Readers plant appears to be Japanese privet which does not like dry soils Q. I have four bushes like the one shown. They were planted about six years ago and have never done very well. Each year around this time they look as shown. Can you advise and suggest anything? A. From the looks it appears to be Japanese privet which must have soil around its roots that does not go dry. It will not do well in rock landscapes. They do well in a turfgrass landscape. This might be a case of the wrong plant in that location. You would have to increase the frequency of the watering and improve the soil in that location. This is what Japanese privet will do in a rock landscape with drip irrigation – drop its leaves on some branches along with branch dieback             The amount might also have to be increased but since I dont know the amount I would suggest increasing the frequency to about three times a week. The amount depends on the size of the plant but a three foot tall plant might require five gallons or so each watering. A ten foot plant might require perhaps 20-30 gallons at each watering.

 Radial cracks on an heirloom tomato from the orchard Q. I have this problem. Our tomatoes develop cracks at times usually about half way to maturity.  They also rot on the bottom. A. Tomato cracking can be from the variety of tomato you are growing or it can be how you are managing your irrigations or a combination of both.  Rotting of the bottom of the fruit can be caused by irregular irrigations. Heirloom tomatoes with longitudinal cracks (top right and top left) from irregular watering             Some varieties of tomatoes, particularly heirloom types, are subject to what are called radial cracks.  These are concentric, circular cracks around the top of the fruit.  These might be reduced by growing them under light shade probably know more than about 30%.             Cracks along the length of the fruit can be a particular problem after a heavy rain. Sometimes when the tomato fruit is near maturity very wet soil can result in a lot of water taken up by the plant with lots of it sent to the fruits. The fruit swells and cracks due to excess water taken in by the fruits and the skin. Blossom end rot on tomato, picture submitted by reader             Use a mulch on the soil surface to help keep the soil more evenly moist. This can result in less cracking to the fruits because the soil is kept more evenly moist. This can be straw, shredded or even sheets of newspaper or landscape fabric cut into strips.  As I said, tomatoes will do better if they have some light shade when they are growing. 

  Fruit Tree Limb Split Due to Heavy Fruit Load Limb Damage Due To A Heavy Crop Load.  Too much fruit on a single limb and the weight can cause the limb to separate from the trunk.  We get it at the orchard if we do not thin the fruit enough on the limb or if the limb has a poor attachment to the trunk.  Make sure that limbs which support fruit are attached to the trunk at about a 45 degree angle.  Peaches should be thinned so that the fruit is about 4 to 6 inches apart along the limb.  Summer pruning, talked about here on this blog, will help to keep fruit loads more manageable and cause less damage to the tree.  During summer pruning, usually around April and May, excessively long branches on peaches and nectarines are pruned back so they are no longer than about 18 inches.  This helps to distribute the crop load for the next year which is born on the wood which is produced this year. Flagging in new growth at the top of a peach tree Wormy Peaches, Nectarines And Even Almonds. Peach twig borer in the adult stage is a brown month about 1/2 inch long.  After eggs are laid by the adult moths, worms or larva enter soft fruit usually near the stem end.  When they enter near the stem end they leave behind some brown excrement that looks a little bit like wet, dark brown would grindings.  CloseUp Of DieBack Of A Young Peach Stem Due To Peach Twig Borer But earlier in the season when there is no fruit they attack something else that is soft and tender – – newly growing shoots.  They bore into the soft ends of the shoot where they tunnel and cause the newly growing tip to die back as you see in the picture.  Later in the season when there is soft fruit they attack the fruit instead. It is important to get these insects under control very early in the season.  There can be several generations each growing season and their numbers are not additive but multiply at very high rates so their numbers increase rapidly.   Peach Twig Borer Larva in Almond Husk These little guys will also attack almonds.  They get into the husk where it is essentially just like the fruit of a peach.  They can get inside where the nut is located and cause damage there as well. We use pheromone traps to begin to identifying when they are flying and add a very high density so that we get some mating disruption.  Then we usually use either sprays of Bt or spinosad. For more information see the University of California IPM online web site at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r602300611.html

