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.
The three worst weeds to control in home landscapes are common Bermuda grass, nutgrass and palm seedlings. Controlling common Bermuda grass and nutgrass organically requires persistence — knocking them back as soon as they appear until they finally start surrendering around late summer.
Dormant oil sprays are applied on warm, windless days during the winter to trees and shrubs after they are pruned. That’s when insects susceptible to these sprays are most vulnerable.
Pollen alert. That’s what we see on our advisories in the early spring. Pollen season might last until May. Right now we’re in mulberry season.
Why doesn’t my Meyer lemon tree produce any fruit? I was reminded of this question when I estimated the fruit production this year in a Las Vegas orchard.
The difference between Southwestern desert plants and other types of plants used for landscaping is the timing, or when the water is applied.
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.
