Add Compost to a Raised Bed Not More Soil Mix: This is your scenario: Your raised bed is 1 to 2 years old.. Your raised beds were filled with a soil mix that contains compost. Maybe th…

The Truth About Sulfur for Gardens: Sulfur is needed in horticulture for two reasons; first, it is a major plant nutrient required by plants and secondly sulfur helps lower th… Viragrow Delivers!

2016 Magnolia “Seedling” Program The Magnolia Society International is excited to announce a new scholarship program, the Magnolia “Seedling” Program. This seedling program is a new endeavor targeted to support a young magnoliaphile to attend an annual meeting by paying their expenses (travel, lodging, meals and registration). MSI wants to encourage someone who is just starting out in horticulture or research and has a specific interest (breeding, conservation, production, etc.) in magnolias.  The 2016 annual meeting is April 8-11, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More information about the meetings can be found at www.magnoliasociety.org. If you have a student that you feel qualifies for this travel scholarship please send a nomination including name of individual, statement on why you feel they deserve the travel scholarship and their specific interest with magnolias. There is a short deadline of January 30th, 2016. Please email nomination to: Dr. Todd West [email protected] 266E Loftsgard Hall Dept 7670, PO Box 6050 Fargo, ND 58108-6050 Fax: 701.231.8474

Viragrow Delivers! : Which Fertilizers Should I Use for My Fruit Trees?…: There are basically three types of fertilizers that you should pick from;  fertilizers with high phosphorus,  fertilizers with high ni… Viragrow Delivers!

Viragrow Delivers! : How Much “Plant Tonic” Should I Apply to My Bushes…: Q. We fertilize our bushes early spring and mid fall with a “plant tonic”, a 5-10-5 liquid.  Hopefully this isn’t too much n…

Q. My Chinese Pistache was planted in my xeriscape front yard almost 4 years ago. Overall, I’d say it’s doing fine.  One thing puzzling is that the leaves started changing to “fall colors” around the beginning of August.  I don’t remember when it changed colors last or previous years but I think that’s a bit soon.  Again, the tree looks healthy to me but I thought I’d check with you to see if I should be concerned. A. I agree, August is early in our climate unless there had been some unusually cold weather. Early fall color can be a sign of plant stress and this would be followed by unusually early leaf drop. The usual reason for this type of stress is either a lack of water or possibly watering too often. Pistache with fall color.             When watering, give the plant a lot of water all at once so the water drains to a depth of 2 feet, wetting all the roots. This will require that there are enough drip emitters and they deliver enough water if you are using drip.             Chinese Pistache trees can get large, 40 feet, and the larger they get the more water they will need. Increase the amount of water they receive by adding more emitters every few years. It also helps if this tree has other plants growing around it that are receiving water.             Do not water this tree daily. That is a big no-no. Watering deep, twice a week, would be plenty.             Chinese Pistache will survive lawns but the soil under lawns is usually much better than the soil under rock mulch. When they are growing in lawns, this soil can be much more forgiving than the soil under a rock mulch that is getting watered too often.             Chinese Pistache typically does not have a lot of insect or disease problems in our area so I would tend to think that this would not be the case unless of course you are watering frequently. This will cause big problems for this tree in the future.

Q. I read you said recently that oleanders can be composted. Just for clarification, can they be composted for vegetable gardens since they are toxic? A. Yes! They can be used for mulching and composting! Mulching is when the plant is chopped up into small pieces and laid on the soil surface. Composting is the controlled rotting of the plant so that it can be mixed in the soil as an amendment and fertilizer.             There is contradictory information circulating on the Internet about the safety of oleander but the study below strongly suggests that there is no problem with it when it is composted and used for growing vegetables. They do warn that it is not safe to eat the compost (why someone or an animal would do that I don’t know). It is also not a problem to compost eucalyptus as well. Composting Oleander Recommendations             The smoke when burning oleander is a problem if inhaled. Although about 60% of our landscape plants are poisonous to some degree, oleander is one of the most toxic along with Datura spp. (a.k.a. Jimson Weed, Angel’s Trumpet, Thorn Apple), Nightshade, Castor Bean (Rosary Bead), Rhubarb, Moonseed, Lantana, Yew and Wisteria.

Here are some pictures sent to me by readers of some wildlife they saw in their backyards recently. Remember the fires that occurred in the Mount Charleston area a while back. Water is a great way to attract all types of wildlife into your yard. Bird at birdbath identified as Cooper’s Hawk One of the readers reported to me that she saw this Cooper’s Hawk take out two pigeons. Wikipedia on Cooper’s Hawk Wikipedia on great horned owl Bird at birdbath identified as horned owl

Q. Although I was able to control the grape leaf skeletonizer all summer, I came back from a three week trip with 99% of the leaves stripped and dried up.  The grapes were picked in August and September. Should I still treat the vines with BT or just forget it since it is October and the leaves would have soon turned brown anyway? Skeletonizer feeding on the bottom side of grape leaves. A. I would just let it go at this point. The only thing I worry about a little bit is regrowth (new leaves produced) because the temperatures are still warm. Regrowth will drain stored food reserves from inside the plant.             These reserves are used for next year’s production but there should be plenty of “food” left even if it regrows this fall. I would not worry about it if that happens.             Make sure you cleanup the leaves at the base of the plants. This is where the pupal stage (cocoon) will overwinter and if you do not cleanup this debris the attack on the plants next year will be earlier and more intense. The adults are winged moths so they will move from neighbor’s vines to neighbor’s vines.