Oleanders Drop Leaves in Drought. Will it Recover?

Q. I read the post on your blog on oleanders with interest. I too have an issue. My five oleanders are mature (at least 20 years old) trees.  When we moved here a year ago they had not been watered.   When the water was turned on and major landscaping installed, many of the leaves turned yellow and dropped. However the trees blossomed and continued to do fine. 

This is not the readers oleander but this oleander has leaf
scorch and leaf drop while the oleander behind it is
doing very well. Check the emitters or the source of water.
This is a good sign it is getting a lack of water.

            During the rains the gardener turned off the water system and sadly forgot to turn it back on. The water is of course back on but I have had to replace many bushes, although NOT the oleanders.  However they have begun to turn yellow again and are dropping leaves. There are still a majority of green leaves and the trees are about to burst into blooms. They have been fertilized, as has everything on the property, but I am baffled.  Would you be so kind as to give me your advice on what is happening and why?

A. Oleanders are so extensive worldwide that no one is sure where they originated from. Their climate of origin is important because it determines under what conditions these plants perform best but we do know quite a bit about how oleanders behave with and without water.

            We know that they are very drought tolerant. This means that when there is limited water, they can survive. Many plants can’t do this. Normally when drought tolerant plants first experience a lack of water the leaves will drop and the canopy will become sparse. If the water continues to be sparse the leaves they produce will be few and smaller and little new growth. They have to have a sparse canopy to survive.

            However when water is present they have the potential for using a large amount of water and are not low water users. They respond to this water by growing more, setting new leaves that are quite a bit larger and shedding the old ones. The plant itself becomes denser and flowers profusely (provided they are not trimmed with a hedge shears).

            Leaf drop is very characteristic in response to a drought. It is also characteristic when they receive water again after a drought. It is also characteristic of older growth to shed some leaves on older wood.

            So, in a nutshell, going from drought to abundant water expect some leaf drop. And when oleander grows normally, expect some leaf drop as the plant matures but not typically as much as during dry/wet periods. So is oleander a good pool plant? No.

What Do I Do? My Lawn Has Dead Spots in Summer

This lawn is starting to recover. Just the dead spots remain.
Wait until mid September or even October before you begin
to remove dead grass. Leave it there for mulch to prevent
weeds like bermudagrass from getting started.

If you had dead areas develop in your lawn and you are pretty convinced the damage has passed then it is time to wait until fall to repair it. Three types of problems lead to dead spots in the lawn: insects, diseases and irrigation problems. It is pretty easy to determine if the problem has passed. If it has passed, the grass surrounding the damaged area and throughout the rest of the lawn area will appear healthy and rapidly growing. All that will remain of the damage are the brown spots surrounded by healthy, vibrant, green grass.

Whatever you do, DON'T rake up the dead grass now and reseed or resod. Dead spots in a lawn are ugly. But what can be worse if you are not careful is to open up your lawn to a weed invasion, particularly bermudagrass, if you try to clean up these dead spots now. Wait. Wait until Fall, around mid September to mid October, to rake it up and reseed or resod.

If you try to reseed it now you will fail. Even laying sod right now will be difficult to keep alive. But if you rake up that dead area and expose the bare soil to sunshine and irrigation, bermudagrass WILL seed itself right into those spots. And then you WILL have a problem. Leave the dead grass alone and let it "mulch" or cover the dead area, protecting it from invasion by bermudagrass.

Powdery Mildew on Tomato... what to do?

Q. I have a problem with my heirloom tomatoes  the leaves on top have mildew on them what is causing this? I have never had this problem before. The plant is producing tomatoes and the leaves on top are still green.  I am baffled!

This is not tomato but it gives you an idea what powdery
mildew looks like. It looks like someone sprinkled the
plants with wheat flour

A. I would be very interested if what you are seeing is actually mildew and if you mean the disease powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a disease that is very specific to certain plants. For instance the powdery mildew on roses cannot attack tomatoes.

Powdery mildews can attack numerous plants but each type of powdery mildew is specific to that plant. Powdery mildew is a common disease in desert environments because it can be very active under very low humidities.

The environment for this disease to occur is usually the same; somewhat shady areas frequently irrigated with overhead sprinkler type irrigations. This causes water to splash when it hits surfaces. This splashing water can carry the disease from one plant of the same type to a neighboring plant.

Nonchemical control of powdery mildew is the same for all types; reduce or eliminate the shade problem and the splashing water problem. Use drip irrigation. Improve air circulation among the plants by not planting too close together and don't let them shade each other. Give them some space and dont over fertilize them so they get real bushy and have alot of internal shading. Thin out the canopies of the plants to improve air circulation. Go to a different type of growing. Dont let them sprawl but stake them and tie them to stakes to get them more vertical and improve air circulation.

Usually if you can do all this you will not need a fungicide. Otherwise there are fungicides you can apply to keep it from spreading.

Japanese Blueberry Leaves Falling and Canopy Thinning

Q. My problem is with my Japanese Blueberry trees. Leaves seem to fall prematurely, browning and yellowish. One of the trees bark is peeling off and appeared to be dry. There are no visible insects but I do not know what to find anyway. I have spent so much money on them for them to die. Please help.

Not the readers but Japanese blueberries planted along a
block wall.

A. Japanese blueberries planted in a desert environment is like a square peg in a round hole; it will fit but you have to use a hammer. Japanese blueberries will require a soil heavily amended at the time of planting and organic mulch on the surface of the soil after planting.  It will do terribly in south or western exposures in full sun or in rock mulches. 

