Xtremehorticulture

Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

Plants (and other things) That Attract Bees in Desert Landscapes

Leave a Comment / Attracting bees to landscapes /

Q. I would like to plant some bee attracting plants this fall.  I read that bee balm is excellent but that Vegas is not the best climate for it. Do you have some suggestions for plants in Las Vegas? A. When do you want the bees to come? It isn’t difficult to find plants that attract bees. It is more difficult to find plants that bloom at a time when you need to attract pollinators. Rosemary is a good plan for attracting honeybees because it blooms almost all season long, particularly during the winter months in warm locations. I like Rosemary because they are flowering and attracting bees at the same time when fruit trees are just starting to bloom. Plants are only one ingredient for a attracting pollinators like bees into the garden. A good winter plant for attracting them in the winter months is Rosemary. You need to attract honeybees into the yard starting in early February to help pollinate peaches, nectarines and apricots. Here is a honey be attracted to a fairy duster plant. The flowering time must correspond to the time when you need to attract these insects for pollination. Water If you put out some water, keep it clean and have a shallow landing area for them it will attract bees. When it starts to get warm, bees haul water back to the hive to keep it cool. Just simply putting out a birdbath near your vegetable garden helps pull them into your garden area. But remember to keep the water and birdbath clean. Don’t fill the birdbath with water. Leave an area for these insects to land, collect water and return to the hive. Or put some rocks in the birdbath that they can land on.You’ll see them trying to use swimming pools but often times they drown because there is no shallow area to collect water. Leaf cutter bees typically come out too late in the season to do much good in pollinating early season fruit trees but they can be great in the vegetable garden as long as you can tolerate the damage from them. Food Hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water attract honeybees. They need that the sugar for energy and will take this concoction back to the hive. The hummingbird feeder needs to be emptied, cleaned,  washed and filled again with clean sugar water. Feeding honeybees sugar water isn’t the healthiest diet but it will attract them to the vegetable area. Some Tanglefoot on the support stake keeps ants out of the feeder.Sometime around late March or April leaf cutter bees will become active. They are great pollenizers but they come out fairly late in the spring. You can increase the number of solitary bees on your property by putting out places for them to lay their eggs like these Bee boxes. They are just 4 x 4’s with 3/8 inch holes drilled in them for the females to lay their eggs. Solitary bees like leaf cutters are very good pollinators. Bee balm, Monarda, will grow fine here. It just isn’t a desert plant so don’t treat it like one. Bee balm cannot be planted and cared for as you would, for instance, desert marigold, a true desert plant.             Bee balm will need soil improvement at the time of planting and watered more often than plants like desert marigold. Many of the herbs like rosemary are great for attracting honeybees. Other herbs favored by honeybees include oregano and marjoram.             During hot weather, honeybees like scavenging for water. They are constantly hauling water back to their hives to help keep it cool. If you have lots of plants flowering in the yard, then providing water that honeybees can haul may be a partial solution.             Provide a shallow reservoir of water with a “landing area” so they won’t drown. Make sure the water is changed regularly so that it’s clean, like a birdbath.

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Why Does My Yellow Lady Banks Rose Have White Flowers?

