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Get Yardcare Advice for Your Region
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Frequently Asked Questions for the
Southwestern Region
by
A. Cort Sinnes
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- I've heard that it's a good idea to fertilize my lawn in the fall. Is this true? It goes against everything I’ve learned about gardening.
Yes, it’s true in certain instances: Lawns in areas of the West with cold winters (frequent frost or colder) do, indeed, benefit from a fall application of fertilizer. Wait until after the first frost to apply the fertilizer, when the grass is essentially dormant and the soil temperature low enough to keep the fertilizer in an inactive state. As soon as the soil warms in spring, the fertlizer goes to work just as the grass needs it most, for its first flush of growth. Warm season grasses in frost-free areas of the West do better with consistent, light applications of fertilizer throughout the year, once every 60 days or so.
- I read where it’s healthier to leave the clippings on the lawn after I mow it, but they look so unsightly.
It is a good idea to leave grass clippings on your lawn. Clippings alone can provide the lawn with half its nitrogen needs through the year and improve the quality of the soil over time. If the clippings are clumpy and unsightly, it sounds like you’re waiting too long between mowings. You’ll have less noticeable clippings and your lawn will be healthier if you only remove one-third of the blade with mowing. This may mean mowing a little more often and setting the mower’s blade a little higher than you’re accustomed to.
- I live in a coastal Northern California town that’s virtually frost-free. As a result, my roses never really go completely dormant. What’s the best time to prune them?
The exact time will depend on your specific climate but, luckily, no matter where you live, your roses will tell you when to prune them. The best time to prune roses is at the end of the dormant (or “semi-dormant”) season, when you first notice new growth buds swelling.
- It seems like every other year my peach trees are afflicted terribly with peach leaf curl. Can it be prevented? And what do I do once the disease has hit?
As with any plant disease, peach leaf curl can’t be cured once it’s shown up, but it can be prevented. If your tree is already affected with the disease, the leaves will shrivel, turn black and fall off by mid-summer. It’s important to remove the diseased leaves from the ground and destroy them (but don’t put on your compost pile as this may contribute to the cycle of infection). Get out in front of the problem by spraying twice with a lime sulfur spray or Bordeaux mixture (available at your local nursery or garden center), once after the last leaves have fallen in autumn and again in spring just as the growth buds begin to swell. Although peach leaf curl rarely kills the tree, you won’t get much of a peach crop from affected trees and repeated infections will severely impair the health of the tree.
- I’ve got a pretty perennial garden, now three years old. Trouble is, they’re getting too big and flopping over each other and some are dying out in the middle of the plant. Any suggestions?
Perennials really are relatively low-maintanance plants, but they’re not “no-maintanance,” especially as they mature. First off, to keep plants stocky and and well-formed, practice regular pruning–in most cases just after the plant has bloomed, cutting off approximately two-thirds of the top growth. It may seem a little severe, but it’s the only way to keep the plants in line. As far as dead patches in the middle of a perennial clump (known as a “dough-nut”) are concerned, they’re a classic sign that the perennial needs to be dug up, divided into smaller plants, and replanted. The best time to do this is in the fall or very early spring, when the first signs of growth appear.
- Last year I had beautiful tomato plants but very little fruit. And what tomatoes were there had brown spots on the bottom. What’s up?
Few gardeners realize that most tomato varieties are quite finicky about the range of nighttime temperatures needed to set fruit. In general, if the nighttime temperatures go below 55ºF or above 75ºF, fruit set will be seriously affected, which sounds like your problem and, unfortunately, one that has no solution, save for a change in the weather. As far as the brown spots on the bottom of the tomatoes goes, it’s an affliction known as “blossom-end rot,” caused by the plant's inability to tap into a consistent supply of calcium from the soil. The most frequent causes for restricting the supply of calcium are sudden changes in soil moisture – from dry conditions to overly wet. The best preventative measure is to keep the soil evenly moist – not too dry, not too wet – throughout the growing season. A 3- to 5-inch layer of organic mulch around the plants will go a long way in keeping the moisture in the soil at a consistent level and blossom-end rot at a minimum.
- Is there a de-icing product that won’t hurt the lawn and flower beds that adjoin my walkway?
Ice-melt products that contain sodium chloride can cause salt damage to lawns and planting beds adjoining sidewalks and walkways. The damage is most noticeable in spring, just as new growth appears. Best bet is to look for products that contain potassium chloride; they have a lower burn potential that ones that contain sodium chloride. Sand, kitty litter, and cinders will work as an aid to prevent someone from slipping on the ice, but do not work as well as an "ice-melt" compound. Regular rock salt should be avoided at all costs, as it readily damages surrounding grass and plants, as well as causing damage to concrete and blacktop surfaces.
- I recently purchased a house that has a number of mature yews and other needled evergreens planted next to the house, under the eaves. This spring I noticed they looked kind of droopy and not very healthy in general. I don’t want to lose them. Do you know what’s wrong with them?
This is a surprisingly common problem and, luckily, one that is easy to correct. When you look out your window in the middle of a howling winter storm, it’s difficult to imagine that some of your garden plants may be suffering from lack of water–but that’s just what’s happening to the plants under your eaves (and also to any plants under the shelter of a covered porch). Be sure and check the moisture level of the planting beds under the cover of eaves several times during the winter and water accordingly. The plants won’t need as much water as they do during the warm weather months, but they can’t do completely without it, either.
- I’ve had good luck with narcissus in my garden and having them come back every year. Are there any tulips that come back year after year?
There are, but you need to be selective in the kinds you choose. In general, the big, showy hybrids (such as the Darwin and Triumph varieties) will only bloom once and are best treated as annuals. The smaller, but equally charming, species (wild) tulips are excellent for naturalizing (meaning that they will come back every year, usually in growing numbers). Some of the best species tulips for naturalizing are Tulipa sylvestris, T. bakeri, T. clusiana, and T. saxatilis. After blooming, cut the flower stem off the plant but let the leafy portion die naturally. This allows the nutrients from the leaves to return to the bulb, insuring a healthy return the following spring.
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