            If you planted this Japanese blueberry from a 15 gallon container then it will require about 15 gallons of water each time you water.  The amount of water must increase from this amount as the plant gets larger from year to year. 

            This can be accomplished by adding minutes to your existing irrigation schedule at each watering or adding additional emitters.  The frequency in the application of water, but not the number of gallons per application, will vary from season to season. 

            There is generally are a winter schedule, spring schedule, summer schedule, fall schedule and back to a winter schedule which means you should increase the number of times you irrigate per week about four times each year.  These schedules will coincide approximately with December 1, February 1, May 1, mid-June, mid-September and finally December 1 which completes the seasonal cycle. 

            Because your plant did not have the fullness that you would like, I would assume it is due to improper irrigation which may also lead to infestation with borers.  Pull off the loose bark at you see and look for damage in the wood do too boring insects.  This would include sawdust under the bark and perhaps elliptical exit holes from the trunk under the damaged area.  If the damage is more than half way around the trunk then I would replace the plant.

Yellowing of Meyer Lemon Tree Leaves Hard to Correct

Q. We went and talked to nursery folks a couple times about this tree. First we got the water cycle correct, then iron was suggested which we did as directed. Then a soil amendment was suggested. Online I read possibly the tree suffers from a magnesium issue. I thought these photos would give a better picture. We did as directed and the tree is not responding in fact it is getting worse. I am wondering if it is because of where it was planted which is a confined root growing area. Any insight would be appreciated.



Readers lemon tree with yellowing leaves

A. By looking at the leaves I have to assume this is a Meyer Lemon (which is, by the way not technically a lemon but an unknown hybrid found in a Chinese back yard by USDA researcher D. Meyer in the early 20th century).

Your pictures are all pretty good with the exception of not showing a critical view of the trunk where it is just out of the soil. Just for future reference always look at and show this interface of the trunk and soil. W/o that view I have to only guess that the rootstock/trunk union is well out of the soil and we can eliminate that issue. And, a shot of the soil might show how the plant is getting watered. I have to assume drippers and I would guess they are in the same locations as when the plant was planted.



Closer look at readers yellowing leaves

The leaves show two distinctive symptoms that often occur in concert: 1. There is some salt burn and 2. The common symptom that comes with salt issues is the magnesium deficiency. Just FYI Iron deficiency only occurs on the new leaves.

For the salinity (salt) issue we usually look first at the watering and with watering comes knowing if the water can even be applied uniformly all around the edge of the canopy, sometimes called the 'drip line'.

Citrus are botanically a shrub with shallow and wide spreading roots that are tough to grow to maturity with drippers unless they are closely spaced in a wide band around the canopy's edge. There is one picture showing the plant is right next to a step wall with no water being applied in that zone of the root system.

Clear look at the yellowing or chlorosis problem
on readers citrus

I would not worry too much about adding any supplements and see if you can begin to manage a watering system of application that would give a long deep soaking water application out near the drip line. The 'soaker' hoses could be laid out on the ground out near the drip line and let it run for hours and hours to try and leach out the excess salts that may have accumulated over time with the drip system. Drip systems are fine but, due to their limited water output salts can begin to accumulate thus impacting citrus' sensitivity to salts.

Give it a long deep watering about once every few weeks from now on all during the growing season (May through October)  to supplement the regular water to leach out the salts that inevitably are deposited with the limited volume of drip systems . .This leaching watering is also the great time to add fertilizer and get it into the soil evenly all around the active roots near the drip line.

-Terry Mikel

Why Do People Like to Bash Miracle Gro?

Q. I have a small garden with a big Mexican palm, some Cana lilies, various green plants and flowering annuals. Everything does well but I would like to encourage flowering and general health especially during the hot months. I have used Miracle Grow and I think it does a good job with flower growth but I do find that some flowering plants die off during the summer, particularly, marigolds and petunias.

            I was told not to use Miracle Grow as it adds too much sodium to an already salty soil that we have here. I have tried others recommended by plant stores but they require mixing with the soil and are difficult to apply once the garden is established. I like the spray on method that Miracle Grow uses. Any suggestions for a good fertilizer to use?

A. The idea that Miracle Grow adds too much sodium to an already salty soil is hogwash.  Whoever told you that doesn't know what they're talking about. All fertilizers are salts.  But too many people salt is sodium chloride.  Sodium chloride is common table salt, not a fertilizer salt.  There is virtually little to no sodium in Miracle Gro. 

            Other quality inorganic fertilizers you can use include Osmocote and Peters as well and they do not contain sodium either.  What is more important than the manufacturer to promote flowering is the fertilizer ratio or the numbers associated with that fertilizer.  That is what you need to focus on. 

            For flowering plants the middle number needs be higher than the first and third numbers.  For nonflowering plants the first number should be higher than the second and third number. When focusing on reducing stress then the last number should be the highest. 

            Try to use a fertilizer that has all three numbers present (no zeros) but use fertilizers which have ratios, as I suggested, promoting specific types of growth.

            Other problems with marigolds during the summer include spider mites. The biggest problem related to the decline of nondesert type annuals in our desert climate and soils is the lack of adequate soil preparation at the time of planting.

Aren't Those Quail Cute!!!

Q. I'm hoping you can help me with my quail problem.  I once thought they were adorable but now that they've eaten lots of my garden, I'm less thrilled with them. They have eaten my radishes (2 plantings), carrots, spinach (2 plantings), Swiss chard (2 plantings), lettuce, beets, jalapenos, Hungarian wax peppers. 