Leave a Comment / White flowers on lady banks Rose /

Q. I planted three yellow Lady Banks roses on my south wall when I moved here 10 years ago. Two years ago, my neighbor planted a white, lady Banks rose nearby. This year I noticed white roses growing on my “yellow” Lady Banks rose. I thought these flowers might be from their plant but traced it back to the base of my vine. Will my yellow roses eventually all be transformed to white? How do you explain this botanically? Some lady banks roses are grafted onto route stocks that produce white flowers. Is this a miracle when white flowers appear? A. I wish we could declare it a miracle, submit it somewhere and have a party. But, unfortunately, it probably isn’t. What makes this observation even more interesting is that Lady Banks rose comes in two basic colors; yellow and white flowering selections. White Lady Banks rose             On rare occasions, a totally different plant can grow from a mother plant. This is called a “sport” in horticultural terms. These are genetic abnormalities, a mutant if you will. Most mutants are not valuable, wasted time in evolution, but sometimes they can be valuable. Yellow Lady Banks rose             One example is the nectarine. The fruit from a nectarine tree is basically a hairless peach. The tree is identical to a peach tree. If this hairless fruit had hair on it, we would call it a peach.             The first nectarine, ever, was found by a farmer growing as a “sport” from a peach tree. Mutants like these can give rise to totally new types of plants which can become important commercially. If it wasn’t for this observant farmer, we wouldn’t have nectarines today.             Back to your situation.  Then how did these white flowers suddenly appear on a totally “yellow” plant? Unfortunately, the explanation is probably quite simple and not very “miraculous”. Notice that this sucker with white flowers on it is coming low on the plant, close to the rootstock.             Lady Banks rose is grown commercially by grafting the Lady Banks part, called the scion, onto a different rose plant used for its roots; the rootstock. This rootstock is a totally different kind of rose flower but it’s roots that have desirable characteristics that can contribute to the survival of the scion plant. Lady Banks rose over the top of the wall             In your particular case, the scion, the yellow Lady Banks rose, was probably grafted to Rosa fortuniana, a white rose commonly used for it’s very desirable traits as a rootstock.             Rosa fortuniana shows excellent resistance to nematodes and a great deal of tolerance to poor soils. It is a very common rootstock used for roses planted in southern climates of the United States.             These white flowers come from a “sucker” growing from this white “rootstock” rose. As it gets older, this sucker produces white flowers, quite a bit larger than flowers of the yellow Lady Banks, but an excellent rose in its own right just the same. Yellow lady banks rose used as a screen on a trellis behind some retail establishments.             You can elect to prune these “white suckers” from the mother plant and keep it totally yellow or let these suckers grow and have a beautiful combination of white and yellow flowers on the same plant. Some pruning may be required to achieve a balance in growth between the two roses so that one does not dominate over the other.

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When to Change the Irrigation Clock and How Often

2 Comments / How much to irrigate and when /

Q. You mentioned increasing how often you water, not the number of minutes, as the growing season changes. When are these changes made and how often should they be watered? A. Irrigation schedules can be important but they can also cause problems if some flexibility in this schedule isn’t provided when the weather isn’t cooperating. This cool, wet spring was the perfect example. Irrigation Should Follow a Seasonal Pattern             Scheduling irrigations should follow a seasonal pattern that increase the frequency of applied water as the season moves from spring to summer to fall. This is much easier to do than adjusting the number of minutes of applied water. These are daily averages of water use of plants in the Las Vegas Valley as they vary from month to month. The numbers 1 – 12 correspond to the months of January (1) through December (12).On top of each bar is the daily average of water use for the month in inches of water per day.Notice in June (6) and July (7), the hottest months, water use is 4/10 of an inch per day. While in January (1) and December (12), the coolest months, water use is 1/10 of an inch of water per day.This represents a 400% increase in water use from mid-winter to Midsummer. Basic fruit tree irrigation schedule for Southern Nevada First week of February (irrigate once per week) Last week of April – first week of May (twice per week) Midsummer, late May – June (three times per week) last week of August – September (twice per week) last week of October – November (once per week) second week of December (winter schedule, leaf drop, 10 – 14 days) Using the Soil Moisture Probe For Fine-tuning The concept of an irrigation schedule is sound but some hands-on judgment should be applied when irrigation changes are considered. These judgments help “fine tune” a schedule around unseasonal weather conditions.              Knowing how much water is remaining in the soil is a critical hands-on judgment. It is impossible to look at the surface of the soil and know how much water is around the roots. A piece of equipment I have found valuable is a heavy-duty, soil moisture sensor. The one I like has a 24 inch stem and can be purchased online from stores like Amazon for about $70. I will put a link to it on my blog. Soil moisture probe with the moisture sensing device located at the tip of the probe. This is a heavy duty model that can be pushed into most desert soils without breaking. Push the probe into the soil slowly to get moisture measurements near the surface of the soil and deeper as it is pushed deeper into the soil. Moisture sensor is located at the tip of the probe. Measure soil moisture around trees at three to four locations for each tree and midway between drip emitters Heavy Duty 24 inch Soil Moisture Proble The moisture sensor is located at the tip of the probe measure soil moisture at three or four locations at each tree slowly push probe into the soil to root depth (2 to 8 inches) as you watch the meter meter needle should indicate more moisture as the probe is pushed deeper irrigation is needed when the average moisture level has dropped to “6” or below Moisture 8-10 No irrigation needed Moisture 7-6  Irrigate soon Moisture 5-6 Irrigate now Moisture 1-4 Reserved for cacti; too dry, possible plant damage Water in the soil is like the gas tank of a car Think of the soil surrounding fruit tree roots like the gas tank of a car. We fill a gas tank after we drive the car for awhile. When irrigating, use about 50% of this “gas” before filling the “tank” again.  During the winter months, when fruit trees use very little water, we fill the gas tank infrequently. During the summer months when we are “driving around a lot”, fill the gas tank more often.  Change the watering frequency, not the number of minutes.

