57°F
weather icon Cloudy
Las Vegas, NV

Bob Morris

Bob Morris

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.

Rabbit-proofing requires a few tricks
By BOB MORRIS SPECIAL TO VIEW

Question: Do you have any solutions for keeping rabbits from eating plants? I live in Sun City Anthem, and they are a real problem. I just planted some lovely gerbera daisies, and they’ve eaten the plants to the ground.

Plants in containers require special care
By BOB MORRIS Gardening

Q: I was wondering if there is a trick to container gardening. I have been using potting soil, along with plant food, and my plants keep wilting. What am I doing wrong?

Creeping vine plants require plenty of sunlight

We planted three creepers this spring, and all but one is thriving. The leaves are being stripped. I’ve checked at different times of day for bugs, but all I can see are a few ants. Any suggestions?

Rotate crops to help reduce chance of disease
By BOB MORRIS Gardening

Q: I grow tomatoes in boxes I have built. I know one is supposed to plant tomatoes in a different place every year and I don’t want to just throw away the dirt in these boxes. I don’t have many places to put this dirt so my question is, “Can I put this dirt in my compost bins?” I have two cement block bins. What, if anything, can I do to that dirt to use it in the same boxes next year at planting time? It’s expensive to buy new dirt and I am poor.

THE LATEST
Floridian who wants to use ‘Lady Bird deed’ needs lawyer
By EDITH LANK CREATORS.COM

I’m an official resident of Florida now. My neighbor is also a widow and her attorney recently set her up with something called a “Lady Bird deed” to ease the transfer of her house upon her death.

Belligerent Bermudagrass tough to destroy
BOB MORRIS

Question: I have a small fescue lawn that is being taken over by what appears to be Bermudagrass or some type of large-blade thick, dense grass that is much greener and thicker than the fescue grass.

Trellised vines make good wind blocks
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: I was hoping to put up a nice strong wind and sun block on the west and southwest corner of our front yard, approximately 20 feet each way. Could you give me some suggestions?

Pluot gumming can be from borers, sunburn
BOB MORRIS

Question: We planted a pluot this past spring along with four peach trees of different varieties. The pluot just started oozing sap or gumming on the lower truck.

Girdling keeps plant roots from spreading properly
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: We notice that some of our trees don’t seem to be rooting into the soil properly. We assume it’s because of improper root ball preparation or girdling roots. Our test to see if the tree has rooted after at least one growing season is to bend the tree trunk back and forth. If the root ball under the soil easily moves when the tree is pushed, we assume that the tree has poor or little rooting into the surrounding soil.

Pine needles benefit alkaline soil
BOB MORRIS

Question: We have nine pine trees, and they are dropping lots of needles. We have a large berm under the trees and water inside the berm twice weekly. Should the needles be removed or left inside the berm?

Taper of the trunk indicates tree’s strength
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: I have read that African sumacs are fast growers. The African sumacs here seem to be at a stand still. I have had two in my backyard since April. They are alive but the canopy and trunk just seem the same; there has been perhaps 10 percent growth. The trees are solid with tall, thin trunks, about ½ to ¾ inch in diameter, with a canopy that branches out at 8 feet. There are no branches or leaves below that. The trees are staked high and the stems are all finger diameter. Will they take off eventually?

Grape maintenance must occur in May, March
BOB MORRIS

Question: I have been growing grapes for seven years. Can you please tell me what is wrong with my vines? They are still producing grapes.

Proper irrigation can be difficult to figure out
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: Could you tell me where I could find irrigation instructions in gallons rather than minutes or hours? I am having difficulty calculating how much to irrigate larger established plants and trees.

1 … 31 32 33 34 35 … 44