            I've made wire covered with plastic into arches and put plastic netting over them and held it down with U-shaped large clips.  They have eaten through the netting in places.  Or they have just landed on the netting and collapsed it enough to reach the new plants.  And the thing I hate the most is that they peck through a stem and leave the leaf just lying there.  To top it off, they now have eaten my mock orange into half its size and taken some rosemary (which grows so fast, I wish they would just stick to it!). 

            Last fall they pecked off two thirds of a valentine plant.  I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me.  I hesitate to use an ultrasonic type of machine as I enjoy all the hummingbirds and other small birds that come to the yard. 

A. I usually cut down the questions a bit but yours was so interesting (and I’m sorry but kind of funny) that I had to put the whole thing in. Those quail sure are cute aren’t they! When they are in someone else’s garden! I can almost hear some of the readers, “Get a cat!”

            Quail, as you have found out, can be a big problem for vegetable gardens.  The best way to keep them out is to fence the garden plots with metal chicken wire, 1 inch diameter hexagonal.  The ultrasonic bird repellents only work for short periods of time until they get accustomed to it.  That has been our experience at the orchard using these devices. 

            When you put up the chicken wire make sure it is 48 inch wide metal mesh and that it is staked securely about every five or 6 feet.  You must then run a wire between the stakes at the height where the top of the fence will be and tightly secured to the wire to keep it from sagging.             You should dig a trench about 6 to 8 inches deep on the outside of the stakes so that this fencing can be buried 6 to 8 inches deep.  This helps to keep animals, like rabbits, from getting under the fencing.  This is preferable to staking or stapling the bottom of the fence to the ground.         The mesh should be no larger than 1 inch diameter and even though this size will still allow small rabbits and baby quail access if they choose to leave their mothers.  This should reduce and nearly eliminate the problems to the vegetable beds.

An Apparent Relation of Nightshades (Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant) to Arthritis

Journal of Neurological and Orthopedic Medical Surgery (1993) 12:227-231

N.F. Childers, Ph.D.1,2, and M.S. Margoles, M.D.3

1Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA, 2Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA, and 3Arthritis Nightshades Research Foundation, 177 San  Ramon Drive, San Jose, CA 95111-3615, USA.

Abstract

Diet appears to be a factor in the etiology of arthritis based on surveys of over 1400 volunteers during a 20-year period. Plants in the drug family, Solanaceae (nightshades) are an important causative factor in arthritis in sensitive people. This family includes potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.), eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), and peppers (Capsicum sp.) of all kinds except the black pepper (family, Piperaceae). A buildup of cholinesterase inhibiting glycoalkaloids and steroids from consumption and/or use (tobacco) of the nightshades and from other sources such as caffeine and some pesticides (organophosphates and carbamates) may cause inflammation, muscle spasms, pain, and stiffness. Osteoarthritis appears to be a result of long-term consumption and/or use of the Solanaceae which contain naturally the active metabolite, vitamin D3, which in excess causes crippling and early disability (as seen in livestock). Rigid omission of Solanaceae, with other minor diet adjustments, has resulted in positive to marked improvement in arthritis and general health.

See the full article below.

Relationship between nightshades tomatoes and arthritis -

Silkworm and Silk Production in Afghanistan

Two Afghans overseeing the demonstration of
silk production for the research center in Balkh
Province. The have to keep the temperature
and humidity in the proper range for good
production.

Afghanistan has a long history in the national and international silk production and silk carpet markets. Balkh and Kunduz provinces were major silk producers in the North of Afghanistan 30 years ago. During the years of conflict, the production level of silk cocoons decreased because producers of silk products were unable to continue their business, so there was less demand for cocoons and silk thread. Although much of the know-how still remains, it takes a push-and-pull action to encourage farmers to start silkworm propagation and to get back into home-industry making silk products. Traditional farmers are concerned that they cannot develop this market alone. 

Thank you, Wikipedia, for this information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sericulture 

Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. Sericulture has become one of the most important cottage industries in a number of countries like China, Japan, India, Korea, Brazil, Russia, Italy and France. Today, China and India are the two main producers, together manufacturing more than 60% of the world production each year.

Not any old mulberry leaves is good enough. There are
different types of mulberries so one of the tests going
on here is to find out which of the mulberries is best for
commercial production. When they first hatch the worms
must be given mulberry leaves that are finely chopped.

Sikworm larvae are fed mulberry leaves, and, after the fourth moult, climb a twig placed near them and spin their silken cocoons. This process is achieved by the worm through a dense fluid secreted from its gland structural glands, resulting in the fibre of the cocoon. The silk is a continuous-filament fiber consisting of fibroin protein, secreted from two salivary glands in the head of each larva, and a gum called sericin, which cements the two filaments together. The sericin is removed by placing the cocoons in hot water, which frees the silk filaments and readies them for reeling. The immersion in hot water also kills the silkworm pupae. This is known as the degumming process.

Single filaments are combined to form thread. This thread is drawn under tension through several guides and wound onto reels. The threads may be plied together to form yarn. After drying the raw silk is packed according to quality.

Here the silkworms are old enough to start spinning silk
pretty soon. Now they can handle whole mulberry leaves

The stages of production are as follows:

·       The silk moth lays eggs.

·       they feed mulberry leaves.

·       When the silkworms are about 10,000 times heavier than when they hatched.

·       They are now ready to spin a silk cocoon.

·       The silk is produced in two glands in the silkworm's head and then forced out in liquid form through openings called spinnerets.