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Where to Get Woodchip Mulch for Landscapes in Southern Nevada

Leave a Comment / Woodchip mulch benefits /

Q. I have been very pleased with the woodchip mulch I got from the University Orchard and am using around my fruit trees. I need more of it in larger quantities. Can you recommend where I can get it? A demonstration on fruit tree growth using woodchip mulch applied to the surface of desert soils after planting clearly showed the benefits that this organic mulch gives fruit trees planted in desert soils after only one season of growth. The community mulch pile is a free source of wood chips that are diverted from entering public landfills, buried in the desert. Community mulch piles are located in North Las Vegas near the RC airport and shadow Creek High School as well as in the southern part of the Valley just south of the airport near Windmill and 215. For more information about how you can get this mulch, call the Master Gardener helpline at 702 – 257 – 5555 A. I started using local woodchips as a surface mulch around fruit trees back in the late 1990s at the University Orchard in North Las Vegas. I agree. The health of the trees when woodchip mulch is used surrounding them is like the difference between night and day.             Woodchips slowly decompose into the soil surrounding these trees over two or three years time, thus dramatically improving desert soil. When I was looking for woodchips in the late 1990’s to supply to the Orchard as a mulch that was free from palm (slow breakdown) and mesquite wood (thorns), First Choice Tree Service jumped at the chance of working with us on this project. They provided a beautiful mulch free of both of this type of wood and clean. They rearrange their pruning schedule so they could deliver a clean supply of mulch for our fruit trees.             These woodchips are sourced from local trees “rescued” from the landfills. They are recycled rather than buried in the desert. I do not allow palm trees or mesquite wood in this woodchip mulch mix because of the dangerous thorns of the mesquite and the difficulty in getting palm wood to decompose.             The benefits from using woodchips as a surface mulch around fruit trees and landscape plants will be seen the first year after it’s applied around the trees.             These woodchips can be picked up free of charge from the University Orchard and North Las Vegas or the Cooperative Extension office just south of the airport. For more information call the Master Gardener helpline at 702–257–5555.             The primary tree company in Las Vegas responsible for this effort is First Choice Tree Service. It is worth giving them a call to see if they can deliver it in large quantities.

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All Plants Moved to a New Location Suffer from Some Sort of Transplant Shock

