Xtremehorticulture

Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

Use Five Gallon Buckets in Place of Drip Irrigation

3 Comments / can i water my trees with buckets, drip irrigation, five gallon buckets, how to water trees with buckets, water conservation /

Q. My pine trees are over 20 years old and very tall.  I looked on the net and found a YouTube video out of Kansas showing a man using a 5 gallon bucket with a pin hole in the bottom for the purpose of watering them. I called my landscaping guy and he said that I am wasting water by watering that way.  Am I doing right by watering with buckets or is he correct about this method? A. Using a bucket with a small hole in it works just like drip irrigation as long as the holes is small enough that it lets the water out very slowly. Using buckets is similar to the very first form of drip irrigation which was sinking unglazed ceramic pots into the soil. Series of pictures showing what the reader did after getting a few ideas here on how to water his large pine tree with buckets. You will have to fill the buckets two or three times each time you water to get the water deep enough in the soil to encourage deeper rooting. Don’t water again for about a week at this time of year; less often in winter and maybe twice a week in the heat of summer. Deep watering helps avoid the development of large surface roots that can heave sidewalks, driveways, walls and foundations. This type of system accomplishes the same thing as a drip system but with more work on your part and will be kind of ugly. But it will work. I would use about five or more buckets distributed under the canopy, about three or 4 feet apart. The more buckets, the better. The buckets are not made with UV treated plastic so you should paint the buckets or cover them so sunlight does not destroy them. Make the holes small. Five gallon buckets should run out of water in 30 minutes to one hour. The hole will eventually become plugged so you must clean it periodically. Use clean water a clean bucket and make sure you put a lid on top. Place the buckets on top of the soil or slightly buried. You don’t want to bury the buckets totally in the soil if the water is emptying from the bucket at the bottom. Most of the roots that take up water will be within the top 12 to 18 inches of the soil. If the bucket empties beneath this zone, the water will be released deep and not water the roots very well. In urban desert landscapes, trees should develop two types of roots; roots that anchor the plant and keep it from blowing over and roots that take up water and nutrients quickly. If trees planted in the desert are irrigated deeply, they will develop deep roots which will help anchor the plant in the soil. If they are not watered deeply but only receive shallow irrigations, they will not develop these deep roots. You can also help the tree get additional water by planting other shrubs under its canopy and overwatering them slightly to provide additional water for the tree. Surface mulch helps conserve water and encourages deeper rooting, particularly wood mulch.

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When and How to Prune Mock Orange

Leave a Comment / how do I prune mock orange, mockorange, what is the right way to prune mock orange /

Q. I would like to cut back my dwarf mock orange. When can I do it and how much can I cut back without harming the plants? I am hoping to make them healthier. The back plant gets less sun. Pruning too deep on the outside of mock orange can result in “holes” showing dead wood. Mock orange pruned as a hedge A. This is the mock orange of the desert Southwest, not the mock orange of northern climates. The common name of mock orange pertains to a couple of different plants.You won’t be able to cut them back very much because the leaves are only on the outside couple of inches of the canopy. Once you cut beyond this layer, it’s just a bunch of twigs and sticks. These twigs and sticks are alive and will produce new growth but it would be very unsightly until it grows back. These plants grow very slowly so they will not come back quickly. If you decide to cut them back I wouldn’t do it until late next spring when plant starts growing again and there is less time to look at a bunch of twigs and stems. You can cut them back in late spring and open up the plant and you will see new growth coming from stems and branches that receive full sunlight. It might take a couple of months for them to start to fill in again. They are that slow. Regarding the browning of the leaves, If you are going to cut them back I would pull back the rock from around them and put down some compost and wood mulch. They will do better in an amended soil. I would then increase the irrigation so that it wets that area more and fertilize them with a tree and shrub fertilizer just after you prune them back.