Roses Should Never Be Grown In Rock Mulch Q. I read your column and have a question. I have two rose plants both have very dried blossoms on them. WHAT should I do?  Cut them back 1/3, fertilize, or leave it alone until the weather cools?  The heat has “mummified” the roses that did bloom. All on the branches. We lived in Hawaii for many years, and I am uncertain how to grow roses here…Hawaii so much easier! A. Roses do surprisingly well here in our desert.  We have two rose societys here in the valley with some very avid rose growers, some with hundreds of roses in their yards.  The best time of year for roses is in the spring in the fall, months from February to May and then later when it’s cooler again beginning about mid September into mid December.  If they are planted in front of a wall with reflected heat (west and south facing walls) they will do well all winter long.  The worst time of the year for roses, and the time when they struggle the most, is June through August.  The flowers do exactly as you are talking about.  They will bloom and the flowers shrivel up and die very quickly in our heat and lack of humidity.  Never grow roses in a rock mulch here always use a wood mulch.  The best wood mulches are chipped or shredded landscape plants that arborists normally take to the landfill.  Roses growing in Las Vegas in wood mulch Roses do great on drip irrigation.  Use two, 3 gallon per hour emitters per rose plant and irrigate for 1 hour.  That will deliver 6 gallons of water.  In the heat of the summer irrigate three times a week if you are using wood mulch.  Go to twice a week in mid or late September, once a week in mid to late October, and once every 10 days after the leaves drop.  Repeat this in reverse in the spring as the temperature gets hotter starting with once a week on February 1. Fertilize in January with a slow-release rose fertilizer plus a soil-applied iron chelate applied under the wood mulch next to the emitters.  The fertilizer stakes work great and are not as messy.  The best soil applied iron chelate is going to be one which contains the chelate EDDHA.  I know that Plant World Nursery on Charleston carries this iron chelate but it is always expensive.  So does Grow Well on Nellis.  You only need a small amount per rose plant.  I would fertilize a second time, two weeks before the second crop in the fall comes on.  What should you do now?  Remove any of the flowers that if mollified and cut off any dead or dying branch is and leave it alone until after leaf drop in late December.  Do your pruning at this time.

Q. I have four bushes like the one shown. They were planted about six years ago and have never done very well. Each year around this time they look as shown. Can you advise suggest anything? Reader’s suspected Japanese privet A. From the looks it appears to be Japanese privet which must have soil around its roots that does not go dry. It will not do well in rock landscapes. They do well in a turfgrass landscape. This might be a case of the wrong plant in that location. You would have to increase the frequency of the watering and improve the soil in that location. Leaf tip burn on readers privet The amount might also have to be increased but since I dont know the amount I would suggest increasing the frequency to about three times a week. The amount depends on the size of the plant but a three foot tall plant might require five gallons or so each watering. A ten foot plant might require perhaps 20-30 gallons at each watering.

 Q. I have an African sumac in my backyard that has leaves which turn brown and fall off.  I have one in my front yard that does not do that.  The one in the back is close to grass which gets 5 minutes of water three times a day.  The one in the front is in a rock landscape and gets a lot less water.  Is this a natural for them or is it getting too much water or not enough fertilizer?  The backyard one is on the east side and the one in the front faces west which is very hot.  The one in the back is about 15 years old and about 35 feet tall and wide.  Any help would be great. A. Sometimes they can get so dense that internal shading of the canopy will cause leaves to die and drop. These are fairly messy trees due to leaf drop and dropping of their berries. If the tree in the drier landscape is more open and the tree in the back is more dense then this can be the reason. Other reasons might include pest problems such as aphids which can cause the leaves to be sticky or shiny and leaf drop if there are in large numbers.  If the leaves are sticky, try spraying with repeat applications of soap and water or insecticidal soaps.  Aphids should disappear during hot weather but reappear again during cool weather.  You may also see a lot of ant activity that are working off of the aphids sugary honeydew droppings. You can try to open up the canopy with some branch removal (thinning of the canopy by selective limb removal) and admit more light inside the canopy. This however will probably cause some suckering on the limbs if too many limbs are removed. Another possibility could be overwatering. If the tree is watered too often it is possible to develop root rots and lead drop will occur and usually branch dieback. 

Dog urine damage. You can tell because it is darker green around the dead spot due to the extra nitrogen in the urine. Q. I have some grass in my backyard.  I installed sod when I first moved to this house and 7 years of having two dogs and three kids have done its damage. I have large patches of dead spots and the live spots are not looking so good either. Haha. The problem with reseeding or sodding is that one of my dogs is still 7 months old and would tear it up as it happens. I was thinking of getting some Zoysia grass or something like that.  What brands do you think do well here?   My other option is artificial grass and that is a bit pricey right now. A. If dogs or a dog is tough on your lawn then there isnt much you can do about keeping a lawn looking good. Even zoysia grass, as tough as it is, will have problems with dogs and kids who play outside alot and roughhouse. El Toro zoysiagrass Artificial grass has its drawbacks. Number one are the temperatures it can generate even on a moderately warm 95F day. Surface temperatures of artificial grass can climb to well over 150F on a modestly warm day, midday in full sun. Artificial grasses need to be kept clean since small surface debris does not decompose as it does in a lawn. If you do elect to use artificial grass make sure it is in the shade. If you elect to use a natural grass you might want to consider Kentucky 31 tall fescue. I normally do not recommend this grass for most lawns because of its coarse texture. It is not a pretty grass to look at but it is tougher than just about any other cool season grass. It can be reseeded easily in spring and fall months. But it is a water hog. Try rotating your pet into different parts of the lawn at different times so that grass which has been beat up pretty bad has a few weeks to recuperate before fido is let on that patch again. When fido has been rotated off of a patch then fertilize it, aerate it and push some new growth to get it to recover as fast as it can.

