Texas Olive Froze at 25F or More

Q. I have a Texas olive tree that may or may not have survived this past winter. We have had the tree for several years now and it has always bloomed and grown. I don't have any new leaves or blooms except the suckers on the bottom.  All our other trees like our sumac, Palo verde, and fruit trees are doing fine.  But not this one. Is there anything I can do at this point beyond just watching it?

Texas Olive, Cordia boisieiri, hardy during the winter to about 25F, about the same winter temperature as Myers Lemon.

A. That particular tree, Cordia boisieri, is native to the desert southwest Chihuahuan desert and survives to a winter temperature of about 25F; around the same winter temperature as Myers lemon. Because it’s from our desert southwest it is considered xeric in its water use. Lots of good that does you if it is winter killed or severely damaged. 

A better choice might be Littleleaf cordia, a smaller tree and found growing on East Flamingo in Las Vegas.

A better choice might have been another xeric tree from that area such as little leaf cordia, Cordia parvifolia, which seems to survive to a slightly lower winter temperature. I suggest in the future, permanent trees in your landscape should have a minimum winter temperature of 20F.

Suckering from the base is a good indicator it died to the ground, or the trunk was severely damaged. You do not need to replace the tree unless it looks horrible. It is grown on its own roots. Let one or more of the suckers replace what died. Suckers grow very quickly if the roots were not damaged.

If a tree does not normally produce suckers at its base, the production of suckers can sometimes indicate the trunk is damaged either from borers or sunburn or both!

If you decide you want to keep it, water deeply and infrequently and fertilize it in the spring. Two handfuls of tree and shrub fertilizer about two feet from the tree each year will be enough. Wet the soil, create a slit in the soil with a shovel about 6 to 8 inches deep, drop the fertilizer into the slit, step on it to shut it and water it in. Xeric trees grow rapidly with water applied to them like mesic trees. You will have to search to find this tree at local nurseries.

New Texas Ranger Not Looking Good After Daily Watering

Q. I planted a Texas Ranger shrub three weeks ago in some sandy and rocky soil. I have been watering it with about two gallons daily. I added one inch-deep bark mulch in a 1 foot circle around the plant. Now I am finding yellow, brittle leaves on the lower stems and curling leaves on top. Am I overwatering?

Peas Not Germinating Evenly

Q. I have had problems with germination of peas. Placed directly in prepared soil germination has been inconsistent and I had to reseed several times.

Stems of Beans Devoured at the Base



Beans planted in cool soils can get collar rot or get devoured by cutworms

Q. I found a couple of beans in my garden that have been devoured at the base. Could it be some sort of soil born larva or possibly a virus?  Any ideas would be helpful. I did find one small white worm about a half of a centimeter long near the root about an inch away. 

 

A. It could be a couple of things. First, with cool weather and cool soils it might be collar rot disease that rots the stem at soil level. This will happen if you plant beans too early in cold soils. Some varieties of beans are more susceptible to this than others.

Most likely cutworm damage

            The first indicator is that some plants appear stunted and grow poorly.  I usually end up removing these plants and hope the weather warms up. 

            The other problem can be cutworms.  You should be spraying or dusting the soil surface around these plants with either Dipel or Thuricide, an organic pesticide.  This is the time of year you should be doing that anyway for a variety of pests in the vegetable garden.