Q. I have 13 Japanese blueberry that have been planted for quite a few years. They have grown tall but only one filled out from the bottom to top because of some shading. This shading is now gone. What can I do and when to stimulate the growth and hopefully have them fill out all over?  I have railed against this plant before in other posts here: https://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2015/07/more-problems-growing-japanese.html Why nurseries are selling it for desert landscapes is beyond comprehension. A. You cant just plant Japanese Blueberry anywhere you want in a desert landscape. They are not desert plants. Japanese Blueberry became popular in the Las Vegas Valley and used inappropriately in my opinion as a visual screen between properties because the plant is evergreen.  Hopefully most people have steered clear of this tree for this purpose because it’s not suited for desert climates. Using it as a screen in the desert is questionable because it uses a lot of water (probably as much as a mulberry tree) and requires quite a bit of future maintenance (think pruning and leaf cleanup).              Japanese Blueberry will grow to heights of 35 – 40 feet. The planting spaces between them should be 15 to 20 feet wide. If planted as a screen it would be a tall one at somewhere around 15 to 20 feet. Planting distances to walls or foundation should not be closer than perhaps 8 to 10 feet.              As these trees get bigger they will naturally shade each other. Parts of the tree that receive light will sucker and grow new branches when they get some. If planted closer than 15 feet apart consider removing every other tree as they start growing together. This will provide more light to the bottom of the canopy and help them fill in down there.  Pruning to reduce its height through a method called “drop crotching” should help keep it around the 15-foot-tall in height and encourage them to fill the spaces between them and grow wider.              This is a tree that should be used as a medium-sized specimen tree in a cool part of a landscape if used in our climate at all.  The soil should be heavily amended at the time of planting and the tree grown in an area where woodchips 3 to 4 inches deep improve the soil surface.

Q. I have two very old Olive trees and I would like to plant some greenery around the extensive roots at the base of the trees. Something low to the ground. Plant at the base of olive trees but mimic their need for water and root depth. A. There are many plants to pick from so let me give you the guiding principles when making a choice. Olive trees are Mediterranean in their climate preference. They like hot dry weather but are not desert trees. Technically they are classified as mesic (nondesert) in their water use, not xeric (desert). They can handle desert landscapes well but are not desert trees like Mesquite or Palo Verde. Dwarf oleeander is Mediterranean in its water use and would be a good pick for planting beneath olive.             Secondly, olive trees are irrigated to a depth of 18–24 inches deep. The watering area of older trees should extend from 2 to 3 feet from the trunk out to a distance nearly equal to the spread of its canopy.             When selecting plants to grow beneath an olive tree, try to mimic these two features as much as possible. Selecting small flowers to grow beneath them requires frequent irrigation which olive trees will not like. Selecting larger desert shrubs (xeric) may cause these shrubs to grow excessively because of the more frequent watering needed by the olive.             Some smaller, Mediterranean, deep rooted shrubs include petite oleander, Cistus (sometimes called Rockrose), dwarf myrtle, Euphorbias, rosemary (and other large perennial herbs), and even roses! Because these are Mediterranean plants I would use woodchips or decorative would mulch and not rock.              I would look for a small to medium sized Mediterranean flowering shrub or groundcover since olive is also Mediterranean that thrives with a similar irrigation. Both plants will benefit from their close companionship.

