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.
Question: I’m replacing my red yuccas that have grown too large for a 3-foot area. They are in full sun. They spill over into the walkway where my grandchildren have been getting stabbed by the leaves. Can tree roses handle that location?
Question: Our Spanish dagger yucca was doing great, but it’s leaning badly now. There are pups coming from the base. Is this normal?
Question: I live in a third-floor condo that faces south. I get about seven hours of direct sun and have containers on my patio with spinach, tomatoes and peppers that are doing well so far. I was wondering if there are any types of fruit trees that produce and thrive in a patio container.
Question: We have a 20-year-old olive tree in our front yard diagnosed with verticillium wilt disease. The north third of the tree appears to be healthy. If we remove this tree, what distance from the old hole is needed for the new tree? We would like a replacement tree to provide shade. We are looking at oak, pine, ash, spruce or fir.
Question: After the grapes set their fruit in the next couple of weeks, can the vine be trimmed, or does it need to grow to provide shade and nutrition to the grapes?
Q: Last week we planted several fruit trees and have established trees as well. Would you recommend applying fertilizer around these trees now? Spikes or granular type of fertilizer?
Question: On the north side of our house, we have a 10-foot-wide space we are trying to landscape. Several have suggested planting bay laurel trees, but we are concerned about the tree’s size for the space. When we went to the nursery, their suggestion was the Majestic Beauty hawthorn tree. Will the hawthorn tree do well in our climate and soils?
Question: When is the best time to spray olive trees to minimize olive fruit? One of our olives can make a mess on our neighbor’s front sidewalk and entry patio if not sprayed.
Question: I purchased a lovely Meyer Lemon tree in a 1-gallon pot in the middle of the spring. It already had six lemons on it. I have the original fruit, have new fruit growing and still am getting blossoms. Should I transplant it now into a larger pot or wait until after the fruit ripens and is used?
Question: What should we be doing to our fruit trees right now?
Question: I have planter boxes that get hours of direct sun. I’ve tried everything from corn to edamame, grapes, peppers, tomatillo and many others. I have even put up shading, but either there is too much sun or maybe I overwater. I’d like to start now and get a jump on summer.
Question: When do I no longer have to protect my citrus plants from freezing weather?
This has not been unusual weather. It’s the norm. But watch out! February can be dangerous for plants. December 1990 was one of the coldest months on record, but February 1989 was much more damaging to plants.
Question: Should I give my ash trees the same iron treatment as fruit trees?
Question: Can I start feeding my fruit trees now, or should I wait until spring?
