Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Have You Pinched Your Grapes Lately?

Have you pinched your grapes lately? The berries of table grapes will get much larger if you will remove the bottom third of the bunch.

Vitex Water Management Affects Blooms and Growth

Q. I have a Chaste tree that has been growing in my backyard for about seven years. The branches have always been full of leaves and I would get an abundance of beautiful purple blooms. Last spring, I noticed there were not as many leaves and I would only get purple flowers here and there. This spring again the leaves are sparse and the branches are mostly bare. Should I be doing something extra to bring back the lushness of my Chaste tree?

Redwood and Cedar Mulches Last Longer in Landscapes

Q. Would you please tell me what type of mulch is not recommended to put in flower beds? I thought I remembered it being redwood mulch but I can't find anything on that. Could it have been cedar? My landscape guy says the shredded cedar is not a problem for vegetation.

Sappy Pine Trees Might Need Pruning Paint

Q. I trim my 80 foot pine tree every 7 to 8 years. Each time I have buckets and buckets of sap coming from cut limbs. It just re-landscaped underneath this tree but I need to prune it again. I'm worried about all the sap that is going to fall on everything I just put down. Is there a way I might prevent the sap from dripping like using pruning paint?

Carob Tree Under Used in Desert Landscapes

Carob tree is a good shade tree but slow growing for low water use desert landscapes. It will develops "warts" along its branches near where flowers are produced when it gets older. You should not be concerned. It is normal. Some people find the smell coming from male flowers to be offensive.

Why Are The Leaves of My Locust Tree Turning Yellow?

Q. Do you have idea why some many of the leaves on this Locust tree are turning yellow?

Independence Nectarine Fruit Damaged

Q. I have a Independence Nectarine tree which I have been nurturing for two years now. This is the first year I have had fruit! Of the nectarines I kept I am seeing something on them that looks like dried droplets of sap. It is not sticky to the touch but I have 2 nectarines that do not have it. Are you able to determine if I have some sort of blight with the fruit? Will I just need to take this plant out?

Recently some pictures were sent to me of some warty growths found on the limbs off crepe myrtle. But the tree did not look like crepe myrtle. And I did not recognize the warty growths. Read on to find out what was going on.....

Japanese Blueberry Top Dieback Part II

Q. The trunk/branches of the bad trees appear like they’re peeling. The limbs are very brittle so I don’t think they’ll recover. Could I, for example, simply cut the top 12” of the trunk and save the rest of the tree?

Japanese Blueberry Tops are Dying Part I.

Q. I’m having a problem with my Japanese blueberries. Some are fine and the two on the end appear to be drying out but only towards the top? Do you have any idea what’s causing this? The soil is not dry and they all get the same amount of irrigation.

Japanese blueberries tops dying back

Get Ready for the Leaffooted Plant Bug Invasion

Q. What is the best attack for these pesty, scarey looking creatures. We had them last year. Haven't seen them yet this season. Is there something to keep them away?

Centurylink.net Problems in Emails

Just a warning for people who send me emails using centurylink.net....I had several of my return emails rejected by this provider. So if you sent me emails using an email address with centurylink.net after your user name and I never responded...well....maybe it got rejected. Please use a different email address when communicating with me.

Thanks.
Bob Morris
aka 'Extremehort'

Bay Laurel Good Choice for Chain Link Privacy

Q. I would like to plant an "evergreen" vine/screening plant along a chain link fence to block the neighbor's yapping dogs (little dogs).

Bay Laurel recently planted

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Leafcutter Bee Perfect Circles Now Seen on Plants

Leafcutter bee damage to bottle tree.

Q. My recently planted Carolina jasmine vine and rose bush are being shredded by cutter bees!! I've been told there is no insecticide to kill or deter them. Is this so? Both of these plants are adjacent to other plants but the others are not affected. I'm at wits end seeing perfect circles in the leaves! Also, why would you WANT cutter bees?

Q. Over the past two days, my two Concord grape vines have been completely defoliated by a larva-like worm. It is yellow in color with black bands around the body and a wider blue band at each end of the body. Is the vine infected and needs to be removed or can the grape vines be saved? The damage is done, but is there a preventative action I should have taken?

Q. It is my understanding that the ball growing in the middle of my Sago palm is part of its reproductive system. However, since I do not plan on pollinating the plant, how and when can I remove the growth? Also, can you tell from the images if it is male or female Sago?

In This Case Pruning Paint Might Be the Right Choice

Q. I have a large pine tree in my front yard. I trimmed this tree in the past and had buckets and buckets of sap coming from large limbs that were cut. I may need to prune heavily again this winter. But since I just completed relandscaping under it, I'm worried about all the sap that is going to fall on everything I just put down. I'll never get off all the sap that will drip on everything!! Is there a way I might prevent or stop the sap from dripping such as pruning paint? Is there anything to save all my hard work from being completely being encapsulated in sap?

Fig Fruits Drying Usually Lack of Water to the Tree

Q. This is the first year my seven year old Black Mission Fig is “behaving” strangely. The fruit came on, some even started to ripen, and now they are shriveling on the tree. The tree looks perfect and so do the leaves. I did read your article on figs but ours always seems to be treated the same, year in and out.

5-in-1 Fruit Tree Growing Differently on Different Branches

Q. I purchased a 5 in 1fruit tree from the recent orchard event. The two thickest grafted branches have vigorous foliage. The next smallest is marginal, with one foliage "bud" close to the main trunk, nothing distally. The two thinnest don't look good -- no foliage. Suggestions?