Slicing tomato brought to the University Orchard several years ago. Might not get the same production year after year when planting unproven varieties.            The choices you make when fertilizing tomato plants right now might be the difference between having tomatoes to eat or not. If we have a long drawn out cool spring with temperatures in the 80’s, it won’t make much of a difference. You just might have an abundance of tomatoes. If we have one of those springs that jumps from cool weather to hot weather you will have fewer tomatoes. Tomatoes stop setting fruit when daytime temperatures are consistently well above 90° F. But you can harvest into June. Nitrogen Fertilizer Management             It’s all about nitrogen fertilizer management. High nitrogen fertilizers, like 21-0-0 or fish emulsion, guano or blood meal can cause tomato plants to grow abundantly with dark green leaves during warm weather but push flowering and fruit production a little longer than necessary in the spring. Once flowering and fruiting begins, rampant growth subsides usually keeping tomato plants from growing too rapidly. However, using high nitrogen fertilizers soon after planting can cause a lot of top growth and, along with that, delay flower and with it fruit production. Start With a Pre-Plant Fertilizer             If you are planting into a dark, rich soil mix then don’t fertilize with anything. If this soil mix is one year old, I would use a starter fertilizer  at the time of planting and not fertilize again until flowers and small fruit are seen. Those who use conventional fertilizers might use 16-20-0 as a starter fertilizer. Ideally we are looking for a fertilizer that contains about twice as much phosphorus as nitrogen and still delivers some potassium. In fertilizer lingo this would be as close to a 1-2-1 ratio. Organic Fertilizers             Those who prefer organic fertilizers might use bone meal mixed in the soil at the time of planting and follow that with an organic foliar spray when needed. Fish emulsion mixed with water or compost tea sprayed on the foliage when tomato leaves become light green.              The same principle holds true with garden soils. If you mixed in a rich compost before planting, then don’t fertilize with anything more until fruit is first seen. If the garden soil is a little worn out from last season’s harvest, then use a starter fertilizer at planting time.

By John Hamm & Denise Wee, Wisconsin River Meats https://www.wisconsinrivermeats.com/ Saturday and Sunday, March 14 & 15, 2020  Started out at Wisconsin River Meats much like any March Saturday.  We were expecting some folks to stop out to pick up their venison or custom processing orders.  We figured we would also sell a bit of sausage and our usual mix of steaks, chops, roasts and burger. The preceding couple of weeks had been strange with talk of Coronavirus, and with the cancellation of State Basketball, NCAA Championships and Professional Sports.  We saw quarantines of cruise ships and reports of illnesses and deaths in Italy on the rise.  I arrived to work at 6:30 AM and had only a small handful of retail staff and our sausage crew on hand. The first half hour was typical for a Saturday morning in March, slow.  We received a strange phone call at around 7:45 AM. “Are you still open?” The caller asked.  “Why yes of course, until 4 o’clock,” we said.  “Do you have any meat left?” they asked hopefully.  “Of course,” we answered, somewhat perplexed at the question.  His last question to us, “Will you run out?”  We replied, “No.” All of us at Wisconsin River Meats that day thought that the call was very odd.  We were puzzled when within a few minutes we received several more calls.  Each caller inquired the same as the first.  They wanted to know if we were still open, if we were out of meat, and if we would run out of meat. I told our boys that we had better make an extra round of fresh ground beef, just in case the store got busy. Customers began to trickle in, many we had never seen before and had trekked an hour or more.  The store quickly filled with people. The influx of hoarders had hit, they were coming and going in droves.  They began buying ground beef; 20, 40, 50 pounds or more at a time.  Any and all pork that was merchandised in the store was quickly wiped out as fast as we could fill it.  Steaks and discount bundles disappeared by the carload.  It turns out that Big Box Stores and small local grocers in outlying areas had run completely out of meat by Friday evening. Desperate to find meat to get them through this crisis, customers came out en mass, families with each member holding arm loads of meat, and shopping baskets overflowing. Our butchers made two more rounds of fresh ground beef and cut everything we had available.  We made it through the day without running out of any product and had just enough to get through the second surge of shoppers who came in Sunday. Monday, March 15, 2020 Monday morning Wisconsin River Meats was beginning to run short on product. Fortunately, our suppliers were able to provide us with meat for sausage and fresh ground beef Monday morning, which we immediately rushed to process ensuring we were able to keep our meat cases stocked for the record number of customers that continued to stream in throughout the day. While the rush continued on with no signs of slowing, I reached out to our local livestock producers.  I ordered double the usual head of beef and pork, which our wonderful local livestock producers were able to provide for us the next day.  Meanwhile, the hoarding of meats nationwide caused boxed beef, pork and chicken prices to explode, and retail prices in meat cases to soar.                        As Monday the 16th progressed, we were still filling the store as fast as we could, barely keeping up with the onslaught of customers.  We ran out of Pork Butts and Pork Loins in the store midmorning.  We began to offer up our frozen overstock and promptly sold out.  We had made plenty of Corned Beef for our usual St. Patrick’s Day rush, and had plenty to go around.   Monday left our meat cases half empty, we had made over 500 pound of fresh ground beef which sold as fast as we filled it. Tuesday, March 17, 2020 Fortunately, Tuesday the 17th was slaughter day; we were able to restock with fresh Beef and Pork from the previous week’s harvest.  Wednesday our Butchers broke down the increased number of hogs and merchandised them all.  Every bit of pork we had was merchandised and sold as soon as it hit the shelves.  Any beef we were able to break down and merchandised simply vanished into shopping baskets and our meat cases were soon wiped clean.  All the while shoppers continued their frenzied purchasing; at the big box stores and big name grocers the supply chain broke. They were unable to order product in quantities to keep up with the demand brought on by the panic buying customers had participated in over the last several days.  Their shelves and meat counters stood empty for days.  Wisconsin River Meats helped some of our neighboring independent grocers by supplying hundreds of pounds of beef and pork so they could have something to sell to their customers.  By the end of Tuesday it was apparent that we would soon run out of product again.  We reached out once more to our local farmers and producers and secured another round of hogs to slaughter.  We bought more hogs and scheduled a state inspector for a second slaughter date on Thursday.  Thanks to our local farmers rushing to supply us with hogs and our butchers working long hours to process them and cutting what beef we could, we managed to keep our cases full through the weekend.  Though, we began to run low on just about everything on Sunday the 22nd.   Week of March 23, 2020 The week of the 23rd remained busy.  Once again, with credit to our local livestock producers, we ran double the amount of hogs and tripled the number of beef for slaughter.  Our Butcher’s worked long and hard to keep our store’s needs