·       The silk solidifies when it comes in contact with the air.

·       The silkworm spins approximately 1 mile of filament and completely encloses itself in a cocoon in about two or three days but due to quality restrictions, the amount of usable silk in each cocoon is small. As a result, 5500 silkworms are required to produce 1 kg of silk.

·       The silk is obtained from the undamaged cocoons by brushing the cocoon to find the outside end of the filament.

·       The silk filaments are then wound on a reel. One cocoon contains approximately 1,000 yards of silk filament. The silk at this stage is known as raw silk. One thread consists of up to 48 individual silk filaments.

Yucca Flower Stalk, Leave it or Remove It?

Q. I have a Yucca that has finally matured enough to flower. Do I leave the flower stock on or cut it off once the flowers are dead?

A. Normally we cut off the flower stalk as soon as the flowers are finished. You would trace the flower stalk deep inside the yucca and cut it off leaving as little stub as possible and hidden.

Asparagus Fern With No Leaves

Ferns of real asparagus, hence how asparagus
fern got its name

Q. I recently purchased an asparagus fern, which now, after a few weeks of tender loving care has decided to go bonkers.  It is sending up spikes of growth with little or no "leaves" on it!  Should these be trimmed or left alone and see how they end up?

A. If these “spikes” look like a spear of asparagus, then that is normal and why it is called an “asparagus” fern. These spikes will “fern out” just like an asparagus spear and will be all bushy again. Just be patient and observe.

Have A Lawn in Las Vegas? I Feel Your Pain.

            If you still have a lawn in the Las Vegas valley, I feel your pain. Lawns seem like they are a dying breed in our valley. But rest assured, they have their place even if you feel a bit slighted.

This is a disease problem. You can tell because it is scattered
through the lawn and the pattern cannot be tied to the
irrigation system directly. It is also possible it could be
an insect problem but not likely if it is tall fescue.

            Lawns provide a great deal of comfort in a desert landscape. It is the only plant surface that is durable to foot traffic and stays a cool 95F even if temperatures soar to 115F or more. Since our body temperature is normally around 99F, a lawn remains cool to your touch. Asphalt, cement and synthetic grass will hit 160 - 170F in full sunlight on a balmy 105F day. I know. I measured it.

            Lawns have their problems particularly this time of year. If you miss an irrigation, have a plugged or broken irrigation head, or a poorly designed or installed irrigation system you will see the results now as brown spots popping up which may die. A lawn in this inhospitable climate without a really good irrigation system is disaster.

See how the spots are distributed through the lawn? Disease
or insects because it is a random pattern. See how the grass
looks healthy around the spots? The disease timing for
treatment with a fungicide has passed. Fungicides are
preventive, not curative. You have to catch it earlier to use
a fungicide.

            Then there are diseases and insect problems as well. Those with a tall fescue lawn will see fewer insect problems but there are a couple of serious disease problems that popup this time of year. They usually start appearing in late July or in August, oftentimes when the “summer monsoons” enter the valley from the south.

            The biggest culprit for fescue lawns is humidity coupled with high temperatures. The humidity at the lawn level is entirely different from the humidity you feel. As I used to hear Linn Mills say, “Never put your lawn to bed wet.” How true. Never, never irrigate your lawn in the summer with only a few hours to dry out before it gets dark. Irrigate any time after 2 am but before the sun comes up.

This is drought. If you look at the centers of the dark green
spots you will see sprinkler heads. The sprinkler heads were
spaced too far apart or there was inadequate water pressure
to give head to head coverage.

            Other things that reduce the humidity at the lawn level and reduce disease problems are to avoid thick, dense lawns during the summer months; if you fertilize in the summer use very light applications during the hot months; dethatch your lawn (it thins the lawn and lets humidity escape) in September or October when fewer weeds will try to invade; mow a bit shorter during the heat to let moisture escape.

            I will post some pictures of common lawn problems on my blog. Come take a look.

My 30 Days of Ramazan - Day 3

At 7:25pm at the end of Day 2 I heard the call to prayer and my ice cold water was ready. I had it in the freezer in 1.5 liter plastic bottles, frozen. At 4 pm I had taken out the frozen bottle and put it on the shelf at 95F indoor temperature. By the time 7:25pm rolled around about half of it was water, the other half still ice. Nice, I thought. When you are thirsty and time is moving slowly you have lots of time to plan. But I didn’t realize how thirsty I would be. I drank half of the bottle and then cursed when the remaining water was still frozen. It didn’t thaw fast enough and I wanted more. I immediately went to the freezer and took another 1.5 liter out to thaw while I waited for the ice to melt. Every few minutes I drained the icy water from the bottle. One bottle helped but my mouth was still dry and my throat was still parched but my belly was full of water.

The ice thawed fairly quickly and in the next three hours I drank three liters of water. When you first drink water after a fast, you are dehydrated and it has been hot, it is amazing how, within less than 15 seconds it seemed, your body releases this wave of water entering your body as a wave of sweat. My body poured of sweat from the water I drank. I was wiping it off of my face, neck and underarms with a towel and it was still dripping down my sides. Tomorrow, I thought, I better take the frozen water out at 3 pm, not 4pm!  I have an infrared temperature gauge with me for measuring surface temperatures. I wonder what my body temperature was? My body must have shut down in a reaction to dehydration. With this wave of water coming in, it released it in an attempt to reduce my body heat. It worked and my body was cool from the evaporation. I will take a shower before I go to bed, this additional cooling will help me to sleep.

