GARDENING: Fruit tree workshop to discuss apple, pear production

Having problems with your apples or pears? Do you want to find out what's wrong with them?

Our Master Gardeners are sponsoring a fruit tree workshop on backyard apple and pear production Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A speaker from the University of Arizona working in apple and pear production will present the seminar and answer questions.

Call our Master Gardener hot line at 257-5555 for more information. Our last seminar was on stone fruits and had great reviews from those in attendance. There will be a small fee to help defer the expenses of bringing the speaker to Las Vegas...

Late fall is a wrap-up month. Most everything is centered on putting plants to rest for the winter, really cutting back on irrigations, mulching and sanitation. Getting rid of yard waste, preferably by composting, or disposing of it is important for disease and insect control for next year.

This time of year plants are preparing for winter and the coming cold. Generally we don't fertilize any plants in the fall that might be sensitive to winter cold and freezing. Pomegranates will need consistent watering up until harvest to prevent fruit splitting. Allowing the soil to become excessively dry and then wet in cycles can cause the fruit to split.

Fall cleanup is a very important sanitary measure for gardens. Be careful when planting vegetable transplants and bedding plants. These small plants purchased from the nursery, called transplants, have been grown in small containers for several weeks prior to purchase. Their root system is often quite a bit smaller than the tops.

Ideally, in the established plant, we want the root system several times larger than the top. Quite a bit of catching up has to be done by that small root system. The idea in establishing these plants is to invigorate the root system so that it can enlarge and establish as quickly as possible.

What is needed to do this is a well-prepared soil, unrestricted root growth, high phosphorus fertilizers, warm soil and adequate soil water and air. The soil should be prepared with plenty of decomposed organic matter (compost) and a starter fertilizer to encourage root development.

A dark, "fluffy" soil will be a warmer soil and enhance faster root growth. The root system in these small containers coming from the nurseries is jam-packed with roots. They are very crowded and need a place to expand. It is important to gently separate this root system before planting so that it no longer is the same shape as the container.

This must be done quickly once it has been taken out of this small container. Some tearing of the roots is inevitable. Failure to do this will lead to stunted, slow growing plants that will produce poorly whether its flowers or vegetables.

Question: My pear tree is getting sticky leaves now. What causes this?

Answer: Our samples have been aphids. Aphids like cool weather better than hot weather and so their activity increases during the cool months of early spring and fall.

Insecticidal soaps and spray oils are the best way to control these pests at this time of year. There is no need to haul out the "heavy artillery" pesticides commonly used on this pest. By the way, if you look closely you'll probably see these same things clustering on the unopened buds of your fruit trees next spring. That's the time to give them a shot again.

Q: I have a bromeliad that I have had for two years. The first year it had a beautiful spear like flower of red orange. The second year there was a new pup that I kept watered in the opening but it did not flower at all. Now I still put water in the pup, but the leaves are all tuning brown. The brown is starting from the bottom and going up. What is happening? I did repot the plant after the first bloom. The plant stayed great looking even without a flower until just recently.

A:Bromeliads occupy a huge plant family including pineapples and Spanish moss. Not all bromeliads can be handled the same way since they grow under such diverse climates and environments. The plants we usually call bromeliads and grow in our home or inside buildings are the types we grow for the colorful red foliage that we sometimes mistakenly call flowers.

Bromeliads are generally quite trouble-free, but problems do crop up. They prefer humid environments, mildly acidic soils that are organic with good drainage. They are not a full sun plant but prefer strong, indirect light but not heavy shade or low-light conditions. Fertilizer should not be heavy at any time but very light consistent applications.

My first reaction is that you are either watering too much. The plant is planted too deep from repotting or the container or soil has poor drainage. If this is the case, the leaves will eventually turn mushy and the plant will die. This is called crown rot and can be accompanied by a strong, foul smell.

This can be treated by pulling out the loose leaves, thoroughly rinsing the cup with clean water, and filling the cup with a systemic fungicide for about an hour. Drain, let the plant dry overnight, and then refill with clean water. The plant probably won't bloom, but you should get pups or offshoots.

Some of the more common maladies of bromeliads, along with some possible causes, are: a pale, bleached appearance, which means too much light. Off color can mean too much shade. Long floppy leaves can mean too much fertilizer, too much shade or both. Brown leaf ends or edges means the plant is grown too dry, placed in a dry exposure or it's in a place that's too hot or close to a hot air vent.

Our water can be the wrong pH and carry too many salts for bromeliads, which can result in brown spots or patches appearing on the leaves. Brown spots can result from intense sunlight. Yellow or pale green mottling of leaves can mean insect or mite damage. Bites or holes in leaves can mean snails or slugs. Quilling, when the inner leaves stick together, usually means water has been placed in the cup frequently enough.

Brown or mushy leaves at base result from overwatering, planting too deep, or bad drainage.

Q: When should I apply lawn fertilizer and tree fertilizer? Should I put a fungicide down now on my lawn now if I had disease problems this past summer? Will it do any good now? Someone said to put it on now but the bag says in the spring.

A: Lawn fertilizer application is always a good thing to do in the early winter or late fall months. We recommend an application around Thanksgiving for turf grass that is still actively growing.

This late application helps to keep the lawn green when it gets colder and stores nitrogen for next spring.

Bob Morris is a horticulture specialist with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. This late fall application means you can usually skip the early spring application if you have been water wise during the winter months and haven't flushed all the fertilizer out of the soil.

As far as fall applications on trees and shrubs, it is always somewhat debatable to make these applications on woody plants then. I can see reasons for making these applications in the fall and I can see drawbacks to it as well. I am usually supportive of these applications unless there are specific reasons not to such as on winter tender plants.

For the most part, if you want to apply slow-release fertilizers to woody plants in the fall, then the research seems to back this up but not so for the quick-release forms.

If you would like an explanation on how to make these applications to trees we can send a one-page explanation to you with diagrams. Call our Master Gardeners at 257-5555 and ask for the tree fertilizer guide be sent to you. It is really quite simple and a large tree can be done in less than half an hour.

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