Xtremehorticulture

Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

Delay Pruning Mockorange Till Late Spring

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Q. I have three dwarf mock orange plants near each other growing in rock mulch. Two are a beautiful dark green. One has brown leaves on half the plant.  My landscaper says the cause is sunburn.  If so, do I pick off the brown leaves, let them stay on until they fall off, prune the whole plant or what? A. Yes, rock mulch is a frequent culprit in poor growth of mock orange. Its poor performance is due to sunburn and sun damage but this type of damage is accentuated by the rock mulch. Organic mulches like wood chips and the addition of compost to the top of the soil improves the health of these plants. Improved health helps these plants handle tough locations. When plant health declines they can’t handle these types of locations very well and thus they burn and scorch. The reason for it being on one plant in three is probably because the others time is coming. It is just beginning. Yes, you can cut them off or remove them but wait until spring unless it is really ugly now. If you remove leaves now you’re going to see a bunch of bare branches. Do you want to see bare branches or ugly leaves? Your choice.

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When and How to Prune Mock Orange

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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

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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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