I enjoy their round bread but after awhile it gets a little old and you do yearn for a Western-style sandwich. I found chunky peanut butter, covered in a layer of dust, tucked away in a back shelf of a food store not too far from where I am staying. (I have been here now three months and I am still not tempted to call it home…. yet.) There are plenty of jams and jellies and honey. I also found a toaster for $8 in a local store and a square loaf of bread at a store that catered to Khaariji (foreigners). So I cut off two slices of bread, put them in the toaster, buttered them with a good layer of butter, peanut butter and jelly. It went down very easy and filled me quickly. My confidence returned! I didn’t need to get up at 2:30 am to drink water and eat! Ha! I will be fine! I decided to retire early and continue to read the book I downloaded for my Kindle, “Lions of Kandahar”. My belly was full and I fell asleep.

The Third Day. My alarm went off at 5:00am since I didn’t need to get up early this morning. When I awoke I could feel my mouth was dry. Not a good sign this early in the morning I thought. Maybe I should have set the alarm for 2:30. After getting the staff on target for the morning I was headed into the bazaar to pick up some agricultural chemicals and a sprayer. I tried to dress as inconspicuously as possible by wearing local clothes. My staff told me I looked local. I had tested it one day by having staff follow me and observe how people reacted when I walked through the busy bazaar and outside the mosque. The staff told me no one noticed but two boys who stared at me. I asked them if they knew why. My staff told me it was because I was fat and laughed. Thanks guys. I will never totally blend in but if I can move around in crowds drawing as little attention as possible I feel much safer. My white beard, now about three inches long, helped. It is relatively safe where I am but you never know who is out there in a community of 300,000 people. Kidnapping is the biggest threat and there is always a bounty on Khaariji (foreigners).

While in the store and looking at agricultural chemicals an older man, a customer, started talking to me in Dari. That is a good sign. He thought I was local. The shopkeeper was young, maybe 30. I had a white beard and I was looking at the chemicals. This customer was going to get advice from a “white beard”, not a boy. Age commands respect in this culture. The shopkeeper boy explained what this farmer wanted and I helped direct him to the right chemicals (the same ones the boy was telling him to buy.) I could hear a sigh of relief come from him when I told him which one to use for melon fly. The shop boy and I were now friends.

I bought my chemical and sprayer and headed back to the office, cutting through the crowd of vegetable and fruit vendors, about 100 meters, to my beatup Toyota Corolla. With my eyes straight ahead I watched through peripheral vision and no one looked at me except the vendors yelling to me what they were selling and the price. It was now about 10 am and already breaking 100F I guessed. The sun was very hot and my mouth was very dry. I drove to the government building for a meeting but I could see that they were already starting to break up for the day. With a quick meeting, it was 11am and I could feel that my body was getting tired and headed back to the office. At the air conditioned office we rested and I talked with my staff. They were very appreciative that I was fasting with them and we shared what we were feeling during the fast; tired, dizzy, lack of concentration… all were signs of dehydration. The staff disappeared during prayer time; prayed and rested. I told them to go home at 2pm. I needed to lie down and rest. Instead they stayed until 430pm and worked. It was probably the A/C but I also like to think that we have a very good team.

I rested and read in my book. I could not concentrate for very long. I glanced at the clock numerous times. It never was so slow in my life. I heard the Mullah. I got grabbed a now unfrozen (I got it out at 3pm) liter of juice. It was too warm! I downed it anyway. I cooked up two eggs and two pieces of toast. My stomach was shrinking. I could hardly eat it all. This time I am putting a 1.5 liter of water next to my bed and setting the alarm for 3pm.

How to Water a Landscape With Two Valves (One front, one back)

Q. I have a LOT of different shrubs and trees on only 2 valves (front & back). The shrubs have 2 emitters per shrub and range from 2- 2gph for plants like photinia, red autumn sage, fountain grass, jasmine vines, rhaphiolepsis etc.; and  2-4gph on euonymus, abelias, boxwood, honeysuckle vines etc. The trees have more emitters. My landscaper told me to water 6 days per week for 2-20 minutes per day (equals 4 hours per week). Star nursery advised me to water only 3 times per week for 45 minutes per day. Plant World advised 6 days per week. So, what to do?

            My biggest problem is my 8 year old magnolia tree, trunk diameter about 5", has 4-4gph emitters. It used to be very full, now it's about 10 ' high & the leaves are dark brown, dry and falling off.  All help would be appreciated.

A. You even confused me. In their defense I would have to say it's possible that all three could be right. Because plants are adaptable to different situations there can be several right answers to one irrigation question. Nurseries are there to provide service, the best answers they can muster up. I am an educator so let me take a stab at it from an educator's point of view.

I would like to give you enough information so you can solve your own problem with irrigation. But you I think already realize that this is not the best irrigation setup for conserving water. You will have considerable waste even though it is on drip irrigation just because you have so few valves.

Bear with me on this. Let's all agree for the most part that as plants get larger they will require more water. Let's also agree that large plants will use more water, and considerably more water, is one smaller plant. The larger the plant, the more water it should receive. Irrigation valves are basically an on and off switch for water; when the valve is open, water flows. When the valve is closed, water stops flowing. Since you have one valve in the front and one valve in the back, these switches open water to all of your plants in the front at the same time and the valve in the back does the same for plants in the back.

There are three basic questions that must be answered; 1) how long to water, 2) how much should be applied, and 3) when to apply it. The valves basically solve the question when to water. The drip emitters solve the question about how much to water. Irrigation clock answers the question when to water. The irrigation valves allow water to flow and the emitters determine the amount of water applied to each plant. The length of time the valve is open combined with the size of the emitter determine the amount of water delivered plant.

