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.

Lantanas suffer varying degrees of cold damage

Plant losses due to freezing temperatures involve how low the temperature drops, the time of year the temperatures occurred and for how long.

Garden slugs self-destruct in stale beer

May 17, 2011 - 10:01 am

Stale beer works great as a slug bait. Put out a bowl of day-old beer in the garden, sinking it slightly so they can gain entry and then die a happy death.

Compost better than rock dust as desert soil supplement

May 10, 2011 - 9:05 am

Rock dust is used in organic agriculture to replenish minerals that have been removed from the soils when growing and removing vegetables and fruit. I tend to favor the addition of compost to our vegetable gardens since our soils are so low in organic matter and its derivatives.

Bottling herb-infused oils too slippery a task

May 3, 2011 - 12:26 pm

Garlic- or herb-infused oils that are contaminated with clostridium botulinum, the bacteria responsible for botulism, cannot be identified by smell, sight or taste, making it dangerous to bottle or store them at home.

Vacuum zucchini to rid plant of squash bugs

By BOB MORRISGARDENING

April 28, 2011 - 1:30 am

Nerium oleanders can do without being covered in desert climate

April 26, 2011 - 8:57 pm

Nerium oleanders might be more resilient than you think when it gets chilly. Once established, they don’t require a cover to shield them from cold.

Pests are price to pay for using wood mulch

April 19, 2011 - 8:43 am

Question: Following your advice, I am planning to replace all of the stone mulch under and around the shrubs in my yard and use bark mulch, which attracts roaches, I am told.

Climbing jasmine should rebound after cold damage

April 12, 2011 - 4:20 pm

Las Vegas cold snaps tend to hit plants at times when they’re not prepared.

Getting shade in desert will ‘cost’ you plenty of water

By BOB MORRISGARDENING

April 7, 2011 - 2:06 am

Some palms slow to mold into mulch

April 5, 2011 - 1:40 pm

Question: I was told by a landscaping company that the fronds from Mexican fan palms cannot be chipped and recycled into mulch because they are too alkaline. This was news to me! Your opinion regarding that palms-too-alkaline-for-mulch theory would be appreciated.

Fruit thinning classes set at orchard

By BOB MORRISGARDENING

March 31, 2011 - 1:06 am

Gnats no big nuisance to outdoor plants

March 29, 2011 - 8:21 pm

Question: Can you help me identify some insects on my grapes? They are quite small and devour the leaves of my grape vines, leaving them like skeletons. There are literally thousands of them in the summer. They stay until late fall and are very annoying. What can I do to get rid of them?

Coarse mulch not suitable for vegetables

By BOB MORRISGARDENING

March 24, 2011 - 1:04 am

Cool temperatures will damage oleanders

BOB MORRISGARDENING

March 17, 2011 - 1:05 am

Roots keep trees anchored as well as take up water

BOB MORRISGARDENING

March 10, 2011 - 2:03 am