Q: I have two paloverde trees in front of my house. One seems to be fine while the other has struggled for four years. I am told the tree is healthy, but every summer it leaks white, sticky foam from the trunk. This foam attracts bees and beetles. The tree has received professional borer treatments twice a year, but it’s still bad.
This is the time of year when borer damage in trees and shrubs is most obvious. Limbs are dying. Their damage can be seen from a distance now, but they’ve been working hard feeding on the inside of trees and shrubs for months.
Q: In my morning walk around the garden, I found an unusual pattern on the leaves of my Arabian jasmine. Do you have any thoughts on what might have caused this?
Q: The leaves on my fig tree appear burned after this rain. I foliar sprayed it with neem oil and soap and fish protein isolate. These trees were planted last fall and mulched with 1 foot of woodchips and looked amazing until now. They are watered three times each week in the summer.
Q: We’ve noticed leaf damage this year on our rose bushes and apple and pear trees. More than previous years. But, peach, apricot and pomegranate seem unaffected. Some of our roses were decimated. Any idea what pest causes this and how to control it?
For anyone who thinks of City National Arena as just some practice facility for the Vegas Golden Knights, with little else to offer in between National Hockey League seasons, be assured that you’re in for a surprise.
Early Saturday morning, I spotted two green beetles on a young apple tree. These are close relatives of what we called in the Midwest “June beetles.”
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area isn’t among the most famous outdoor destinations, but perhaps it should be. Certainly, if you plan a northern trip to Wyoming’s Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks, consider a side trip to Flaming Gorge. Located in a remote area of northeast Utah and southwest Wyoming, this is an outdoorsman’s paradise. The most popular activities are fishing, boating, rafting, hiking and camping.
If you’re still suffering from the headache caused by that hefty increase in your auto insurance premiums, get over it. The reasons for the hike are many, but suffice it to say that whether you live in Summerlin or anywhere else in Las Vegas, the days of relatively cheap auto insurance are in the past.
Q: I have some large dead areas in my lawn. I don’t think it’s an insect problem. Watering is at 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. This was my first lawn problem in 16 years.
Q: We installed a lawn 18 months ago, but it has a difficult time during summer months. I aerate it and fertilize it, and I know the drainage is good because the landscaper installed the system to our HOA requirements. I water twice daily, six days a week around 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. There is a decent amount of shade, and the yard faces south. Even the heavily shaded areas have problems. What can I do differently?
Pioche, in nearby Lincoln County, offers Southern Nevadans a fine one-day or overnight trip to a cooler climate. Pioche is pleasant in the summer, because it has an elevation of more than 6,000 feet.
We all hear stories about people whose passion for doing a particular thing has never waned. But playing soccer for 71 years as a goalie, where physical dexterity is a fundamental requirement? And still going strong at the age of 77 by playing at least three times a week?
Q: My Mexican bird of paradise grows well but it looks too thin. Or is that its natural way? I would like it to fill in and be healthy looking.
Take a seventh-grade girl with a deep passion for softball, a straight-As average in her classes and lots of determination. Sprinkle in Carmella Korte’s ability to present a convincing argument to her school principal last October, and bingo! Those became the ingredients for a girls softball team for Leavitt Middle School in northwest Las Vegas.