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Causes for Yellowing of Mock Orange

Leave a Comment / mockorange, what causes yellowing of mock orange, why is my mock orange yellow /

Q. Can you tell what is happening to my mock orange shrub?  They are 3 to 4 years old and getting enough water. They were planted in topsoil used in other locations with good results. They are the fourth different plant I tried to grow in this area without good results. The leaves are turning brown starting at the tips. Readers mock orange A. From your picture the leaves scorching like that could be not enough water applied or not applied frequently enough or even too frequently; high intensity sunlight and intense heat from surfaces radiating heat back to the plant; using a poor soil amendment at planting; lack of fertilizer or a lack of an iron fertilizer because the leaves are yellowing. Mock orange, not dwarf, in good condition These problems can be working alone or in combination with each other. If just one of these problems is present, it can affect the overall ability of the plant to combat extreme desert conditions such as high temperatures, low humidity and poor soils. Mockorange is not a desert plant to begin with so we have to put more resources into keeping it look good. It’s one of those plants that does well if it is in the right location with the right type of soil amendments and irrigation. Address the potential water issue first. I would flood the areas with a hose once a week in addition to your normal waterings. Make sure you are not watering daily but every 2 or 3 days right now. Add good quality compost to the area. This can be on top of any mulch you have and water it in. Fertilize with a good quality fertilizer such as Peters, Miracle Gro or Osmocote. Add soil iron in the form of iron chelate, use only EDDHA iron chelate if applying it to the soil. Water thoroughly giving the plant roots a chance to breathe and the soil to drain between flooding. Look for improvement to the plant the following spring (February to May). It is too late in the season now to see much improvement in growth.

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Pruning Flowering Shrubs at the Correct Time

Leave a Comment / how to prune Texas Sage, When do I prune Texas Ranger /

Q. When is the right time to trim back the Desert Princess flower and Purple Sage bushes and also how far down? A. I don’t know a plant called the Desert Princess flower. If you can send me a picture maybe I will know it. I also do not know a plant with the common name of Purple Sage. I’m wondering if this is Texas Sage or Texas Ranger which is not a true Sage. Texas Ranger in Bloom. Prune this plant after it finishes blooming this fall             The general rule for pruning flowering woody plants is to cut them back after they finish flowering. So if a plant normally flowers during the summer and fall months then we would prune it back in the winter. If a plant normally flowers in the early spring, then we cut it back in late spring or early summer when it has finished flowering. When plants like Texas Ranger get woody or leggy, remove one or two of the largest stems from the base. This is called gradual rejuvenation pruning.             If these are small flowering woody plants then we could cut them back to within a couple of inches of the soil. If these are larger woody plants then we remove the oldest or most woody stems deep inside the canopy. When pruning in this way, it is customary to remove no more than about one third of the total plant in a single pruning. If the shrub is still unsightly or overgrown, the following year we again remove one third of the shrub. In this way the shrub is in a constant state of renewal with new growth coming from the bottom and older, larger growth being selectively removed.

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Rose Leaves Turning a Bright Yellow and Wimpy

Leave a Comment / How much water to give my roses, overwatering roses, roses with yellow leaves, under watering roses /

Q. My vining roses have bright yellow and wimpy leaves. Am I over watering? Under watering? I have fertilized, added sulfur and iron too.  Readers rose vine A. This subject of whether a plant is over watered or underwatered is difficult to answer remotely. From your description, it sounds possible you are overwatering but probably not under watering. Why don’t I think you are under watering? If you are under watering I would expect to see more leaf scorch and dieback on the leaves. Yellowing of the leaves of any kind is called “chlorosis” and can come from a number of sources including overwatering. When yellowing or chlorosis is due to a lack of available iron then we will call it iron chlorosis. Chlorosis or yellowing due to a lack of available iron usually makes the leaves yellow with green veins. When iron is severely lacking, the leaf may be entirely yellow and scorched, but these are extreme cases. Typical iron chlorosis with green veins on peach Surround your roses with wood mulch, not rock mulch. If these plants have rock mulch surrounding them, rake it back a couple of feet and apply a couple of inches of compost first followed by some wood mulch. In this particular case do not use decorative bark mulch until the plants begin to recover. Decorative bark looks nice but it doesn’t do much for the soil. Apply an iron fertilizer in the form of an iron chelate before you cover the soil with mulch. The chelate should be in the form of EDDHA which should be listed in the ingredients. The type of iron you add is very important. Mix the iron chelate in a bucket of water and pour it all over the soil above the roots or sprinkle it on dry and water it in. Don’t leave it on the surface because it is sensitive to sunlight. Iron chelate with EDDHA on the label Also, fertilize with a rose fertilizer or a fertilizer that has been formulated for flowering trees or shrubs. Avoid watering daily and try to give your woody plants a couple of days rest from any additional water before you irrigate again. Having wood mulch on the surface will help. Specialty fertilizer formulated for roses Always keep wood mulch a few inches away from the trunk of any plant to prevent stem diseases such as collar rot from occurring.

