Q. I live in the far western area of the Las Vegas valley. I have a good sized area covered with rock mulch. A flowering plum tree (soon to be removed) is struggling in this area. Can a Myer’s lemon tree do well in a rock mulch setting?
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| Loquat in rock mulch |
A. I would not recommend it. It might do okay for a few years, maybe 3 to 5, and then it will start to take a dive. You will have much better luck if you can pull the rock away from fruit trees, including your flowering plum, perhaps 6 feet or so from the trunk and putting down wood mulch instead of rock.
If you decide to plant some citrus, I would highly recommend adding a lot of compost to our desert soil at the time of planting. It is much more effective to mix it in the soil then it would be to try to add it to the soil after it has been planted.