This is where the confusion begins. To make it as easy as possible to irrigate let's hold one of these variables constant. Arbitrarily, let's hold the length of time the irrigation valve is open to one hour. Just for the sake of argument. It could be 30 minutes, it could be 90 minutes, but let's just hold it at 60 minutes. If we make this decision first, how many minutes to open the valves, it can make our other decisions much simpler. So we now agree the valve will be open for 60 minutes for drip emitters. This is how I typically determine an irrigation schedule for drip.

To determine how much water each plant will get we have to size our drip emitters. Because of plugging, it can be a little bit dangerous to give plants only one emitter. If that's emitter plugs, chances are we will lose the plant in a short period of time during the summer. To determine how much water to give the plant at each watering or when the valve is on we look at its size. The smaller plants of course require less every time the valve is on. So for the sake of argument let's do this. Let's give a plant 1 gallon of water every time the valve is open (in this case one hour) for every foot of its mature size. A very small plant may get 1 to 2 gallons. A medium-sized plant may get 3 to 6 gallons. A large shrub may get 8 to 15 gallon every time it's watered.

The larger the plant, the more emitters it will need under its canopy. A very small plant may require one to two emitters. A medium sized plant might require 3 to 4 emitters. A large shrub might require 6 to 8 emitters. So now you will take the number of gallons you are giving this plant and divide it by the number of emitters you will provide for each plant. When you do this, you will determine the number and size of the emitters you will give to each plant. So for instance a medium sized plant may get 3 to 6 gallons at each watering delivered by 3 to 4 emitters. So the size of the emitters might be 1 to 2 gallons per hour. But I would keep all the emitters going to one plant at the same size. So what if it's one or 2 gallons more than you calculated. What is important is that you apply enough water during one irrigation to water the entire rootzone of each plant (plus a little extra to keep those salts in our city water flushed out of the rootzone).

So now we have answered two of the questions; how long to run the valve and as a result of that how much water each plant will get because you have selected the correct size and number of emitters.

The next and last question is probably the most difficult to answer. Remember, you have elected to set the time that the irrigation valve remains open to 60 minutes. This is constant. This does not change ever. If you are even tempted to change the number of minutes to 30 minutes or 10 minutes or 90 minutes, slap your hand. When you are changing the schedule of your irrigation system, the only thing you change from now on is how many days per week or per month or every two weeks the valve comes on. Now raise your hand and repeat after me. I (state your name) promise to never change the number of minutes on my irrigation clock ever, ever again.

Generally speaking, and this may be modified because of the type of soil you have in your landscape, you'll irrigate about three times a week in Midsummer, twice a week in the late spring and early fall, once a week in early spring and late fall, and once a week to every 10 days during the winter.

Exceptions. Exceptions would include cacti and some succulents and truly desert plants. True desert plants should be on a separate valve or valves as well as lawns, bedding plants and your vegetable garden. The irrigation schedule I gave you above could apply to most fruit trees.

Now your Magnolia. Your Magnolia is in deep doodoo. It is not supposed to be here. It is supposed to be in San Diego, Louisiana, East Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. If you look around Las Vegas there are no old magnolias. It doesn't like it here. That being said, it is here and what are you going to do about it?

One of my old axioms states, “Plants that are not desert-adapted but which are planted in the desert, will require more time, energy and money to maintain them than desert-adapted plants.” Your Magnolia tree will require progressively more and more water as it gets larger. Besides struggling with our soils and our climate, the tree is simply not getting enough water.

I would recommend that you either put a donut shaped moat around the tree and use either more emitters or different emitters so that water fills the moat each time it's irrigated or you switch the tree to a different form of irrigation that will deliver more water in one hour. When you switch to a different form of irrigation that applies more water in one hour because of your valve, you will have to retain the water around the tree or it will run off the landscape and not wet all of the roots.

Some people recommend a coil of drip irrigation tubing with built in emitters every 12 inches. This type of tubing can be easily connected to existing main drip irrigation lines. They operate at similar pressures to your existing drip emitters. These will need to be flushed once a month so make sure you add a flush valve or flush cap at the end of this line.

Remember that all drip systems need to operate at the correct pressure and must be filtered. So make sure you have pressure regulators and filters on the system. Make sure you can flush the ends of the lines once a month.

Junipers Dying Planted in Same Spot

Q. We have a problem with our Japanese Junipers. We have planted them twice now and not very successfully. They all get the same amount of water, sun exposure, etc., however the 2 of them closest to our front door seem to die back and the other 2 stay green. We are not sure what the problem is and wondering if you can give any advice.  We love these and they are spreading like crazy since we put them in, until about 2 months ago, when the 2 started dying. Enclosed are pictures of our junipers.

A. A couple of things. First, I am not sure what a Japanese juniper is. Thre is a Jap garden juniper. There are Chinese junipers, and then we have probably dozens of others as well. From your description it sounds like a juniper that is a small shrub that mounds as it grows. That should be enough to get going.

            There are also junipers that are upright like a small tree. Next there were no pictures attached. But I will take a stab at it any way. I usually try to stay with the most common problems if it seems it fits.

            The usual reason junipers give up the ghost quickly like overnight is watering too often, the soil not draining well enough and the roots becoming diseased from too much water. Usually junipers that are in this category seem to die overnight.

