Q. I would like to plant a pomegranate tree this Fall but I am worried that the weather is going to be cooling down soon. Do you think I missed my opportunity for planting, and should I wait for Spring? A. Just because it is getting colder doesn’t mean you can’t plant. Ideally you want a few weeks of root growth in the Fall after planting. The timing may not be optimum for root growth when soil temperatures are cold, but it will still work out. If you find a variety you like, get it in the ground.             Temperate plant roots (like pomegranate) grow best when soil temperatures are between 60 to 75F but they still grow even when soil temperatures are as low as 45F. They just don’t grow as fast. Try to plant early enough so that there are 4 to 5 weeks of warm soil temperatures before the soil gets cold. Estimating soil temperature             How to estimate the soil temperature? The best way is to buy a soil thermometer for about $15 and measure for yourself but otherwise you can make a rough approximation.   Soil thermometer on Amazon Soils are always a bit warmer than air temperatures. Take the average air temperature over the past couple of weeks (low + high and divide by two) and add 5 degrees. Surface mulch, rock or woodchips, conserve soil warmth in the Fall and insulate soil from heat in the Spring and Summer months.             In my experience, using your sense of touch is accurate to within about 5 degrees F of temperatures ranging from the refrigerator (40F) to the spa (105F).             Fall planting is always superior to Spring planting of winter hardy plants.

Q. We applied Red Star steer manure as a topsoil during overseeding tall fescue three days ago. Is it ok to apply granulated fertilizer to this or should we wait longer? Stinky Steer manure can be used for top dressing seed in a lawn or even vegetable garden but let it age A. So we are on the same page on this, you are spreading some seed on your tall fescue lawn to increase its density, thickening up some thin areas and maybe improving the look of your lawn because of some brown spots or dead areas. Once the seed is spread and fertilizer is applied, you are spreading a thin layer of steer manure as a “topdressing” (you are calling it “topsoil”) to improve the germination of the seed. The best time to do all this is from about mid-September to mid-October. It is getting late now. Manure used for topdressing             Bagged steer manure was used in the past as a topdressing for lawns when overseeding. It was smelly but it worked well. Years ago, you knew it was fall overseeding time because of the steer manure smell in the neighborhood. Now there are commercial topdressing products available but bagged steer manure still works. Rules for overseeding             In lawn seed germination, a rule to follow for good seed germination when overseeding lawns is good “soil and seed contact”. It is important that the seed applied is in contact with the soil after the application is done. The steer manure or topdressing was a “blanket” that pushed the seed down and helped keep the area moist.             Make sure the lawn is mowed as short as possible (for fescue I wouldn’t mow shorter than one inch) and any debris on the soil surface (thatch) is disturbed or removed. This is done with a dethatcher, power rake or verticutter. This can be done by hand using a garden rake or gasoline driven if it’s a large area. For best results you should see bare soil when you are finished.             After the lawn has been “dethatched” is the best time to apply a starter fertilizer for overseeding because it is high in phosphorus. This fertilizer is applied at this time, so it lands on bare soil along with the seed used for overseeding. The phosphorus is the part of the fertilizer you want on the bare soil because it doesn’t help the seed as much if it is applied after the job is finished.  Phosphorus fertilizer should be mixed into the soil Remember this in the future. It’s the same fertilizer used in vegetable gardens during soil preparation prior to seeding or planting vegetable transplants. The final application is a thin layer of topdressing, in your case the steer manure.             Applying a starter fertilizer after it’s all finished is not the best but better than nothing. Go ahead and apply it. It’s not optimum but it will do some good as the seed is germinating and taking root.

Q. I need suggestions for watering times and days to water in the summer for sprinklers watering trees in lawns, lantana bushes and rose bushes with drip irrigation. It isn’t just the watering that’s important for roses but soil health is well. Lantana is much more tolerant of rock and poor soils than roses. A. When watering trees in a lawn, give the trees extra watering separately from the lawn since the trees should be watered more deeply than the grass. In the summer do this about every two weeks in sandy soil, less often in heavier soils.  Grass is watered 8 to 12 inches deep  while small trees (less than 20 feet tall) are watered 18 inches, deep and  medium height trees (less than 40 feet tall) are watered 24 inches deep. This can be done with a sprinkler on the end of a hose and a mechanical timer. This improves tree growth and establishment if the lawn is being watered carefully.             Watering times for other plants are also suggested by your water provider. Lantana is a shallow rooted small woody shrub. It should be watered about 12 inches deep and no more than every other day in the summer. Water all its roots on one day and then hold off at least one day before watering again. Lantana will tolerate rock covering the soil surrounding it. Just make sure you apply fertilizer about three times each year. When the top turns brown, cut it back to 1 to 2 inches above the soil.              Roses are different. Watering frequency is the same as lantana, but they don’t like the soil covered in rock. They like woodchips that disintegrate, covering the soil surface, and surrounded by soil that is rich. Plant them in amended soil and keep the soil covered with woodchips.

