GARDENING: Fruit-themed events coming up at orchard
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I have quite a schedule coming up for you fruit lovers at our Lindell Learning Center, 2590 Lindell St., at no charge. Of course, our Orchard volunteers get specialized training at the Master Gardeners Orchard, located in North Las Vegas, from our guest speakers. You can be a volunteer at the Orchard, as well. All it takes is coming out and helping for a few hours every month.
On Jan. 10, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., a presentation on apple, pear and quince management and pruning is scheduled at the Lindell Learning Center.
On Feb. 15, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., we will tackle the subjects of fruit tree management for microfarmers and serious backyard gardeners.
Our mulch pile is growing. Don't forget to protect your plants from the winter cold by picking up free mulch at the Orchard.
A couple of things about your holiday plants. The primary reason for fresh Christmas trees drying up before the holiday season is due to vascular plugging. This means that the vascular system, the conduits for water movement up the tree, have been plugged. The primary reason for plugging is bacterial buildup in these small water conducting tubes.
To prevent this, use tap water that has been chlorinated or add a very small amount of bleach to your tap water. Let's say half of a teaspoon per gallon or so. Never let the reservoir dry, and keep it as clean as possible.
Bacteria grow where there are sugars "leaked' back into the reservoir or in the vascular system itself. A very small amount of chlorine is an excellent bactericide.
Poinsettias are tropical plants. They will not tolerate cold drafts or being transported outside in a cold wind to the car. Protect them. Give them plenty of light. If they are in a dark spot, rotate them into a lighted area part of the time. Keep them moist but not wet. Lift the pot after you water to judge the water content.
Every day lift the pot to judge how much water was lost. When the pot is about half of the weight after watering, then rewater. If the leaves wilt, it is too late and the leaves will drop.
Poinsettias do not need fertilizer during the holidays. All they require is watering, temperatures between 72 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit and bright, indirect light.
Poinsettias are considered throwaway plants after the holiday season.
Question:Can you tell me what kind of insect causes a white, cottonlike substance on my houseplant?
Answer: This is most likely mealybugs. They are quite common on interior plants, and they will spread to others if they are not contained and treated. You need to quarantine this plant until you get it under control.
Mealybugs are one of the most common insects on houseplants. They feed by sucking out plant sap. They frequently leave a cottony deposit on the surfaces of leaves and in the leaf crotches. There are also root mealybugs as well, but since they live underground on the roots you cannot see them. All that is noticed is that the plant slowly dies.
Recommended controls are insecticidal soaps, oils such as mineral oils or other oils recommended for controlling insects on houseplants. Insecticides containing the compound resmethrin in the ingredients are frequently recommended for houseplants.
You will have to repeat the applications since one treatment will not control this insect.
Q:I have white, cottonlike growths on my prickly pear cactus. I have been told that this is either a fungus or mealy worms. I have tried different products, as well as hosing the stuff off but it seems to always come back after a few weeks. Any suggestions?
A: This is cochineal scale. Grab the cottony mass between two fingers and squeeze. There will be a dark red juice. Alcohol and cotton swabs work, or you can spray it off with a hard jet of water and apply Neem oil pesticide. Control is not permanent. You will have to repeat control measures as you see the problem develop again.
Q:I have a question about bermudagrass mixed in with my fescue. I have a couple of areas that are patchy bermuda and then in other areas bermuda just mixed in. I was thinking of finding a fertilizer that might kill the bermuda and fertilize the yard if such a thing exists. This time of year the bermuda is pretty much dormant and looks dead but the fescue does grow.
A: The usual reasons for bermudagrass encroachment into cool season lawns like tall fescue are inadequate irrigations due to poor sprinkler coverage or underwatering, mowing too short, inadequate fertilizer applications, either in quantity of nitrogen applied or not often enough, and damage to the lawn by dogs, people, diseases or insects.
Make sure your sprinklers have good coverage. The water should be thrown from one sprinkler all the way to neighboring sprinklers and vice versa. This is called head-to-head coverage or 100 percent coverage. It will be critical for you to apply enough water often enough to prevent the good grass from becoming weak and incapable of out competing with the bermudagrass. Since bermudagrass requires less water, it invades areas of the lawn underwatered.
Fertilizers should be in a ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium of 3 to 1 to 2, or 4 to 1 to 2. An example would be 21-7-14, which has nitrogen in a ratio to phosphorus and potassium (in that order) of 3 to 1 to 2. The important point here is to have high nitrogen, low phosphorus and moderate to high levels of potassium. A good turfgrass fertilizer will contain at least half of the nitrogen in the bag as a slow release form of nitrogen and should state so on the bag. Once or twice a year iron should be applied either alone or included in the normal application of the fertilizer. Almost any form of iron works on turfgrass.
Mow tall fescue no shorter than 1 1/2 inches tall or 2 to 3 inches tall would be better. If a lawn is damaged and dies in areas, leave the dead grass on the surface until you can either replant or resod the area. Sunlight on the bare soil surface will stimulate bermudagrass seed germination. Shading, by leaving dead grass as debris, or mowing tall will discourage bermudagrass germination. Bermudagrass seed is everywhere. It is only prevented from germinating by competition from other grasses, mostly through their shade. Bermudagrass does not like shade.
Bob Morris is a horticulture specialist with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
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