I set the clock to go on only twice a week. It could be that there is bad drainage so close to the house. What else should I plant?  I noticed one Rosemary in the front of the house which is the west side, getting dry shoots, which I cut off. Healthy Rosemary on top picture. Rosemary with problems on the bottom two pictures. The middle picture is most likely a water or drainage problem or possibly salinity. A. It is possible that it is due to poor drainage but I still think your watering too often in the summer. They should be able to last longer between irrigations. Posthole digger Usually the soil surrounding the foundation is compacted for the slab’s stability. You could take a posthole digger and go down two or more feet and backfill this hole with amended soil and replant again. I would dig a hole 3 to 5 times the diameter of the container you are planting anything in our soil. Three times a week in midsummer might be too often for rosemary unless you have really good drainage. It is not a desert plant but it does not like wet soil. The soil amendments I am suggesting is really good for any plant, including desert adapted plants so you should be doing this anyway. It is hard for me to recommend something without knowing your needs, the site better and what is available. The most common reason for Rosemary to die is because the soil stays too wet. You definitely do not want to water this plant daily unless the soil it’s growing in drains water exceedingly well. The principal reason for the soil staying too wet is a lack of drainage. Typically if soils growing Rosemary stay too wet the roots will develop a disease called root rot and they die and collapse. Shortly after that you begin to see the top die. Often times you’ll see one or two shoots dying and then typically in the heat of the summer the whole plant suddenly dies. Once the soil gets contaminated with this disease organism other plants susceptible to that disease and placed in that soil might also become affected. Replanting Rosemary in the same soil where it died is not a good idea. It will like a place in the yard in full sun and hot. It will not like shady areas very much. The next time you plant Rosemary make sure the soil is thoroughly mixed with compost to a depth of at least 12 inches. Rosemary originates from Mediterranean climates. Mediterranean climates are characterized by hot and dry summers and cool and wet winters. Rosemary does very well in the heat and can tolerate the cold.

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Fig Tree in November with Yellow and Scorched Leaves

Leave a Comment / why does my fig tree have scorched leaves, Why does my fig tree have yellowing leaves, why is my fig tree dropping leaves /

Q. Can you tell me what is causing the leaf scorching on my black mission fig tree?  Is this normal for the fall?  I haven’t seen any pests or other obviously signs of disease. As you can see, it is producing its third crop of figs so I think it is receiving sufficient water. The first two crops of figs were good and juicy.  It is currently receiving 8 gallons of water of each time it is watered; just watered once a week now (as of November 1st).  Previously, it was receiving 16 gallons of water per week (i.e., watered twice at 8 gallons each).   Two days after it was watered, I checked the soil at about a foot below the surface and the soil seemed moist (not soggy). Readers fig tree, scorched leaves and fig crop I read in your blog that fig trees rarely produce a third crop of figs in Las Vegas so should I remove all of the figs and allow the tree to store its energy until the spring? A. The leaf scorching that you’re seeing is soil related. This usually means either the plant is not getting enough water or there are salt problems. Because you are producing nice juicy figs I am guessing it’s a salt problem. I would do two things to your fig tree. First I would move the drip emitters further from the trunk, usually about 18 inches. As this tree gets larger it will need more emitters. This tree should have four emitters 18 inches from the trunk and spaced like a square with the trunk in the center of the square. Secondly, I would cover the area under the tree with more wood mulch to a depth of about 4 inches and covering an area at least 6 feet in diameter with the trunk being at the center of that diameter or circle. The fact that you are getting nice juicy figs tells me the plant is getting enough water. What I sense is that the roots are now growing beyond the planted area and are encountering salty soils. I would take a hose and flood that area with water to begin to push the salts away from the roots. You don’t want to push the salts back toward the tree but you want to push them away from the tree or you want to push them deeper into the soil below the roots. This requires water and enough water to wet the soil down to a depth of about 18 inches. If you can temporarily construct a berm or donut around the tree about 6 feet in diameter that will hold water you can fill this donut two or three times with water from a hose and that will help to flush the salts away from the roots. The other thing you can do is take one of those small stationary sprinklers that attach to a hose and turn up the water pressure so that it sprays water on top of the soil in an area about 6 feet in diameter and flood that soil to leach the salts. This might require that you turn the sprinkler on for 10 or 15 minutes several times with about an hour between. Otherwise you might get flooding. Once the water begins to flood or puddle you won’t get very good leaching. You want and even application applied to the surface of the soil with little to no puddling, entering the soil and pushing the salts in the wave to a depth below the roots which is typically about 18 inches deep. Don’t forget to fertilize your fig tree this next January.

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Buying and Planting Italian Cypress

Leave a Comment / how do I irrigate Italian Cypress, How do I plant Italian Cypress, how do I water Italian Cypress /

Q. Two of my Italian Cypress trees died so I am replacing them. What size do you suggest I buy and how to I prepare the area prior to planting and correct way to plant them? Italian Cypress A. Get the smallest plants you can find if that size is acceptable to you. I would start with five gallon plants if it were me. If I can find 1 gallon plants, I would plant them. If they are well cared-for they will catch up to five, 15 gallon plants and even larger in just a short time. Amend the soil with about 50% compost and to a depth equal to the depth of the container. The soil should be modified a distance 3 to 5 times the diameter of the planting container. It is more important to amend the soil on the perimeter of the container than the soil below the container. However, and this is a big however in our soils, if the soil is particularly hard to dig beneath the container then I would take a post hole digger and dig a chimney at the bottom of the container and fill that hole with amended soil to improve drainage. Thoroughly wet the amended soil several times after you planted the trees. Five gallon plants should not need to be staked. With improved drainage they should be able to handle more frequent irrigations without problems. If soils do not drain freely you will have problems with these trees in future years. Fertilize them once in January or February with an all-purpose tree and shrub fertilizer. Put them on a valve with other trees and shrubs. They will do fine on the same valve with most of your landscape trees and large shrubs as well as fruit trees.

