Fruit production of Gala apple tree should not be problem in Las Vegas

A: At 500 chilling hours for Gala, you shouldn’t have any problems meeting its winter cold requirement for producing apples. Anna apple needs about half the chilling hours, but it starts flowering a couple of weeks earlier than Gala.

The loss of fruit production because of freezing temperatures is more likely with Anna because it blooms sooner. For this reason, if you’re getting fruit from an Anna apple tree, then you probably will have no problems with Gala apple.

Gala apple trees normally produce fruit in August while Anna’s apple production is around mid-June, one of the earliest apple varieties. In most cases, early producing fruit tree varieties also flower earlier, and the chance of losing flowers (fruit) because of freezing weather in the spring is higher in Anna.

Anna apple will produce fruit all by itself but is more productive when planted near other early producing fruit trees like Dorsett Golden to improve its pollination, combined, of course, with plenty of bee activity. Pollination of the “mother” by another plant affects the seed (and offspring produced by seedling growth) not fruit from the “mother” tree.

I have had some reports of poor fruit production with Gala grown in the desert, but I have not found that to be true. I prefer the Red Gala selections over the traditional Gala because I’m comfortable with it and it’s a prettier fruit. Be sure to select a tree budded onto M111 dwarfing rootstock, which I have found to be reliable in our desert climate.

Q: When is the best time to transfer citrus dwarf trees to larger containers?

A: The best times are in the spring just before new growth or in the fall after all of the growth is finished. If you’re transferring it to a new, larger container, gently fluff out existing roots without cutting them. There should be little disturbance to the tree and fruit production when done this way.

When transferring to a similar-sized container or repotting, it will require shaving about 1 inch of root growth with a sharp, sanitized knife from the outside of its root ball after removal from the container. This type of repotting is best done after harvesting the fruit.

Q: My biggest problem with fruit trees here is frosts after the flowers have bloomed.

A: If this is troublesome most years, then you may want to replace it with a later-flowering variety or type of tree or find a warmer microclimate in your landscape and replant it.

Peaches and apricots start flowering the first couple of weeks in February. Some varieties flower later in the month. The chance of getting a late spring freeze decreases as our spring gets closer to or enters March.

Early producing varieties, like Gold Kist apricot, for example, are more likely to flower earlier in the spring than a variety like Blenheim (aka Royal). Later-producing varieties typically flower later in the spring.

It’s possible there is a warmer part of your landscape microclimate (away from wind) where early flowering fruit trees can be replanted. If the tree has been growing in the ground for less than three years, the chance of successfully moving it in early spring or early to mid-fall is better.

Some fruit trees like pomegranate and jujube flower all spring and summer, so the chance of getting fruit from them despite spring freezes is guaranteed. Those that flower only once — like most citrus, apricot, peach and plum — are more susceptible to fruit loss because of spring freezing weather.

Q: I have been successfully growing Utah Sweet pomegranates on a couple of small trees with generous harvests with only a few fruit that split. This and last year were dramatically different. Starting in mid-July I was surprised to find that over 40 of the young fruit on the tree had split open big time.

A: The reason fruit splits is because it runs out of water; the skin or rind surrounding the fruit hardens up and is no longer flexible, so they swell up and split when the fruit gets pumped up with water again. I see it a lot in fruit trees watered by drip emitters and when the fruit tree is growing by itself.

During fruit development is the time the tree needs water and lots of it. Fruit splitting happens in tomatoes, melons and cucumbers, too, and for the same reason. Remember, as plants get larger, they need more water, so add more drip emitters under the tree rather than increase the minutes.

Secondly, make sure there is a surface mulch about 6 feet wide under the tree. It should be about 3 to 4 inches deep. A thick layer of rock might work, but the pomegranate tree will grow better with a wood chip mulch surrounding it.

The surface mulch slows down the loss of water from the soil and adds one or two extra days before they need water again. Wood chip mulch adds the extra benefit of rotting into the soil. Rock doesn’t.

Thirdly, pomegranates grow better if there are other plants receiving water nearby. I am not talking about flowers like petunias that must be watered daily in the summer but other fruit trees or shrubs that need water too. I like to see fruit trees surrounded by other plants getting water or growing in rows and receiving water from drip tubing.

Q: I like lawns. I never had fungus in any of my lawns in the decades I’ve had them, but it’s different now. My front yard is good, but my backyard is absolutely horrid. The front and back yards have always been treated the same. I sprayed a fungicide when I started seeing the problem and another one a few weeks later. They didn’t seem to work. Any ideas that would help me bring back my peaceful backyard solitude?

A: I’m not here to judge. If you can afford to water a lawn and it brings you happiness, then so be it. The appearance of a lawn disease is usually associated with irrigation, so make sure the lawn has head-to-head sprinkler coverage and it’s watered 10 to 12 inches deep early in the morning hours.

Make sure the irrigation system is operating correctly. If this lawn has been growing well for decades and this is the first time you had a lawn disease, then irrigation is probably not a major culprit. Let’s assume it’s not.

The use of fungicides is only one approach toward controlling lawn diseases. There are others.

I like to think of plant diseases as a stool having three legs: host, disease organism and environment. You have a host for the disease. That’s your lawn, and from the sound of it, it has been healthy in the past. One leg of the stool is solid.

Find a blend or mix of similar grasses and start a new lawn in mid-October. In the meantime, leave the dead grass alone until you are ready to seed, or you will be fighting Bermuda grass in all the bare spots.

A major key to warding off disease problems in a lawn is to have as much diversity of grasses in it as you can find. Don’t skimp on the price. In the case of lawn seed, you get what you pay for, and follow the label directions.

Clean and sanitize any equipment used for mowing and aerating before it comes on your property. This means washing the blades and deck and sanitizing them before using them.

If it’s done by a landscape company, then its employees must do it as well. You don’t want someone bringing in lawn diseases or weeds from someone else’s lawn.

Expect lawn diseases to rear their ugly head in the summertime. Prepare your lawn because that’s their hardest time of the year.

Core aerify (punch holes) the lawn around February or March and water it periodically so that its roots grow as deeply as possible. Stress the lawn for water during the cooler months. Immediately after core aerification, apply a good-quality lawn fertilizer. Mow it at the tallest mower setting for that grass.

If you select tall fescue seed blend or mix, then the lowest mower setting should be between 2 and 2½ inches in height. Fertilize the lawn four times a year and avoid the hot months.

Bob Morris is a horticulture expert and professor emeritus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com. Send questions to Extremehort@aol.com.