Q.  I believe I have a Bears lemon tree. It was growing in the ground then transplanted to a 22” planter last fall and for a variety of reasons finally  transplanted it to my raised bed a few weeks ago and used the rejuvenate soil mix from Viragrow. I cut off one third of the top when moving it, but the leaves are still yellow, I don’t see any new growth. I don’t believe tree is dying but it’s not healthy. Is it the soil? A. First, not that it makes any difference but if you have Bears, it may be a lime, not a lemon. That might affect when it’s harvested. The Rejuvenate soil mix drains easily provided the hole drains water. If the hole drained water in 6 to 8 hours, everything is fine. Just don’t water the tree every day. Yellow Leaves             The yellowing and poor growth is most likely due to recovery from the damage during transplanting. Yellow older leaves stay yellow even if everything is wonderful. Watch the new growth coming out. That’s the key. If the new growth is green and not yellow then that indicates the tree is doing well. The yellow leaves will be replaced visually by dark green leaves later. Water and Drainage             Make sure you are not watering too often. I am watering established fruit trees with woodchips on top of the soil once a week all during February. This irrigation frequency is to push new growth and fruit production.             If trees were just planted (or transplanted), I water twice immediately after planting and then about twice a week, every three to four days, until new growth appears. Once strong new growth appears, once a week should be often enough until about mid-April if the soil is covered in wood chips. Stake After Moving             Make sure the tree is staked solidly in the ground to keep the roots from moving during  establishment. I use a three or four-foot-long 3/16 rebar pounded in the ground right next to a new five or 15-gallon tree, and the tree tied to it only for the first growing season. I  tie the tree to the rebar tightly with stretchable green nursery tape. 

