Q&A – Ask Neil: November 13, 2025
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QUESTION 1
WHAT IS THE PROPER WAY TO WATER CHERRY LAURELS?
Question: What is the proper way to water cherry laurels? Mine are 5 years old. Each has a bubbler, but I’ve been advised to water their roots via a soaker hose 4-5 ft. from the trunks. Why? How much and how often? For the first time the trees are thinning and losing their leaves. M.J.B., Horseshoe Bay.
Images clickable for larger views.
Answer: I can answer every question except for why someone would advise you to put the soaker hose quite that far out from the trunks. You want it to be around the drip line. That looks more like 3 to 4 ft. to my eye. And you’ll need to leave it running slowly for several, perhaps many hours to soak deeply into the ground. It’s better to water a bit less often, but more deeply when you do water.
Two things concern me about cherry laurels in your landscape. They require acidic soils. You may have that, but most of your area is just the opposite, and iron deficiency can become an issue for cherry laurels in alkaline soils. Your plants are definitely showing signs of iron chlorosis (yellowed blades with normal green veins). They also are sisters to peaches and plums, and borers can get into their trunks. Both of those problems could cause them to thin. Willowleaf hollies are probably better plants of about the same mature size in the long run.
QUESTION 2
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO RID MY LAWN OF WILD ONIONS?
Question: I have wild onions in my lawn and landscape. I’ve tried pre-emergent herbicides, 2,4-D, and pulling them out by hand, and nothing has helped. What is the best way to eliminate them? Dustin I., Fort Worth.
Answer: In spite of the grass-like appearance of their leaves, wild onions are broadleafed weeds, so the 2,4-D herbicide will work. Don’t mow before or after you spray. Use a tank sprayer and mix 1 drop of liquid dishwashing detergent into each gallon of herbicide mixture. That will help the fine weedkiller droplets adhere to the leaves of the weeds. Do not water for a couple of days after you treat. It will take a week or two before you will see effects from the herbicide. You’ll likely have to repeat the treatment a time or two, but it should do the job. Many of the 2,4-D mixtures say “Even controls wild onions” on their labels.
QUESTION 3
HOW CAN I ENCOURAGE ENGLISH IVY TO ADHERE TO A STUCCO WALL?
Question: I planted 5-gal. English ivy at the base of a stucco wall 3-4 years ago. It grows along the ground, but it doesn’t cling to the wall or offer to climb it. Do you have any suggestions on how I can encourage it to do so? George M., Dallas.
Answer: If the wall gets any direct sunlight, that might be your problem. English ivy and the other hederas grow and climb best in total shade. Stucco surfaces reflect a great deal of light (and heat). I wonder if you might get better results with a well-made trellis that could stand out 4 or 5 inches from the wall so that you could train it to grow on the trellis bars. Or you might be better off switching to another type of plant. In a protected location (from cold) you could use fig ivy, or if you didn’t mind a hardy deciduous vine, Boston ivy. Boston ivy is rather vigorous, however, so you would have to prune it to keep it in bounds. Talk to your favorite independent nursery professional about your alternate options.
QUESTION 4
WHERE CAN I BUY PURPLE WINTERCREEPER EUONYMUS?
Question: I’m having trouble finding a source of purple wintercreeper euonymus. I’ve not found any sources locally. Deedie S., Allen.
Answer: Nurseries aren’t as likely to have big supplies of it right now since its prime planting time will be in the spring and early summer. But you can ask ahead to see if they intend to stock it. Perhaps they can order flats of it in for you.
Landscape contractors are using hundreds of flats of it at a time, so that may be part of your problem. Supplies are constantly being depleted. And one nursery group I know routinely channels their customers toward Asian jasmine instead. Although Asian jasmine is a long proven and popular option, wintercreeper isn’t as bothered by winter’s cold. Keep trying. It’s worth the effort.
QUESTION 5
WHY ARE PARTS OF MY SHRUBS DYING?
Question: Portions of my evergreen shrubs are dying. They are surrounded by healthy looking foliage, but the dead areas are starting to expand. This same thing happened about 15 years ago, and it killed one plant. Chuck G., Hurst.
Answer: Your redtip photinias look like they’ve been pruned at what I would guess to be 5-6 ft. tall. If they’ve been there long enough that a similar thing happened 15 years ago, that means these plants are 20 or 25 years old. Photinias, left unpruned, would be 20 ft. tall by now. Trimming them repeatedly to 25 or 30 percent of their potential size would wear them out. You would expect to see sectional dieback just like you’re seeing here. Look into the plant to examine one of these “outbreaks.” Look closely at a dying stem. I don’t think you’ll see anything unusual. I certainly do not see any evidence of Entomosporium fungal leaf spot, the disease that is normally the cause of death of redtips.
On a different but possibly related note, look in your one photo at how dry the turfgrass is. That could also be impacting the photinias. I would recommend deep soakings to slow further dieback. I’m sure the drought has something to do with it. Thinking back 14 (not 15) years, the biblical drought of 2011 did monumental damage to native and landscape plants all across Texas.
QUESTION 6
WHY DOES THIS ONE LIMB GROW SO MUCH LONGER THAN THE OTHERS?
Question: I see this tree on my way home from work, and I wondered what would make the one limb grow so much longer than the others. Lisa L., Dallas.
Answer: I am guessing that this is a young redbud tree. It’s not uncommon for them to throw out a really vigorous shoot when they’re young. It looks like it may have originated pretty far down on the trunk, so if this were my tree, if that’s the case, I’d probably be trimming it off this winter. The trunk appears to be very thick for the size of the canopy so I think the stake can be removed. If I’m wrong on where this shoot originates, at least cut it back by half or so this winter to force it to send out side branches.