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Older Star Jasmine No Longer Blooms

Leave a Comment / no longer flowers, older star Jasmine not healthyStar Jasmine, Why did my star Jasmine stopped blooming /

Q. We have a gorgeous, shiny dark green star jasmine, over 25 years old. About 5 years ago, it stopped blooming and nothing we’ve done has helped. Please help. A. When that happens to older plants of mine I usually cut it back pretty hard and try to get it to regrow again, getting rid of some of the older wood. Star Jasmine no longer flowering Sometimes by cutting up plant back it restores some juvenility and it responds by growing more vigorously and flowering. I would also give it a good shot of fertilizer if you haven’t already and soak the roots with a hose a few times, a few days apart. Star Jasmine It is late in the year to be pushing new growth so you could try this in early spring instead of now. However, star Jasmine is pretty hardy in our area so fertilizing it now should not affect its cold hardiness. It will respond with a flush of new growth next spring without any applied fertilizer. This is a technique of applying a fertilizer late in the fall to get a spring response is called late fall fertilization. Fertilizer is applied in November before the leaves drop. Nutrients are stored in plants if they are not used up. If you combine late fall fertilization and cutting it back, cut it back first and then fertilize, not the reverse. Otherwise you would be cutting off parts of the plant that has stored nutrients. Let me know if this works for you.

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Plant Onion Seed Now

Leave a Comment / how to grow bunching onions, how to grow green onions, how to grow onion transplants, Planting onion from seed, when is the best time to plant onions /

Q. I would like to grow both yellow and red onions. When is the best time to plant them? A. Onions for bulbs or green onions can be planted from seed mid-September through November in our latitude and elevation. Onions produced from sets or transplants should be started in March. They can be grown in a garden spot or 5 gallon containers. Onion sets, which are small onion bulbs, are Contessa onion easier to plant than transplants and usually have a higher success rate for most home gardeners. Let’s focus on fall planting using onion seed. Growing onion from seed to produce green onions or transplants does not require very much space. Seeds can be spaced close together so I broadcast the seed, or sprinkle them, in the area where I want them to grow. The seed can be as close as ½ inch apart and even closer for green or bunching onions or even transplants. For green onions just about any onion will do so shop for inexpensive seed. If you are growing transplants from seed then be more careful in your selection. I prefer sweet or specialty onions for transplants that I am growing into bulbs. Big Daddy Onion Las Vegas is in a transition zone so we can grow short day, long day and intermediate day varieties. These include the northern varieties like Walla Walla or southern varieties such as Vidalia. They just mature at different times. Varieties such as Candy, Big Daddy, Vidalia, Walla Walla, Yellow Granex, Bermuda, Texas Super Sweet, Contessa, Sterling, Red Marble and specialty onions like Cipollini, and Red Longa always do well in our climate and latitude. Red candy apple Onion Before planting the seed prepare the soil to a depth of 12 inches. Sandy soils that drain well are the best. We are not yet focusing on growing the bulb so any high nitrogen fertilizer will work well. You won’t need to fertilize them until after the seed is germinated. When you’re done mixing all the compost into the soil, make sure the soil is not “fluffy” so pack, roll or compress the soil lightly to make a firm seed bed. Onions for transplanting, green onions or bunching onions grow well in containers or in blocks. They do not need to be planted in rows at this time. Carefully scatter the seed on top of the soil and cover the seed with about ¼ inch of topdressing or lightly rake the seed into the soil and add a light surface mulch. Red Tropea Longa Water the top dressed are mulched area twice a day until you see germination. Fertilize them after you see them begin to emerge. You can lightly broadcast a high nitrogen fertilizer on top of the mulch or topdressing and water it in. When you see germination reduce your watering to once a day. If onions are too close together, harvest and use some of them in a salad or stirfry to give them some space. As temperatures cool down and the plants get larger you will be able to water every other day and even every third day as it enters the winter. You will get larger transplants if you fertilize a second time with a nitrogen fertilizer about one month after the first one. Leave them in the soil all winter long. Dig up transplants in March or continue to use them as green onions.

