Q&A – Ask Neil: May 11, 2023
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QUESTION 1
WHY DON’T MY ROSEBOROUGH BLACKBERRIES FILL OUT?
Question: My Roseborough blackberries only have 10 or 12 druplets per fruit. What is wrong with them? Gale, Washington Co.
Answer: Wow! I hit a goldmine on this one. I wanted to do a little research online, and I found a bunch of matches. When I saw the University of Arkansas pop up, that was where I went for my answer since they’ve done so much work with blackberries. Here is their exhaustive write-up on the topic. My bet is poor pollination because of cool, wet weather earlier this spring. Hope this helps.
QUESTION 2
CAN PEACHES BE PLANTED FROM SEED?
Question: I have a Peppermint peach tree that is covered in peaches for the first time. Can I plant the seeds from ripened peaches and get new trees? Charles H., Farmers Branch.
Answer: You could, but you shouldn’t. They’ll certainly be peach trees, but your odds of having anything worth saving will be probably one in tens of thousands. In the meantime, you will have invested time, space, sprays, pruning, effort and all the other things we have to do to get peach crops to ripen, only to find out it was all a waste. Or, for a few dollars you could have bought one of the recommended varieties. Don’t go there!
QUESTION 3
WHY IS JAPANESE SNOWBALL GROWING VIGOROUSLY BUT SHEDDING LEAVES?
Question: Why is my Japanese snowball growing vigorously but shedding leaves and not blooming? It gets lots of sun but shade in the heat of the afternoon. The one I had in full sun burned up. Paula T., Granbury.
Answer: That’s difficult to determine without a photo. I assume the leaves that are dropping would be toward the bottom of the plant. It could be that the earlier cool, moist weather encouraged a lot of vigorous new growth. Then, as temperatures in the North Central Texas area started to climb, the plant suddenly realized it had outpaced its ability to keep up with the demand for water. That’s when leaf shedding begins. You’ll see that on houseplants, notably poinsettias when we let them get too dry between waterings. My viburnums haven’t bloomed nearly as well as normal this year, either, if that’s any consolation. That’s about as far as I can go without more information or a photo.
QUESTION 4
WHAT ARE THE BEST TALL CRAPE MYRTLES THAT WILL NOT SUFFER FREEZE DAMAGE?
Question: I’m looking for tall crape myrtles that survived the freeze without damage. There are so many that were hurt. I see a lot of Colorama and Muskogee. How do they do? Martha S., Haltom City.
Answer: It looks like several varieties were hurt again, this time by the Christmas freeze. The ones we typically do not recommend in the Metroplex because of repeated winter dieback are Muskogee, Tuscarora, Natchez, Sioux and Country Red. I’m not sure about Colorama. I assume you’re referring to Colorama Scarlet? We have not yet tested it. From our website of The Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney, here is a link to the list of the best varieties, by size and flower color, as rated by several of America’s most respected authorities on this species. https://crapemyrtletrails.org/varieties/best-crape-myrtles-by-size/. I would encourage you also to look down into the “Medium” range. Some of them grow almost as tall as the “Tall” types.
QUESTION 5
HOW CAN I EVEN OUT THE “GREEN-NESS” OF MY LAWN?
Question: I recently fertilized my lawn with a high quality 21-0-0 lawn food from a local independent garden center. The dark green spots are from my dog. How can I get everything to even up with my fertilizer? Ed H., Colleyville.
Answer: You mentioned a “high quality” fertilizer, but you also said “21-0-0.” That’s the analysis of ammonium sulfate, a fast-release food that comes and goes in a big hurry. Double check the label and make sure it has 25-35 percent of slow-release nitrogen. It may be that the greening power has already gone. Or that it hasn’t taken effect yet. It really looks like you didn’t apply very much. It’s going to be challenging to keep up with a daily dose of dog stuff. It might be easier just to pick up after the dog.
QUESTION 6
IS IT TOO LATE TO PRUNE UNRULY PRIDES OF BARBADOS?
Question: I have pride of Barbados plants that have become pretty unruly. References say they should be pruned in the winter after they freeze. Is it too late now? Mike F., Dallas.
Answer: I don’t see anything alive on the plant in your photo. It looks like it has frozen completely to the ground, if not entirely. The Christmas freeze was extreme, and we could expect pride of Barbados to have been lost as far north as you are. Unless you’re seeing growth that I can’t see you can cut it completely to the ground or dig it out entirely. Maybe something will still sprout up, but I wouldn’t count on it. It looks like it did really well for you last year. There’s nothing wrong with planting another one.
QUESTION 7
WHY DID MY CHINESE SNOWBALL NOT HAVE ANY FLOWERS AT ALL THIS YEAR?
Question: Why didn’t my Chinese snowball have any flowers at all this spring? It was full of them last year. I’ve been watching, but just leaves popped out. What would have caused that? T.N., Parker.
Answer: See Paula’s question (Q3) above. You’re not alone. Other viburnums faced the same fate. I noticed that my own 6 or 8 Chinese snowballs only had a handful of flowers, and the huge, old plants in McKinney (for other readers, McKinney and Parker are only 15 miles apart) had very few as well. I’m going to guess that it was either the long-term effects of last summer’s hot, dry weather or the Christmas freeze. They’re winter-hardy, but the depth of that cold spell might have damaged the flower buds. Next year will probably be much better.
QUESTION 8
SHOULD I FEED MY POTTED PLANTS TWICE WEEKLY EVEN THOUGH SOIL IS SATURATED?
Question: With the frequent heavy rains in our area, should I feed my outdoor potted plants twice weekly, even though their soil is saturated? Cindy P., San Antonio.
Answer: Great question. On the one hand, the rains are leaching nutrients out of the plants’ potting soil, but you also don’t want to water wet soil. That would run the risk of waterlogging things and damaging roots. This might be a good time to call on one of the timed-release fertilizers for sustained feeding. I use those in tandem with my water-soluble plant foods. Just remember that timed-release fertilizers let go of their nutrients in about half the time in hot weather. That means that a product saying that it will feed continuously for 90 days will actually work for about 45 days when it gets really hot. But I would not water when the soils are already wet.
QUESTION 9
IS THERE A SPRAY THAT WILL KILL BAMBOO?
Question: I’m not having much luck killing bamboo that’s in my alley and into part of my backyard. Is there a spray that will do the job, or do I need a blow torch? Roger F., Dallas.
Answer: Bamboo is the most difficult weed to eliminate out of all the weeds we have in our landscapes. Landscape contractors will bring front-end loaders onto job sites to remove the soil and roots and replace the top foot of soil, or at least screen it to remove all the bamboo shoots. A glyphosate-only (no other active ingredients) spray applied at 150 percent the rate listed for control of bermudagrass will perhaps set it back a good bit when applied to vigorous new growth. However, it’s not labeled for that use and I can only comment, not recommend it. Plus, I’m not even sure it’s going to do the job for you.
Note: You might be interested that the state of New York has banned the sale of bamboo or even having it in your landscape. Other states are falling in line. Take a look at this story from Landscape Management.