Q. After I spoke with you yesterday, I went outside and took some pictures of my saguaro. Upon closer inspection, I found some of those dreaded black spots you mentioned at the base of the plant. I also attempted to move it and it wobbled back and forth. I’ll be taking it out this spring if you think that is what should be done. A.Sagaro Shouldnt Wobble That “wobbling” you mentioned is bothersome to me. These plants need to be firmly anchored into the soil if they are to remain upright. In nature the roots of the saguaro may spread out eight times its height. This provides firm anchorage in the soil. To get this kind of anchorage, water needs to be applied deep and infrequently and at large distances from, and including, the plant. Plant Neighboring Desert Plants             This can be done in several ways. One method is to grow other plants coming from the same climate zone at different distances from the saguaro. Irrigation supplied to these plants will be enough to encourage the roots from the saguaro to spread out. Enough water should be applied the first couple of years about a foot deep. As the saguaro gets taller, this water should be applied so it percolates 2 to 3 feet deep. Water Once in Awhile             Another method, and one that I really prefer, is to take a hose on a mechanical timer and inexpensive sprinkler and turn the water on for one hour. I would do this on both sides of the saguaro about 6 feet from the trunk with the water reaching the saguaro. Do this three times; in early spring, once in the summer, and again in the fall. This timing encourages root growth of desert plants but avoids the growth of Bermudagrass. If you see some Bermuda growing, whack the top off with a hoe or shovel as soon as you see it. Do this once a week until it’s gone. Look for Black Spots             The “wobbling” and appearance of black spots on the outside of the saguaro tell me that it’s probably getting watered too often and the water applied is too close to the trunk. Those black spots or “cankers” indicate an internal rotting of the tree.             You can find out more about this and what to do by “Googling” the words “University of Arizona” and “problems and pests of cacti”. Scroll down and a link should appear that will take it to their publication on how to control diseases of agave,cacti, and yucca and what to do about it. Make sure you use a sharp and sanitized knife.             Your call on whether to remove it or try to rescue it.

Q. I am working on a new project serving middle and high school age kids. The idea of fruit trees around their garden area came up and I’m wondering what trees you would suggest. They will have approximately 9 trees spaced on a grid. A. Make sure the trees are spaced a minimum of ten feet apart and are semi dwarf. Dwarfing or Semidwarfing Rootstocks All fruit trees should be grafted onto dwarfing or semi dwarfing rootstocks (Citation for stone fruit, M111 for apples, OHxF333 for pears). If you don’t know the rootstock then the plant label should say “semi dwarf” or “dwarf”, not “standard”. Many fruit and ornamental trees are grafted. The :dogleg” appearing on the trunk of a young tree is because its grafted. Early Producers             Since these are kids and they are normally not is school from June – September, I would think you would avoid trees that produce fruit then. That still leaves you with early producers like May Pride peach, Early Grande Peach, FlordaKing or FlordaPrince peach, Earlitreat peach, Flavorosa pluot. Royal Rosa, Flavor Giant, Katy, or Gold Kist apricots. These should produce fruit from late May until maybe early June. There are some very early peaches like Earlitreat and FlordaKing or FlordaPrince which will probably produce peaches before June graduation. Late Producers For late producing fruit trees I would pick Pink Lady or Sundowner (red) or Mutsu (green) apples, Bartlett or red Bartlett pear, or Bosc pear, your favorite pomegranate, Flavor Grenade or Flavor Finale pluots, Emerald Beaut plum, Giant Fuyu persimmon or any Fuyu or Chocolate persimmon. I would suggest avoiding late producing peach. I would avoid any nectarines due to the scarring of fruit from insects. Nectarines are difficult to produce without spraying for insects. No late peaches because there aren’t any good ones in my opinion. The best peaches are in late June, July and August. Enerald Beaut plum produces good but late fruit in Las Vegas. Non Desert Recommendations Be careful of planting fruit trees based upon recommendations from people not living in desert regions. The tree will most likely grow but it’s more of a question about the quality of the fruit it produces. It’s different. An interesting exploration for these children would be to compare the quality of the fruit produced by their trees with the quality of fruit purchased at the grocery store. Flavor Finale pluot is a good fruit tree for late production in the fall.             Dave Wilson Nursery online has a harvest calendar that you can download to your computer for your reference. The harvest schedule is for central California but is very close to harvest times in southern Nevada with a few exceptions. Be careful of fruit recommendations from non-desert climates.