Leave a Comment / recovery time, Transplant shock, transplanting /

Q. In early February I moved a small Ruby Red Grapefruit tree into a half barrel full of prepared soil. I made sure the roots did not dry out when I moved it. I pruned the top back best I could.  What leaves were still on eventually fell off. It is slow to put on new growth compared to my other citrus trees. Ruby red grapefruit moved to a container, transplanted, with the top cut back to compensate for root loss during transplanting.New growth will occur first on existing buds. If the tree must form new buds because they were all removed when they were pruned, the tree will take longer to recover. Ruby red grapefruit stem cut with a thumbnail and shows that the stem is still alive and healthy because it is green under the “bark”. A. Your tree is experiencing “transplant shock”. No matter how careful we are when moving a plant, roots get torn, they dry out, and the roots must readjust to their new environment. Sometimes these adjustments are minor. Sometimes they are major. Minor adjustments may be so short in time that the tree seems like it needed no recovery time at all. Major adjustments take longer to recover. During major adjustments or recovery time, the tree does not grow at all but just sits there seemingly like in frozen animation. The tree is alive, but it isn’t growing. You can see that it is still alive by doing what you did with your thumbnail. This is because the tree must make other adjustments to the damage that you can’t see.             Once moved, the new plant must take some time to ‘repair’ these torn and damaged roots first before it can resume normal growth again. Sometimes we say that the tree is reestablishing its “root to shoot ratio”. If these adjustments are minor, transplant shock is hardly noticeable. If these adjustments are major, it can cause long delays in resumption of new growth or the plant can die.             How quickly the tree recovers depends on how it was pruned after moving it. Shearing the entire plant causes the tree to recover more slowly. This is because all of the buds for a quick growth response are removed when the plant is sheared. Selectively removing branches aids the plant and recovering more quickly.This is because buds that will grow quickly are left remaining on the tree.             Most likely your tree will recover soon. Keep it out of intense sunlight until you see signs of recovery. Then move it back into full sun. Make sure the tree is staked so the roots don’t move so that they must reestablish again. Keep the soil moist but not wet to minimize root rot. Sometimes we panic and water too often thinking we are trying to help the tree. This can actually cause problems. Here’s how to minimize transplant shock. 1.         Move as much and as many of the roots as possible. Moving all of the roots is not possible when transplanting established trees. 2.         Cut back the top. By pruning the top back we readjust the root to shoot ratio in a positive way and encourage the top to grow back more quickly. 3.         Amend the new soil around the roots to be as similar to the old soil, or better, as possible. 4.         Stake the new tree. Keep the roots from moving around too much in the new soil. Stake the plant so the roots do not move. The top can move but the roots should not for one growing season. 5.         Add phosphorus fertilizer to the new hole. Phosphorus fertilizer helps routes to grow and establish in their new soil. 6.         Keep the soil moist but do not keep it wet. Roots need air to breathe. Add enough water to the soil to keep it moist but not overly wet which drives out the air around the roots. 7.         Wait. New root growth it takes a while. Be patient. As soon as roots become established in the soil, the top of the tree will show signs of growth.

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When to Plant Tomatoes

Leave a Comment / planting, tomato /

Q. When can I put tomato plants outside in the garden? We all want these, right?Putting tomato plants into the garden at the right time is critical in our hot, desert climate. They don’t set fruit when temperatures get above 95° F. They grow poorly at temperatures in the 60s. That “sweet spot” for tomato fruit set can disappear quickly in the hot desert climates, particularly after prolonged cool wet springs. A. This has been a crazy Spring! Tomato plants grow best when soils are warm and air temperatures are above 60° F and below 90°. Traditionally, our last freeze is after mid-March. Most gardeners like to get their tomato plants out earlier than this, any time after mid-February, if its warm enough. Tomato stem rot occurs on tomato plants frequently when soil temperatures are cold and tomatoes are put outside too early.             Start watching weather projections, up to a few weeks ahead, around mid-February. As soon as weather projections predict warm weather for a 2 to 3 week period after mid-February, put transplants outside and help them to adjust from the protected greenhouse to the harsher garden environment.              Put transplants in a location protected from strong wind and intense afternoon sunlight. They should get eight hours of sun every day to remain vigorous. Never plant them in the same spot in the garden year after year. Plant them in a different part of the garden each year to reduce disease problems. This tomato plant stem was buried in the garden soil. New roots were supposed to grow from the buried stem. Instead, the tomatoes them died along with the plant. The transplant was put in the garden when soils were still cold and the soil did not drain water easily. Instead, the tomato transplant developed stem rot.             Prepare the garden soil for planting while transplants acclimate. Remember, tomatoes like warm soils so garden preparation should focus on “fluffing” the soil so that it warms more quickly. Add compost to it and double dig, spade or till the soil to open it and let warm air and sunlight raise its temperature. Hot caps and wall-o-waters are sometimes used to protect tender new transplants when air temperatures are still cold and potentially freezing. Transplants are protected from freezing temperatures but unfortunately the soil temperatures are still cold. These cold soil temperatures don’t permit transplants to grow as fast as they might.             Heavy, wet soils warm slowly when temperatures are rising. Alternatively, cover these spots with clear plastic, if you have to, to trap heat and warm it more quickly. Pin the edges of the clear plastic to the soil to keep the heat trapped under it. A potentially better technique is to warm the soil first with clear plastic and plant tomato seed directly into trenches in the warmed soil. This can be done in the middle of winter. This was demonstrated at the University Orchard in North Las Vegas.             When weather projections are positive, plant tomatoes transplants into warm soil along with a pre-plant fertilizer to improve rooting. If a generous application of compost was used during garden preparation, then add only a phosphorus fertilizer to the soil surrounding the transplant. This phosphorus fertilizer could be a mineral type such as triple super phosphate or a natural phosphorus source like bone meal.