            Another common problem is spider mites on junipers. These small spider-like creatures usually become a problem in the heat of the summer, not in the cooler months. Often these pests are problems a couple of weeks after we spray an insecticide like Sevin to control some other pest.

            If this sounds familiar to you then we might have a root rot problem going on with your junipers. The problem now is that this root rot disease will stick around in this soil and if you replant in the same hole there is enough disease potential built up the next junipers die as well from the same disease problem.

            Two things you can do. First, dig up the soil and add a lot of organic matter like compost so the soil does not hold water easily but drains after and watering. This is frequently a problem in soils close to a foundation where the contractors dump debris, leftovers and compact the soil. In this case if the soil is not draining well you might have to dig up this soil and put in some better soil and replace it.

            Secondly you might want to put a different plant in there, one that is not quite susceptible to root rot problems and stay away from junipers there.

My 30 Days of Ramazan - Day 4

I cheated today. I put a small bottle (1/2 liter) of frozen water next to my bed and woke about 4am. The alarm didn’t go off but I grabbed my bottle of now warm water and drank about half of it and went back to sleep. You older folks can sympathize. You know if you wake up early in the morning there is a very good chance you will not go back to sleep. Not true when I was much younger but this fear of not going back to sleep and not getting my rest affected my decision whether to get up or not. Probably subconscious but I thought my alarm was set but it was not.

Vineyard with disease problem near a Level 2 village in
northern Afghanistan

I got up at 5 am because I had staff going into the villages today early. I give the villages security numbers from 1 to 3. These numbers I establish from local reports of “undesirable” activity which might be a problem for myself or my staff. Taliban controls much of the rural areas while city centers are much safer. Those of you who understand, most of the security is handled by ISAF.  If a village is remote, it usually is not safe for any of us. This gets a “3” ranking. There are other villages which are safe for locals but not for me. If I do go into places like this I should spend only about one hour there and get out. I never tell anyone where I am going. I watch my driver. He is secure and I trust him but he makes mistakes too. He does not know where we are going until we go and he is not allowed to use his cell phone while we are gone unless it is from the office. Places like these are given a “2” rating. Then there are places that are relatively safe for us all and this is given a “1” rating. This morning it was a “2” so I was not going and I knew my staff was experienced enough to handle it without me. Before they go I brief them, cover what needs to be done and review and send them on their way.

 

I was having a hard time this morning. I just couldn’t wake up. I don’t know if it was the lack of caffeine or the dryness I felt in my mouth from the previous days but I just found it very hard to get going. So a little after 5 am I had a small (maybe two to three ounces at most) cup of coffee with extra Maxwell House freeze dried crystals thrown in. That did the trick. Now I understood why opium was used by some in extremely poor villages where there is little food. I didn’t need or want any opium but caffeine is a legal drug and got me on a little bit of a high for the morning. I was now on after burners.

Iranian glyphosate, same percent active ingredient as
Roundup Pro

I had salary contracts for staff to finish and didn’t get out the door until nearly 10 am. I had to test some Iranian glyphosate I found at the bazaar and see if it would help to control some of these woody weeds in our new saffron plots. First it was Iranian glyphosate so I had no idea if the label was accurate, secondly I was spraying some weeds I did not recognize at all. I didn’t even know if this would work. I had formed a saffron working group of educators and we were putting together four saffron demo plots to demonstrate how to correctly plant, manage, harvest, and process saffron. Saffron is very labor intensive and does bring in enough income to make a possible alternative to growing poppies. Some of these Extension agents had never grown saffron.

Saffron with straw mulch

Many of the farmers do not know how to grow it either and do it incorrectly. I was told that the local saffron was better than the Iranian and that is saying a lot. These plots, it was hoped and we did a good job of documenting for many illiterate farmers, would show them how to do it correctly. The spraying went well but it was hot and by the time we finished. I knew today would be probably one of the toughest days of the fast, at least regarding dehydration. Hunger had disappeared for the most part or it was covered up by the more acute dehydration. During the spraying I felt a bout of heat stroke coming on; intestinal cramps, dizziness. We finished quickly (as quickly as you can because these people are now my friends and there were lots of questions about what we were using, why and the rate of application and explanations were in full sun.)

When we got back to the office around 2 pm my staff had returned from the villages and had very good reports. That is always good to hear. My mouth was full of cotton. My voice sounded different. I could tell the dehydration had affected the sound of my voice. My lips were parched as well as my staff’s. I told them all to go home and rest. The Professor who was working for me, a very kind and devout Muslim, had trouble pronouncing some words as well. I had trouble concentrating. We all tried to conserve moisture by using as few words as possible. We all rested in the air conditioned office and spoke very little. After they all left finally at 4 pm I went upstairs and laid down to take a rest. As I did, I remember saying to myself, I am not hungry. I wonder why… as I dozed off.

Eliminating the Fruit on Texas Umbrella Tree a Tough One

Q. We have a Texas umbrella tree which is approximately 15-years old. In spring when it blossoms, it produces these peas/pods which drop on the lawn and are a pain to remove since we have synthetic grass. This also occurs in the fall when the leaves drop.
            Is there a spray or solution we can use to eliminate these annoying peas/pods? I really don't want to remove the tree (it's my favorite) but it really hurts my husband's back when he has to rake them and vacuum them with the indoor/outdoor vacuum. Can you help us?

A. This is going to be a tough one. There are several products that are supposed to eliminate or remove flowers or fruit from trees and shrubs. The problem will be they've never been tested on Texas umbrella tree so the rate of application and timing might be difficult to establish without doing some experimentation.