Apple baked on the readers tree and now rotting Q. Aloha, Bob. I have this problem. Our Apple and tomato crop has been developing brown areas usually on their bottoms. I am attaching three photos so that you see what I am writing about. Our apples seem okay except for the brown spots but, our tomatoes also develop cracks at times, usually about half way to maturity. Can you help? If it’s any help to you, we live in the northwest part of the valley two blocks from the Santa Fe Station Casino. Apples on the readers tree A. The apples on the tree looked like Anna.  Is that correct?  This is high temperature damage to the fruit.  They basically cooked on the tree.  I have had this same problem with Anna apples at the Orchard. Cut the apples open and look inside the core to make sure that there were seeds developing and check to see what stage of development they were.  When an apple fruit is mature the seeds will be dark brown with maybe the pointed tip still white.  I just want to make sure that the fruit was mature and that you had pollination for fruit development.  If there are seeds present, then it makes it more conclusive that it is due mostly to high temperatures.  Anna apple with high temperature damage at the UNCE Orchard I want to add that you did a great job thinning your apples at the right time to get that size. Apple fruit at beginning stages of sunburn Apple at advanced stages of sunburn If this is Anna apple they are pretty good at handling high temp stress.  They mature early and you can often times get them off the tree before the hot weather can do substantial damage.  I typically do not like apple trees which have fruit that matures at the peak of our summer temps.  I usually prefer apple trees that produce fruit late, such as mid September through November.  I also like apple trees that produce enough leaf cover or canopy to shade the fruit and not have it exposed directly to sunlight.  Exposed fruit can be damaged by sunscald, a different problem but related to high light intensity that produces a lot of surface heat on the fruit and causes the fruit to discolor on the side exposed to the sun.  I think producing its fruit in November is one reason Pink Lady apple does so well in our climate besides just having a wonderful balance of sugars and acidity and a great flavor profile of sweetness and acidity. I am thinking, again if this is an Anna, that it might be due to a long cool spring and summer we had followed by the onslaught a very high temps, very quickly when the fruit was maturing.  Again, if this is an Anna, I don’t think you’ll see this again in future years unless we have a repeat of these weather conditions.

  Bee boxes made for leafcutter bees at The Orchard Q. Do we have mason bees in las vegas? My yard is 50ft x 25ft. do you think it’s a good or bad idea having a mason bee house? Circular holes cut on the leaf magin of a bottle tree leaf. Leaf cutter bee house and bee entering hole A. We don’t really have Mason bees or Orchard bees that I know of. We rely mostly on leafcutter bees as a wild source of bees for pollination. I have sat in the orchard for about one hour a few years ago during full bloom and counted bees visiting flowers on a peach trees. The leafcutters are smaller in size so they are easier to distinguish from Italian honey bees. We have ten hives of Italian honey bees in the orchard. My best estimate was that about 25% of our pollination on that tree was due to leafcutter bees. I think you would waste your money in bringing some in. I think they might die in this climate. You can make your own leafcutter bee house by drilling holes in a 4×4 or 6×6 (better) or a tree stump with a 3/8 inch bit to a depth as deep as you can. Five inches is best but at least 3 inches. The female bees will lay their eggs in these long tunnels created with your drill bit. The State Entomologist in Nevada claims that the longer tunnels will favor the creation of more female bees since the eggs of males are laid the first three inches or so of the tunnel. The deeper the hole, the more eggs that turn into females will be laid. Shallow holes will still provide for the production of bees but male bees will be favored. As we all know, male bees are not as productive workers as females.    Basil damaged by leafcutter bee You might keep in mind that leafcutter bees will make some damage to some leaves around your yard or garden but that’s okay. They will grow back. Leafcutter bees favor leaves that are smooth and fairly delicate such as bougainvillea, roses, grapes, basil and the like. They take these leaves and use them to stuff the tunnels where they pack their eggs. The leaf stuffings provide protection for the eggs and food for them to eat as they emerge in a month or so.

Nematode damage to roots Q. I recently pulled up the remains of my tomato plants and found the roots disfigured but I could not see any of these worms on the roots.  I planted tomatoes that had a VFN designation on the label and thought they were resistant to nematodes.  Are these the remains of nematodes?  A. Nematodes are microscopic worms so you would not be able to see them with your naked eye. Just because they have the label nematode resistant (N of VFN) doesn’t mean you can’t get them. It just means that the plants can resist infestations but are not immune to them.             From your picture it does look like a nematode attack. You should remember that it is extremely important that you not grow the vegetables of the same family in the same spot year after year. You rotate the locations of where you plant vegetables each year. This will help in keeping diseases and nematode populations from building in certain locations. However, nematodes are a different problem. Some guidelines for control are available in this publication from Clemson University.              Regarding reducing nematode problems there are a few things you can do and one is solarizing your soil. I have sent to you a document on soil solarization which can be seen on my blog. This technique will help reduce the population of nematodes but not eliminate them. Continue to use vegetables with an N designation on their label or seed packet.             You can plant cover crops such as cover crops that have been shown to suppress nematodes include annual ryegrass, wheat, barley, oats, sorghum and sudangrass.             Another technique is to keep your crops outgrowing the nematode attack by keeping them well fertilized and healthy. So far there is not much else you can do to eliminate them once the soil is infested except fumigating the soil, another topic.