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Gopher Plants Dying

Leave a Comment / Euphorbia rigida, how to water gopher plant, why is my gopher plant dying, why is the top dying back in my gopher plant /

Q. What do think the problem would be with my three gopher plants? They seem to be getting enough water. Readers Gopher plant A. I am going to send you to a page at the Arizona State University for some general information. http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/euphorbiarigida.html                                                 This plant is a Mediterranean plant which means it likes soils that drain easily, hot summers within infrequent irrigation and cool rainy winters. Whenever I see branch die back on plants like this it usually indicates there is too much water remaining in the soil between irrigations.That is followed closely with root death caused by one of several plant diseases. This means it is either watered too often or the soil does not drain very well or both. If this is the case, you will not solve this problem by simply giving it less water. You either have to take up the plant, amend that soil and replant it or move it to a new location that has improved soils and can handle frequent waterings. Keep in mind, if this plant has a root disease you will be replanting it with that disease. If the soil is amended with high quality compost the plant may have a fighting chance of surviving through that disease. If you cannot change how often the water comes on, you will have to change how rapidly the soil can drain the water. You will not change the soil by adding sand. This will make it worse. You have to use amendments such as compost, perlite, etc. Once you have solved this problem you could cut this plant back to three or 4 inches in height and have it regrow again. Dead portions of the plant you can remove completely. Fertilize lightly in the early spring.

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Pick Concorde Grapes When Ripe

Leave a Comment / when to pick Concord grapes, Why are my Concord grapes small, will Concord grapes grow in the desert /

Q. We had a nice sized crop of Concord grapes this past summer. The grapes were still a bit small compared to what I’m used to. They are more sweet than tart but I’m not sure how much longer to leave them on the vine. Any thoughts? A. Grapes no longer develop sugar once they are picked. Other examples of fruit that don’t ripen after picking are cherries and figs. Leave them on the vine as long as you can. This is what Concorde grape should look like Some fruits like peaches and plums continue to develop sugars and become sweeter after they have been harvested. When you pick grapes, figs and cherries, what you pick is what you get. Bunches of grapes as well as the berries themselves ripen at different times. Usually a good time to harvest is when there is a small percentage of the berries that are overripe and beginning to shrivel. Concord grape grown in the desert doesn’t seem to develop the same color or sweetness that it does in New England. Don’t harvest grapes all at once. Harvest bunches which are ripe and delay harvesting those that are not quite ready. You may harvest 2 to 3 times a week depending on how hot it is. The hotter it is, the faster they ripen. As grapes ripen, sugar content increases about 1% every 2 to 3 days. The best indicator is to taste them. If they taste good, they are ready to harvest. Next year, remove smaller bunches so that remaining bunches are spaced about every 10 to 12 inches apart. Cut about one third off of the bottom of the remaining bunches. Do this when the berries are about the size of a small pea. As long as the vines are getting plenty of water during fruit development and their thinned, you will get larger berries and bunches. Just a note. Concord grape is a New England grape and will not perform the same in the hot desert climates.

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African Sumacs Pretty but Messy

Leave a Comment / Leaf drop in African sumac, Why is my African sumac dropping leaves /

Q. I have two 20-year old African Sumacs in my back yard that drop nearly all their leaves every summer.  Every fall they always come back.  Is this normal?  Beautiful tress but make a real mess!  A. African sumac is a messy tree. There is going to be a lot of leaf drop and the female trees will drop a lot of berries. The seeds in the berries germinate easily and you may see seedlings popping up all over the place. African sumac in Bloom in February Sparrows and mockingbirds love the fruit from the female tree and help to disperse new seedlings all over your neighbor’s landscapes. The male trees produce pollen that is pretty allergenic usually around February or March. These are drawbacks to African sumac. African sumac in Bloom in February

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Keep Green Bush Daisy out of the Rocks

Leave a Comment / euryops daisy, how to fertilize, how to grow green Bush Daisy, Why is my green Bush Daisy dropping leaves /

Q. I put a Green Bush Daisy in late this last spring.  I got lots of blooms at first but now no blooms and the plant is yellowing.  What’s wrong?  A. The Green Bush Daisy or Euryops should bloom for you all through the summer and stay dark green if the soil has been amended at the time of planting with compost and you apply fertilizers regularly. If you put this plant in a rock landscape with very little soil improvement or have it surrounded in rock mulch then yellowing is quite common. It will do much better with improved soils and an organic surface mulch such as wood mulch. For it to continue to flower through the summer, the soil should remain moist and not dry out. They will not like rock mulch at all if this is what you have. Try adding some iron and good quality fertilizer such as Miracle Gro or Peters applied to the soil and watered in about once a month.

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Best Small Apricot Is Gold Kist

Leave a Comment / recommended variety of apricot for the desert, What apricot tree stays small /

Q. I would like to plant an apricot tree with my existing pomegranate and orange.  I would like one with the larger fruit and keep the tree to approximately six feet tall with regular pruning. Do you have any suggesting as to variety and where I can purchase one? A. I hesitate a little bit just because I don’t know what you’re going to find in apricots locally. Selection of apricots is quite limited here in Las Vegas. You might have to order online if they even have left. You might find some Fall leftovers in the nurseries. Winter form of 15-year-old Gold Kist apricot One of my favorite apricots that stays about 6 to 7 feet tall and requires little additional pruning when trained early in its development is Gold Kist apricot grafted on to Nemaguard rootstock. This is a normal sized apricot tree. The fruit is excellent. http://www.davewilson.com/product-information/product/gold-kist-apricot

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