Q. When our landscapers installed new water lines for irrigation they cut through two major roots on a Chitalpa tree; one root was 4 inches in diameter and the other 1 ½ inches in diameter. These water lines could have been installed under the roots instead of cutting them. I am not sure why they did it this way. I am concerned about the future health of the tree. A bit hard to see but a large Chitalpa root cut by landscaper. A. If this is a problem for the tree, is a difficult question to answer. Will cutting the roots of a tree cause it to die? Cutting tree roots always damages the tree. Can the tree recover from this damage? The right answer is, it depends. From your description, the root removal done sounds ominous. Tree roots grow where water is applied. If water is applied in shallow irrigations, it leads to shallow roots.             You can typically remove about one third of the total roots with no problem. This is done sometimes when trenches are cut in the soil for burying irrigation lines. When roots are cut. But when roots are cut, about 1/3 of the top should be removed as well. This removal of part of the top puts the top and roots back in balance with each other. How much of the total roots were removed in your tree’s case? That is difficult to estimate. Strangling roots should be removed as young as possible for obvious reasons.             Look at the distribution of water applied for irrigation. This helps determine where the roots might be. Roots grow toward water because the soil is wetter in these locations. If there is a lawn close to the tree, then roots grow vigorously toward the lawn and less vigorously toward its own drip emitters. If other plants are growing near the Chitalpa, tree roots will likely grow toward the majority of drip emitters because there is more water there. Trees growing in lawns oftentimes grow shallow roots because lawns are watered with shallow irrigations. These roots can be removed if they are far enough from the trunk and are not a major root of the tree used for water uptake, soil nutrients important to the tree or used for major support.             At the very least, remove about 1/3 of the top. Remove entire limbs rather than giving it a “butch haircut” and removing the ends of lots of branches. Removing two or three major limbs is probably enough in your trees case. This native mesquite near a river in Jerez, Mexico, sent its roots deep after underground water coming from the river.             As a precaution, I would stake this tree. Major roots of trees are used for tree stability particularly during strong winds. The tree might need to be staked until the roots secure the tree in the ground. I would do it in case it is needed. Don’t wait until the tree starts to lean because of strong winds. Remove the stakes when the tree is stable. This might be one season of growth for smaller trees or up to three years for larger trees.

Q. My gardener said my Carolina cherry laurel died from a pest. He is cutting it out and suggested treating the soil and waiting until March to plant anything new. He is suggesting a Holly Oak which sources day can reach 30 to 60 feet in height! That’s quite a range. Typical leaf scorch of Carolina Cherry Laurel planted in desert soils in hot locations A. Most likely the Carolina cherry laurel died due to where and how it was planted and maintained. It is native to the Carolinas (hence its name) and should tell you about its suitability for desert climates and where it might survive in local landscapes. Carolina cherry laurel probably should never be surrounded by rock mulch             Holly oak is big, but it grows slowly. It will grow about a foot a year with irrigation and handle lawns well. It is not used much anymore but a good tree for large landscapes, not smaller residential landscapes. Pick something smaller. Single story homes should have trees with a 20 to 25-foot mature height. Two story homes can handle 30 to 40-foot-tall trees. No bigger. This is just too big for most homes.

Q. These creepy white “things” keep cropping-up out of the ground all over my backyard. What are they and are they dangerous? I am thinking they might be a mushroom or fugus of some sort. I am concerned because in the past, I had a serious, invasive fungal infection (aspergillus) requiring surgery. Many different types of mushrooms can appear after a rain and there is wood in the soil or on the surface A. Yes, these are mushrooms (fungal) and they “feed” from decaying wood, woodchips, particles of wood or rotting woody roots in the soil. They are common in the spring and fall months after rains when there is wood in the ground getting wet and rotting. The wood might be from woodchips used as a surface mulch or signal dead and decaying roots of trees. You might see some in compost piles as well. Oyster mushrooms, edible types of mushrooms, are commonly grown in decaying wood chips so it can be a perfect habitat for some types of mushrooms. But its natural for them. Sometimes mushrooms grow in woodchips and they look like mushrooms with the stalk that supports the cap             Several types of mushrooms appear in the cooler spring and fall months after a rain. Most are not poisonous but that doesn’t mean they can be eaten. The mushrooms seen can range from puffballs to traditional mushrooms to slime molds which look like vomit on the ground. I have been told by some they can make pets sick if eaten and may require a visit to the vet but its normally not life threatening. Sometimes these mushrooms grow beneath the soil and make fleshy underground balls             They are more of a nuisance to most people. To get rid of them and keep them from spreading, vigorously rake the area when they are young and first seen to prevent them from maturing. These mushrooms open up when mature and spread “spores” which are their “seeds” for spreading to other wood mulch during rains. Sometimes they grow in piles of woodchips or compost              I realize there are people very sensitive to the spores of some types of fungi including mushrooms. Take some pictures of the problem. It is best to check with a physician to be sure. Sometimes they cause an allergic reaction or a rash

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