Xtremehorticulture

Trumpet Vine Slow Growth and Leaves with Red Spots

Q. I sent you some pictures of my trumpet vine which I planted as a small plant this last spring.  The plant has barely grown and the leaves have developed red spots all over them.  I believe it has a 2 gph emitter and watered three times a week for 20 minutes. Red spots on leaves of trumpet vine. A. Thanks for giving me such good irrigation information. From this I can estimate you are giving the plant about 7/10 of a gallon each time you water, three times a week. This is probably enough water for this plant when it is small but it will not be enough as it gets larger. If you cannot increase the number of minutes, then I would add a second emitter at the base of the plant. Drip emitter at base of trumpet vine             Trumpet vine is a hardy plant and thrives in most of the country where the soil is good and it gets plenty of water. It loves the heat. In fact, this plant can grow like a weed, extremely aggressive and in some places become invasive.              I don’t think we have to worry about invasiveness here. It is not a desert plant so it will need a little bit of extra care.             I see these red spots on leaves a lot with our fruit trees, particularly peaches. To me it is a sign of stress. There are two things that you should concentrate on to get this plant up and going and these focus on soil improvement and fertilizer. Red spots developing on leaves of peach due to stress.             This plant would benefit from improved soils sold applying a thick layer of surface mulch is going to make a big difference. I don’t know what kind of soil improvement you made at the time of planting but this is a plant which would benefit from a lot of compost added to the soil at planting time.             The organic surface mulch is going to help but I would put down a layer of compost near the plant and just under the mulch. You can get a load of free organic mulch from the UNCE Orchard in North Las Vegas. Once you have solved the soil problem, this plant would benefit with added water as I mentioned.              In late January or early February I would fertilizer with a decent landscape fertilizer and combine that with an application of iron. The best soil applied iron is going to be in the iron chelate form called EDDHA in the ingredients. Make sure it is applied to the drip emitters and watered in with a hose. Peters fertilizer, a good quality plant fertilizer.             In about March, spray the foliage with a good quality foliar fertilizer such as Miracle Gro or Peters. If you follow this advice, you will see some dramatic improvements.

Trumpet Vine Slow Growth and Leaves with Red Spots Read More »

Baby Fruit Trees: Pull Off or Leave the Fruit On?

Q. Help! I planted my bareroot Pink Lady last February 4th and now it’s flowering! I’m happy to see the blossoms; they’re pretty and smell good. This is the first time I planted an apple tree, now I don’t know what to do next. Should I just let it blossom and fruit? Pink Lady apple from the North Las Vegas Orchard A. Just be calm and take a deep breath. It is okay for your tree to flower. If you go back to some of the old textbooks on fruit trees it may tell you that some trees take six to eight years to bear fruit. Well there is some truth to that but with newer varieties bred for precociousness (early production) and budded on to dwarfing rootstocks it is not unusual to have fruit trees begin to bear fruit after only a year or two in the ground. The question then becomes is it wise to leave the fruit on the tree or remove it?             Some very good gardeners are of the opinion that all fruit should be removed so that the energy of the tree goes into tree growth rather than split between tree growth and fruit production. Others say to let the tree go ahead and produce some fruit but remove most of it for the same reason.             I am of the latter. If you have some fruit being produced then enjoy a few the first year, a few more the second until you maximize its production for its size. As it increases in size it can be allowed to carry more fruit.             Remember to whitewash the tree to help prevent sunburn. Cover all the branches and the trunk with diluted white latex paint. This is a mixture, 1/1, with water and make sure you cover the west and south sides of the trunk and tops of the branches.             Let it flower. Thin the fruit to one apple per cluster as soon as the fruit forms. Keep mulch at least 6 inches away from the trunk the first few years. Remove the stake this fall. That’s about it. I hope you get a couple of fruit this year.

Baby Fruit Trees: Pull Off or Leave the Fruit On? Read More »