poor growth – Xtremehorticulture

Yellow Bird of Paradise Growing Poorly

Leave a Comment / Mexican bird of paradise, planted, poor growth, yellow bird of paradise / xtremehorticulture

Q. I’ve planted a Mexican Bird of Paradise about three years ago. It has never flowered and has only grown a small amount in that period. Any ideas why? Could it be its location? It doesn’t get morning sun, only afternoon sun. Bird of paradise lack of growth probably because of water, soil amendments and fertilizer. A. Thanks for sending pictures. I must be a little careful because watering too often and not giving the plant enough water can create similar results. Afternoon sun should be enough for this plant. Make sure it’s not near a “hot” wall from the afternoon sun. Notice how the plant has more foliage, or “leafy growth” because of the suckers, at the bottom? The stems growing above the suckers are nearly void of leaves. That is usually a sign the plant is not getting enough water at each irrigation. It can also indicate the plant doesn’t have much nitrogen fertilizer for growth. I must be careful because we are considering two things; how much water the plant is getting and how often it gets it. I would recommend watering this plant with about five gallons or more at each watering. Water it three times a week during the summer. Use two drip emitters within six to 12 inches of the base on either side of the plant. These are “desert plants” but they also can grow in wet landscapes if there is drainage. They grow best in improved and amended soils. If this was planted directly in your landscape soil without soil amendments like compost, or an inferior amendment was used at planting, then it could struggle as well. Apply a good compost within about 12 inches of the plant in a circle and water it in. Use about ¼ bag each plant. Pull rock away from the base of the plant until it gets firmly established and you see plenty of new growth.

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Poor Canopy Development in Newly Planted Large Tree Could Be Lack of Water

1 Comment / borers, lack of water, large tree, locust, newly planted, poor growth, sunburn / xtremehorticulture

Q. I think I this might be a pink locust tree. I’m seeing a lot of dead branches. The tree was planted last Fall. Should I give it some fertilizer to help it push out new growth? A. The tree looks a little skimpy on the foliage side but I don’t see anything from this distance that gives me much overall concern. Check to make sure it was not planted too deep. Some landscapers are notorious for digging a hole barely large enough for the root ball. This can also be part of the problem. I tell people now if they buy a large tree from a nursery, hire some people and dig the hole before they deliver the tree and buy good amendment for the backfill while they are at it. A thin canopy like that can also mean a lack of water. The lack of water would be on the quantity applied at each irrigation, not on the frequency of irrigation. Right now that trees should get by easily receiving water twice a week. But I would guess a tree that size would require the same amount of water as about half of the box that it came in. So if that was a 24 inch box I would guess it would need 20 to 30 gallons each time it was irrigated. Apply some good fertilizer and take a hose and soak it after you made sure it was not planted too deep. Do that about once a week for the next month and see what happens. Sunburn on locust followed by death of that side of the tree. When the bark was pulled off, borers damage was seen. If this is an Idaho or Black locust like Purple Robe, they are very susceptible to sun damage to the trunk. Once the trunk gets damaged they frequently are attacked by borers. As a precaution it might be a good idea to give it a soil drench with Merit insecticide as a precaution. The same insecticide can be found in Ferti-lome’s tree and shrub systemic insect drench. I know Viragrow has a pretty good price on it if they still have the small containers. If at all possible you want that tree to develop lower scaffold limbs to help shade the trunk.The canopy could use some light pruning. Remove crossed branches or branches growing on top of each other or too close together. You can do that now if you don’t remove too much or wait until this winter.

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Stinkbugs Cause Plant Damage Early in the Season

1 Comment / brown mamorated stinkbug, do we have stinkbugs in nevada, leaf cupping, leaf scorching, poor growth / xtremehorticulture

Most gardeners recognize the stinkbug in southern Nevada. But the populations may be on the rise in home gardens particularly early in the season. Stinkbugs were not a big concern when we saw them in home landscapes and gardens in southern Nevada in the past. But recently I was at a home to inspect some damage on apricot leaves early in the season when the leaves were first coming out. Cupping of leaves early in the season can be caused by feeding damage of insects like the stinkbug on new leaves just expanding from leaf buds. Not much for these insects to feed on early in the year and new growth is soft, succulent and available. The homeowner sent me some pictures of leaves that were cupping and scorching on the edges like the one above. I didn’t really spend too much time on it, just that it was a sign that there was early damage to the leaves before they got large. Then as the leaf expanded and got larger the undamaged part of the leaf toward the middle kept expanding while the damaged edges did not. This causes the leaf to “cup”. While visiting this homeowner and seeing the damage to the tree in the picture above the homeowner spotted the stinkbug on the branch and pointed it out to me. And I thought yes, that insect feeding on leaf tissue from expanding leaf buds could cause this type of damage. Stinkbug photo courtesy of reader This particular type of bug has a long sylet, like a hypodermic needle, for its mouth sort of like a mosquito that can suck blood. This long stylet can be inserted into soft tissue like expanding leaves or young leaves, even young fruit, and “take a drink” with that hypodermic snout it has. This bug does not want to damage plants but does need to feed. In the process of feeding it causes plant damage. Sometimes it can be holes in leaves, damage to expanding leaves and even sap exiting from young fruit. Luckily they are easy to kill if insecticidal soap is sprayed directly on them. Otherwise you will have to rely on insecticides that leave residual poisons so they come in contact with it. Most insect sprays for fruits and vegetables will work.

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Hawaiian Tomoto Plant with Yellow Leaves May Be For Many Reasons

Leave a Comment / fertilization, fertilizing, maintenance of landscape trees in desert soils, poor growth, vegetable fertilzers, vegetable yellow / xtremehorticulture

Q. I have 4 Hawaiian tomato plants in containers, all producing tomatoes. On one plant the leaves on lower branches are turning yellow. The plant appears to be healthy having several flowers and small fruit forming. I fertilized all 4 plants 2 weeks ago with Miracle Gro and was planning to fertilize in 2 week intervals as suggested on product container. What can be done to prevent the yellowing of leaves on the other 3 plants and resolve the present problem with the one plant in question? A. There could be several things going on. My first reaction was a lack of nitrogen fertilizer until you told me you were using a fertilizer on a regular basis. When plants don’t get enough nitrogen fertilizer the older leaves can turn yellow and die. You can also look at how much new growth there is since nitrogen is also responsible for stem and leaf growth. If it is not growing and putting on new growth then this can also be an indicator of a lack of nitrogen. Watering too often and keeping the soil too moist can also cause yellowing of foliage. So if you have mulched the soil and watering frequently then this might also be a potential problem. Some soil amendments if they have not broken down completely can cause yellowing but this is usually compensated by using fertilizer high in nitrogen. Also poor grade composts can cause yellowing so try to avoid the very inexpensive composts and soil amendments. Good soil amendments are expensive unless you make your own. If the soil is native desert soil that has been amended with compost or soil amendments, salts can cause yellowing of leaves. There are lots of natural salts in desert soils, frequently at levels too high for most of our landscape and vegetable plants. If your soil is fairly new, it make take a couple of years of compost and growing to get it into good condition. Salts are removed by leaching or watering the soil with lots of water in and letting it drain over and over in repeating cycles. Salts dissolve easily in fresh water and the draining water carries dissolved salts from the soil to a depth below the roots of the plants. If you use composted native desert soils you should always leach the soil prior to planting. So look at your soil modifications, how you are watering and whether you have leached the soil or not. If after this you think there is still a problem you might consider replacing the soil.

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