Xtremehorticulture

Growing Blueberries in the Desert

Q. Can we grow blueberries here? How difficult is it? Yes, these blueberries were grown in Las Vegas. But at what cost? A. It is one of those questions that “we can but with what degree of difficulty?”. I am a lazy gardener and don’t like to put a lot of effort into “out of place” plants. I have a saying, the more out of place a plant is in its needs, the more time, money, and effort we have to put into it to get it to grow or produce. Take mangoes for instance. We can grow them here but what would be our “cost” of production? Yellowing of the plant leaves is just one of the hurdles that must be overcome when growing blueberries in the desert.             We know that blueberries prefer soils that are lower in pH (about 4.5) and don’t care much for the highly alkaline soils (closer to 8.0) of the desert. That’s a 1000 percent difference! Soil pH is our first hurdle to overcome. Are we willing to monitor the soil and amend it year after year? Use very fine ground (injectable) soil sulfur, not granular or “flowers” of sulfur for lowering the soil pH. I didnt get a picture of blueberries growing in a container per se but if you look closely you can see that this blueberry is growing in a container in Las Vegas. More than a curiosity? I wouldn’t go into commercial blueberry production in the Mojave Desert. Use containers so the soil is “contained” and easier to amend. Plants need good drainage. Use pine bark for good drainage and amend it with a very small amount of sand for stability. Blueberries have shallow roots so containers should be shallow; 10 inches deep. Place plants on the east side of a building so they get shade in the afternoon.  Southern highbush blueberries can tolerate the heat but not direct sun. Blueberries need at least 6 hours of full sun every day.             If you are willing to monitor and amend the soil annually (and grow blueberries as a cuiosity) then grow at least one of the Southern Highbush blueberries such as ‘Reveill’, ‘Sharpblue’, ‘Misty’, or ‘Southmoon’. Many of the Southern Highbush blueberries are self-fruitful but you may get larger berries and increased production if they can cross pollinate. But stay away from commercial production unless you do it (and is cost effective) in a greenhouse.             Apply fertilizer once every two months when they are growing to get good crops. The biggest hurdle to overcome when grown in our climate and soil is the soil pH.

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How to Water Sago Palm (Cycad) Once Each Week in the Winter

Q. Now that our irrigation is only allowed for 1 day, I was wondering if once a week is sufficient watering for my small sago palm. Should I hand water it on other days? Not the readers sago palm (cycad) but it is small! It is in a container so it is more difficult to water than one planted in the ground. The soil in the container is more limited in size than one planted in the ground. A. Hard to say. Depends on how much water your soil around the sago palm holds, where the drip emitters for it are located and the side of the house it’s on. Hard to believe this cycad, or sago palm, is growing in Las Vegas. It was situated in the right location with the right care.            Ideally the drip emitters are located between 12 to 18 inches from the trunk. For large sago palms I would suggest three emitters spaced in a triangle. Run the irrigation system long enough to water 12 to 18 inches deep. you can measure that with something long skinny and hard like a piece of rebar. If the sago palm is smaller, it may need only two emitters to wet the soil to the same depth. Smaller plants don’t use as much water, but the system needs to run just as long. Hard to accept this is the same plant as the one above. But this one is located in the heat of the sun and growing in poor soils.            Plants on the south and west sides of the house or wall use more water faster than those on the east and north sides. A deep watering once a week should be all that is necessary for them in most soils and locations except the hottest.

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Use Distilled Water or RO Water on House Plants

Q. I have a three house plants, a Christmas cactus, “Mother-in-Law’s Tongue” and an Orchid plant.  There is a white “fungus” looking on the top of their soil.  WHAT can I do to get rid of it?  Am I watering too much?  Indoors all the time.   A. It is difficult to diagnose without some pictures but this might be either a salt accumulation from using Las Vegas tap water coming from the Colorado Rivere or it could be fungus (mycelial growth) on the surface. Water taken from Lake Mead (Colorado River) at the Las Vegas location is carrying about six pounds of salt for every thousand gallons of water. Our native desert soils also contain alot of salt. I assume your houseplants were potted with some commercial potting soil so the salt load is probably relatively smaller than our native desert soils. Over time this salt can accumulate in the soil (from the tap water and soil salt) and wick back to the surface of the soil as the water in the soil evaporates. This can leave a white crust on the surface.  Salt deposited on the soil surface from the Las Vegas water coming from Lake Mead and soil salts left behind when the water evaporates. Remove the upper layer of the soil and repot the plant with fresh garden soil. Dilute your tap water with about 3/4 of the volume with distilled or RO water. I would not use pure distilled or RO water as this might cause some problems with your potting soils. Also when you water, make sure 1/5 of the water applied actually leaves the container out the bottom as drainage and discard. This helps to flush out the soil salts. If this white thing is “fuzzy”, this could be some fungal growth. Not all fungi are bad and some are decomposers and work to help break down organic materials that are already dead. Seldom do these fungi that feed on dead things attack healthy plants. Scrape off th surface, repot, keep air circulating around the plant and in sunlight when possible to help keep these fuzzies to a minimum.

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