            Most likely any chemical that you use will have to be sprayed over the entire canopy of the tree at least once or possibly even twice depending on what the label tells you to do.

            You can try Florel Fruit eliminator for example and follow the labels precisely if it is going to work. Missing an application by even a couple of days might mean it will not work. Let me know how it turns out.

Will Gingko and Tulip Tree Grow in the Desert?

Q. I’m a Las Vegas resident and just bought a house in the Desert Shores community. I had a question with regards to a couple deciduous trees that I really like and are said to grow/survive in USDA zones 4-9 which Las Vegas is considered zones 8a-9b but in the Sunset Western Garden Book, Las Vegas is zone 11 because the heat index is part of the equation.  Will the Tulip Poplar and Ginkgo Biloba thrive in our climate with proper planting care, adequate watering, good drainage and a slow release fertilizer or would they eventually die anyway, becoming heat stressed and succumb to disease/ insect problems???? 

Information on Gingko from Wikipedia

Information on the tulip tree from Wikipedia

A. It is hard to make sweeping generalizations but why in the world would you pick those two trees for here in the desert? Both, if they would grow to maturity are very large trees. They would consumer enormous amounts of water just due to their sheer size. They are out of their ideal habitat so they would require a great deal of care IF they would make it to maturity which I would rather doubt.

            There is at least one example of a gingko in Las Vegas growing on the campus of UNLV on the north side of the old Biology building. It is growing slowly and an oddity which is why they probably planted it on the campus in the first place. I didn’t mean that UNLV is odd but that it does house an arboretum on its campus so this is a good place to grow these kinds of things.

            I would have to guess on the tulip tree since I am sure someone has tried to grow it but I have no information on how it would do here. I would guess much of it would have to do with how it was planted, cared for and the microclimate.

            Heat tolerance is kind of a relative thing. Much of tolerance to adverse conditions, like any organism, has to do with its general health. If the plant is kept healthy, it can handle a lot more adversity than if it is sick.

            Just because of its sheer size, and the fact it is not native to arid and desert climates, at some point will do it in. Pest problems are not a factor for gingko since it is relatively pest free.

With so many other really good plants out there I would pick something more suitable to our desert climate unless you want to babysit them for the rest of their lives.

Is This Brown Beetle a Pest in My Garden?

Joe's Bug

Q. What type of pest is this?  They seem to be on and around several of my fruit trees (apple, pomegranate, plum) but don’t appear to be causing any leaf or bark damage.  I did notice that there were several worm holes in the soil around my grape vines, but didn’t see any of these bugs on my grape leaves.  Are these pests harmful to my vines/trees? If harmful, how can they be controlled and/or eliminated?

-Joe

A. Well Joe this is one of the June beetles. They can also be called scarab beetles. Generally they all look the same except for their color. They are obviously beetles with that hard outer shell and range from ½ to 1 inch in length generally speaking. Colors range from your light brown one to dark brown and shiny metallic colors like the Green June beetle common here.

Green June Beetles attacking Kadota fig at the orchard

            There are so many different types that it is hard to narrow it down unless you were to take it to an entomologist. But some of them, like the Japanese beetle which this is not and does not live in southern Nevada, can cause a lot of damage to plants.

            Another scarab beetle is the Green June Beetle which we will start seeing now can also attack fresh fruits like figs and peaches. Yours is not the Green June beetle either since that pest is a very distinctive metallic green color. I will post in on my blog and it does live in southern Nevada.

White grub larvae attacking the roots of a lawn grass

            The immature form, grubs, of some of these June beetles can cause a lot of damage like white grubs which attack the roots of lawns causing wilting and extensive brown patches. The best I can tell you about this one is that the immature form (the beetle is the adult) could have possibly been attacking the roots of some plants in your garden.

            They could also have been in a compost pile since these grubs do like rotting and decaying plants. Some are actually dung beetles.

            If you don’t see a lot of them and don’t see any damage then don’t worry about it. They are part of some life cycle out in the garden and as long as the numbers are low they are not causing much damage.

Thompson Seedless Grapes Fell Off When BB-Sized

This is not the readers grapes but is what
good berry set should look like

Q. We had a problem with our thompson seedless grapes, the grapes are about the size of a " bebe", dried up and fell off.

A. Unfortunately there is not much you can do about that. It was poor pollination. Climatic factors have a significant effect on fruit set. Fruit set is greatly reduced when temperatures fall below 65°F or exceed 100°F during set.

            Rainfall or high humidity may reduce fruit set, hindering pollination. Rain can also interfere with the germination of pollen grains and inhibit fruit set. The berries appear to set and then fall off when they reach a small size. I hope this helps.

Tree Damage from Dormant Oil?

Q. I need some help. About a month ago I was advised by a gardener that two ornamental fir trees needed to be sprayed. He suggested I use Ortho Volck and I did this at the prescribed dilution rate. Now both trees seem to be in trouble as shown in the attached photographs. Did I spray too heavily? What can I do to try to save these firs?

"Fir" damage from oil

A. Dormant or summer oils are not supposed to be applied to Douglas Fir, Spruces such as birds nest, many juniper and cedars. I assume Volck oil says this on the label. It may cause defoliation or needle drop. In some cases you might have some branch dieback, perhaps enough to ruin its looks. It is safe on pines if you follow the rate of application.

You mention that you have fir trees which is unusual in the Las Vegas valley but if these are in any of these categories you could have spray damage. If the damage is not too severe I think they will drop damaged needles and show some new growth from terminal buds and buds inside the canopy (branches). Hopefully they will recover.