Great Basin bristlecone pines are gnarly, twisted tales of survival and inspiration. Lucky for local desert dwellers, hiking paths wind past these ancient, animated trees high above the valley floor.
Local Columns
In Clark County, a fruiting olive is not permitted by county regulation. If you live outside of Clark County, then growing fruiting olives is acceptable by regulation.
Nematodes are a rare occurrence in young plants. It is normally not something that happens to recently planted trees unless you have nematode-infested soil.
The three most common problems for lawns are irrigation, disease and insects. The easiest to diagnose are insect problems.
Apriums, like apricots, need lots of heat to ripen and sweeten to their highest quality. They did not get it this year.
The general recommendation is to not have rocks greater than golf ball-sized so that lawn grass roots have a place to grow. Trees and shrubs have similar guidelines.
Some intrepid Southern Nevadans choose paths of darkness in their bid to keep hiking adventures alive during sizzling summer months.
Strong winds are particularly damaging in the spring when leaves are new and tender. Strong winds equal increased water lost by plants. The sudden death of leaves right after strong winds signals a need for water.
Black spots on a pluot could be either from the sun (sunburn on the fruit) or, more likely, a nutritional problem.
Bunch diseases attack only grape bunches. At the beginning of summer is when we notice disease problems on the berries of grapes such as the so-called bunch rots.
As temperatures soar and scorch our concrete jungle, the forest shade and cooler air of the nearby Spring Mountains offer a reprieve.
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.
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.