Bob Morris is a horticulture expert living in Las Vegas and professor emeritus for the University of Nevada. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com. Send questions to Extremehort@aol.com.
Lumps or bumps on the trunk are probably epicormic nodules, places on the trunk covered by thin bark that have a cluster of buds under it. These buds will sometimes grow into shoots. On some trees removing these shoots as soon as they are seen may cause these nodules to stop producing shoots or fewer of them.
I like deals. Buying a large tree in a box and getting it planted for free is a good deal. Just have it done right.
What affects average landscape water use? If the irrigation system is working and managed perfectly, then three factors govern how much water your landscape uses.
As soon as a house is built, the microclimate of its landscape is created. The landscape enhances this created microclimate. How the landscape is created can enhance or distract from this microclimate.
There are many plants to choose from when landscaping your home. But which will perform best in Las Vegas? How and where should they be grown in your yard?
It’s a good idea in our climate to delay the final pruning of wine grapes and table grapes until freezing, dry and windy weather has passed.
Final pruning of fruit trees for less-experienced pruners is best delayed until flowers appear. It’s a lot easier to see where fruit will be produced when actual flowers are seen.
When an ornamental shrub is pruned, the end result shouldn’t be obvious. The end result, just like a good haircut, should be a plant growing in its natural form. Pruning plants this way is a lot less work and done much less often.
This winter, the valley hasn’t had any freezing temperatures at lower elevations. But let’s not forget about chilling injury (damage occurring somewhere around 50 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit) in new growth and fruits of tropical plants like tomatoes.
The months of January and February are the time to apply fertilizer to landscapes. When precisely this application is made depends on the growth of the plant.
The bottle tree you are buying from the nursery — Brachychiton populneum — is not really a bottle tree at all. The true bottle tree (B. ruprestis) is very different from the nursery version because its trunk is truly shaped like a bottle. I
There is a trend of growing plants that take a lot of care to flourish in the desert. These include tropical or subtropical plants. Some of these plants grow better in the desert than others.
Major pruning of ornamental trees and shrubs is done during the winter months after leaves have fallen. Minor pruning (making a single cut with a hand pruner) can be done anytime.
The gardening trend seen most often now in Southern Nevada is growing “exotic” plants, those plants that don’t naturally grow here or are difficult to grow here. But these exotic plants require more effort and money on our part to ensure their good health.
Roses are a good choice for our Las Vegas climate and soils if kept healthy. If they are not healthy, they suffer in intense sunlight, summer heat and soil problems.
