A first-time soil test establishes a baseline and tells new homeowners at the beginning what’s adequate about their soil chemistry and what’s missing.
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.
Generally, the varieties of fruit trees that flower earliest produce the earliest fruit. If there is a frost while the flowers are open, it will produce less fruit or maybe no fruit at all.
We are nearing the end of any soil applications of iron fertilizers that work. Once early spring through early summer has passed, the only thing that cures leaf yellowing is the leaf sprays applied directly to yellowing leaves.
EDDHA can be a miracle iron application with yellowing citrus when all your other efforts fail.
Agave weevil control is done from about the middle of April until the middle of May.
Fireblight, or fireblight disease, is one of the few bacterial plant diseases that threaten cultivated fruit trees and ornamentals.
Canary Island palm trees have a big head that produces heavy shade so it’s possible that the lower fronds may die due to a lack of light. If the lower fronds are dying, the palm tree needs to be pruned.
Minor pruning cuts requiring hand pruners are done anytime you see a problem. You can do them now if you want. Just not large limbs.
If you want to improve drainage for cactuses then plant them higher than the surrounding soil. This type of cactus requires deep but infrequent irrigation.
As we water plants infrequently, the roots extract water and grow into deeper layers of soil. Deep rooting of plants is the main reason good gardeners say, “Water plants deeply but infrequently.”
Privacy shrubs should be tall enough to create the privacy needed but not much taller. Bigger shrubs need more water than smaller shrubs, and they need more maintenance as they get older.
California pepper tree is evergreen. Evergreen plants constantly drop leaves all season long but drop their leaves heaviest soon after times of new growth.
To prevent fruit production in an ornamental tree, spray the it with a chemical every year to get the fruit to drop when it’s still small. Spray the entire canopy of the tree when as many of the flowers are open as possible.
Bright, cloudless skies and strong winds equals high water use in our desert climate. It’s time to water during bright windy weather.
Podocarpus or yew pine doesn’t like soil covered in rock. It is not a desert plant.
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