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If it Survives the Winter, Don’t Cut Bougainvillea Back

Leave a Comment / Bougainvillea, freezing damage, Winter freeze /

Q. Should bougainvillea be cut back in the winter?  I have two in large pots. I want to see them grow fuller this spring and summer. Cut back or leave them? Bougainvillea is a witty perennial shrub in semi tropical and tropical parts of the world. We can grow it in winter freezing climates because it grows back from the roots if the top part freezes. If it gets very cold, the crown or top part of the plan may die each winter this happens. In our climate we grow it as an “herbaceous perennial” like lilies and Iris. If it freezes during the winter, we cut off the top debt part and let it regrow from the roots. Otherwise, leave it alone. A. Wait until about March 1 and see if there is any winter damage from freezing. Then decide. If there is, cut it back close to the ground and let it regrow again. Winter freezing damage to bougainvillea. When temperatures drop just one degree below freezing, damage begins to occur on bougainvillea. When this freezing temperature remains for any length of time, more and more freezing damage occurs. It will grow back from the crown (that part of the stem and roots that connect the two) if temperatures do not get too cold for a long time.             If there is no winter freeze damage, make this plant fuller by cutting the stems back at various heights (so it doesn’t look like a butch haircut) anywhere from a foot to foot half from the ground. For every cut you make, three new shoots will grow and increase the density of the plant.

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Sugar Snaps Peas Producing Snow Peas

1 Comment / snow peas, sugar snap peas /

Q. Have had much success with sugar snap peas, but lately I’ve been planting sugar snap peas and getting snow peas instead.  Is it because the seed is old?  Snow peas after harvest in Kenya. A. I’m not sure the difference you are seeing between these snow peas and snap peas. Snow peas have flat pods when young and we see them frequently used in stirfry. Snap peas, or sugar snap peas as they are sometimes called, have round pods when they are young and not used conventionally in stirfry. Kenya producer using sticks and string to trellis their snow peas. High elevations in Kenya is a perfect cool year around climate for snow pea production.             Snap peas, when they first emerge, are flat. As the seed inside the pod begins to enlarge the pod becomes round. If you pick snap peas too early they will look like snow peas. When harvesting snap peas, wait a little bit longer for the seed to enlarge and the pod to become round. But harvest the pods before the seed becomes mature. If you wait too long, the seed contains more starch rather than sugar and not as sweet. Sugar snap pea seedlings in bloom and ready to climb the chicken wire. Cold weather near Bloom time can cause problems and a lack of pea production inside the pod.             The differences between the two are genetic so it should have nothing to do with the age of the seed. Snap peas were genetically bred from their ancestors, the English or garden pea and snow peas, to be less fibrous when they are young. The perfect size for snow be export to Europe from Kenya.             You also might be referring to the “strings” in the pod or how tough the pod is. If strings are a problem, harvest when very young or the pod may get tough when older. If you’re having problems with strings, remove the strings from the pods before using them and start harvesting earlier.

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Spider Mite Problem from Nursery Tomato Transplants