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San Pedro Cactus Requires Different Care Than Other Cacti

Leave a Comment / why is my cactus dying, why is my San Pedro cactus bleached, Why is my San Pedro cactus white /

Q. I follow your column regularly in the LV RJ, but I have not seen an answer to this question: what would make my San Pedro Cactus lose its color? It is becoming pale, please see attached photo. San Pedro cactus of the reader A. Before I opened your picture I thought it was going to be a lot worse. This is not too bad. I have seen this cactus in much worse condition in Las Vegas. Not all cacti are the same and cannot be treated the same. The San Pedro cactus, coming from the mountains of South America where the soils are a lot richer and there’s much more water, needs different care than cacti native to the Mojave Desert. This particular cactus will do much better if the soil is well prepared at the time of planting, much like you would prepare the soil for landscape trees and shrubs that are non-desert. Also irrigating them is different. They have to be watered much more often than cacti native to the Mojave, Sonoran or Chihuahuan deserts. It will also do better if protected from late afternoon sun. It likes to have lots of direct sunlight but it prefers it during the morning and early afternoon hours. If you don’t keep up with your watering with San Pedro it will begin to yellow or bleach out, scorch around the edges, bleach out and die back. This means the soil that you’re using must drain extremely well or you will kill it by not having adequate drainage. Consider moving it, replanting it with the soil that is Sandy and gravelly and amended with compost. Make sure the area has deep soils that drains easily. Give it is much sun as possible but try to avoid direct sunlight after 2 PM. Water it frequently when temperatures are above 100° F.

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Radishes Should Be Planted When Temperatures Begin to Cool

1 Comment / radishes not producing, Why did my radishes die, will radishes grow in Las Vegas /

Q. I planted radish seeds in 8″ deep planters using miracle grow potting soil . After approx. 10 days they grew up to approx. 3″ developing 2 leaves and started falling over. They do not mature. The type of radish seed is Cherry Belle from Ferry Morse.  I’ve planted two different times and get the same results. What am I doing wrong? A. It is usually considered too hot right now, with daytime temperatures still hundred degrees F, to plant radishes. They do much better when the temperatures begin to cool. I would start planting them no earlier than about mid-October and you should be able to plant them throughout the winter in successive plantings up until about May when it gets too hot. Cherry Belle is an excellent radish and will do well here. Here are just a few of the many varieties we have grown in Las Vegas. Chinese red meat radish Radishes growing with irrigation from drip tape and straw mulch applied French breakfast radish White icicle radish I have tried dozens of different radish varieties and not found a radish yet that does not like our climate. However radishes grown during the cooler months are not as spicy but sweeter than those grown in the hotter months. Hold off for another month and try replanting the seed. The potting soil may also be a problem. Seeds like firm seed beds, not soft seed beds. I would take your soil amendments and mix it with existing native soil or good-quality sand and tried again. After you work in your compost and prepare the area for planting, your shoes should not sink into the soil more than about 1/2 inch for a good seed bed. Radishes also grow well in containers. Containers do not have to be terribly deep. 12 inch deep containers are adequate for radishes and allow the soil to drain and not become a problem for the plants. So remember to use a soil mixture with compost or other soil amendment and make sure the seed that the seed bed is firm and not soft and fluffy. Watering twice a day until you see the seeds germinate should be enough. After they germinate water only once a day. I hope this helps.

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Keep Beneficial Insects Thriving by Careful Use of Sprays

1 Comment / how do you attract beneficial insects to your garden, How do you keep beneficial insects in the garden /

Q. I’m wondering if you can recommend any easy plants that are big-time lures for beneficial insects here in Las Vegas.  In northern CA, where I spend the rest of my time, my Ammi majus aka False Queen Anne’s Lace reseeded just about everywhere.  While it made for a very messy looking plot, while in bloom, the good bugs were swarming my garden for months!  Since I won’t be around as much in Vegas, I’m looking for a tamer perennial solution here. A. Build it and they will come. Beneficial insects are lured by a food supply. If you don’t have a food supply for them they will leave. If you have a diverse plant palette in your garden you will attract many more beneficials and they will have a better chance of keeping bad boys in check. Building up a beneficial insect population is really more about smart use of appropriate pesticides. Use organic or natural pest control products that don’t have a long residual and use them only if you see a potential problem arising. I see lots of ladybird beetles and green lace wings come into an area that have the pests. When I see a lot of spraying with conventional insecticides, these populations are usually low to nonexistent. Green lace wing adult When a person is selling organic fruit or vegetables one of the things I look for on the products is the presence of green lace wing eggs. If the products have not been washed you can usually see them if you know what to look for. Lacewing egg on peach  lacewing egg on peach Ladybird beetle on peach I will post some pictures on my blog for everyone to see. Others may have plants that are their favorites for doing this. Hopefully they will post their comments.

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