            I finished pruning the 300+ desert and juice grapes at The Orchard at Ahern located in downtown Las Vegas on March 8. New growth was just starting on a few of the vines.  Grape Disease Control I delay pruning grapes as long as possible in the spring to reduce disease possibilities and avoid any late spring frost damage after pruning. Immediately after pruning grapes, consider applying a fungicide to the vines if there were problems with grape bunches diseases last year. Repeat the fungicide application if it rains. For homeowners I would consider using Bordeaux fungicide.  Effective fungicide sprays include the copper fungicides such as Bordeaux for homeowners. Fungicides primarily protect new growth from getting infections primarily through the pruning cuts.             Unlike insecticides like Sevin or even organic soap and water sprays which kill insects, fungicides primarily “contain” diseases and help keep these diseases from spreading to new growth. That’s why it’s important to repeat it after a rain which can wash the fungicide from the vine. Grapes Bleed It’s normal for grapes to “bleed” after they have been pruned in the spring. Don’t worry. Water will stop coming from the pruning cuts when new growth appears.            

Q. I suddenly lost my favorite dwarf peach tree, Bonanza, over a year ago and I want to replace it. The local nursery said today they probably won’t be carrying Bonanza peach anymore. Could you please advise me where I could purchase one as I don’t know where to look? Genetic dwarf peach trees can produce normal sized fruit. A. I just checked online, and Bonanza genetic dwarf or miniature peach tree is available from many nurseries. Check around and see if your nursery will order it for you. If not, you can order it online in November or December from nurseries such as Bay Laurel, Grow Organic, Willis Orchards and others. They well send it to you bareroot and in good condition for immediate planting in January. Three genetic dwarf peach trees, Eldorado, planted together. In the back is a “high bud” graft of Eldorado and the two in the front were “low bud” Eldorado peach. Genetic dwarf peach can be grafted high or low on the rootstock to give trees of different heights.             I think you will like the fruit from any of the other genetic dwarf peach trees besides Bonanza if you find it locally. When I have tested many of the fruit coming from these genetic dwarf trees it has been good. These include Bonanza II, Garden Gold, Garden Sun, Honey Babe, Pix Zee. Eldorado and many others. Oftentimes retail nurseries don’t know what will become available later in the year so keep checking.

Q. The fruit on my tangerine tree was very dry when I harvested it. My tree is about 10 feet tall when I purchased it in a 24-inch box. I had it for two years and both years the fruit has been very dry. The looks healthy and blooms good but the fruit is just not edible even when I tried to pick at different times. A. When you plant anything from a 24-inch box make sure the soil surrounding the box was amended thoroughly with a good quality compost. Secondly, flood the entire area surrounding this plant and including this plant, with water immediately after planting. I would flood this entire area twice a few days apart before turning it over to an irrigation system. Lack of Water             The usual reason for dry fruit is a lack of applied irrigation water. To water this tree, use at least four drip emitters or a coil of drip tubing about 12 inches from the tree trunk. I would cover the soil with a 3 to 4-inch layer of woodchips applied to a distance at least out to the canopy of the tree. I was going to mention another reason you could have dry fruit was harvesting late but you are harvesting at different times so I think you have that covered. Water Deep and Cover the Soil in Woodchips             It is very important that the tree receives water deeply and frequently enough to keep the soil moist while the fruit is getting larger. This can be deceiving as the weather is getting warmer with such a large tree. A soil moisture meter inserted into the soil under the mulch about 4 inches deep in three different locations will tell you when to irrigate again. You should irrigate when the meter has dropped about halfway, usually when it averages around “5”. Water to 18 inches Deep             A long thin piece of rigid steel like a piece of 4-foot-long rebar will tell you how many minutes to irrigate. For citrus trees I would apply enough water to wet the roots to a depth of about 18 inches. Pushing this rebar into the soil after an irrigation will tell you how deeply the water traveled. Add More Emitters?             If you are locked in to a certain number of minutes because your irrigating other plants as well, then add enough drip emitters, or increase the size of the emitters, or increase the length of the drip tubing coiled around the tree until enough water is applied with your given number of minutes.