Leave a Comment / disease, fruit trees, insects, nursery plants, transplants /

Q. Two years ago, you correctly diagnosed our tomato plants with spider mites from pictures we sent. Last year we got spider mites again. We started most of our tomatoes from seed last year but bought a few plants from a local nursery and planted them in each of the vegetable beds. Is it common to get spider mites from nursery plants?  A. I don’t know how common it is for pests to be brought in from plant nurseries but I know it is more common than I would like. I have personally witnessed and identified disease and insect problems coming from nursery plants (houseplants, transplants, fruit trees and landscape container plants) before they were planted. Some disease problems on locally purchased container fruit trees. Sometimes insects and diseases can be problems when purchasing nursery materials. This disease infection may have started in the wholesale nursery first and passed on to the local consumer by the retail nursery.Avoid buying problem plants and introducing them into your home garden or landscape.             Some plant problems are easy to see and others are not and don’t develop fully until later. Growing plants free of insect and disease problems requires knowledge about the pests, a clean growing area and a regular prevention and treatment program. Off-color leaves and spotting of leaves can be indicators that they are not healthy or they were poorly cared for. Purchasing nursery transplants can sometimes bring problems into the garden. It can be a problem when low prices are an expectation by the nursery or garden center which may encourage a lack of care or over application of pesticides by the greenhouse producer. Inspect your plants before purchasing and avoid buying those with problems at the get-go.             If possible, put plants in isolated areas until you are sure they are “clean”. This is a common recommendation when buying houseplants. Houseplants are frequently loaded with disease and insect problems and infest other plants once inside the house. Fireblight disease was brought into this planting of apples and pears by introducing an infected Bartlett pear tree from a retail nursery. Once established, this disease spread to other European and Asian pears causing a lot of destruction and loss of plant life.             When bringing home plants, spray them with oils and soap and water sprays before planting. Don’t bring home “bargain bin” or dumpster plants thinking you’ve got a deal. You are asking for trouble unless you know what you’re doing. Don’t risk contaminating pristine plants by mixing them with plants unknown to you.If you must do it, keep them isolated from other plants until you are sure they are healthy.             As far as spider mites on tomatoes are concerned, inspect plants using the “white paper method” and a hand lens. Remove weeds growing in the containers, remove dying or damaged leaves, spray plants with soap sprays, and alternate with neem and other oils when you see them. Inspect plants

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Use Compost in Place of Fertilizer

1 Comment / compost, fertilizer /

Sudan grass without compost (above) and with compost applied (below) growing in Amargosa Valley, Nevada. Composts can provide alot of benefits to plants including much needed nutrients that improve color and growth. Q. If I make my own compost, can I use it instead of commercial fertilizers for grass, plants, trees, shrubs? A. Yes you can. But please be aware that homemade compost is not consistent in fertilizer content and quality. This is because of variability of different ingredients used to make the compost. The ingredients used to make compost directly impact the nutrients found in compost made from it. However, compost is universally good, whether it’s commercial or homemade, when added to soils as a soil amendment. Spreading compost on vegetable plots between palm trees for soil improvement and fertilizer content.             When using compost as a substitute for fertilizer, it is important to know its carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N), in other words how much nitrogen fertilizer it contains. The nitrogen content of a compost is critical. High nitrogen content (low carbon to nitrogen ratio) makes compost “hot” and less of it should be used. If compost has a high carbon to nitrogen ratio (low nitrogen content), then more of it should be applied when substituting it for fertilizer. When applying compost to lawns a compost drum spreader is used to apply it evenly.             Commercial composts aim for a carbon to nitrogen ratio close to 20:1 or twenty times more carbon than nitrogen. As this ratio increases to 40:1, the nitrogen fertilizer content decreases. At a ratio more than 40:1, the compost is still valuable but it’s value is greater as a soil amendment rather than fertilizer. When applied to fruit or landscape trees, compost can be applied in a circle around the trunk so that it doesn’t damage the tree. It is then watered in.             The carbon to nitrogen ratio in homemade compost is managed through what is added to the compost mix before composting. “Woody” additions to compost like wood chips, sawdust and shredded newspaper (sometimes referred to as the “brown” component) increase the carbon to nitrogen ratio. Compost piles have ingredients that are shredded, water is added to help it all “rot” and  the pile is turned when the temperature inside the pile gets hot, around 160F. Manures are usually used to get the nitrogen content high enough for rotting to begin.             Additions of grass clippings, leaves of trees and shrubs, and vegetable scraps (referred to as the “green” component) lowers the carbon to nitrogen ratio and make it more valuable as a fertilizer.             Animal manure (think of it as a concentrated “green” component) is high in nitrogen and added to get the carbon to nitrogen ratio low and improve fertilizer content. If lots of different components are mixed together in the right proportions, green components are balanced with brown components, homemade compost has all the nutrients needed by plants.             The short answer is “yes”. But substituting a homemade compost for a fertilizer application varies from batch to batch depending on what was used to make the compost.

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