Q&A – Ask Neil: November 27, 2025
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QUESTION 1
HOW CAN I ELIMINATE FIRE ANTS FROM THE TROPICALS I AM MOVING INTO MY GREENHOUSE?
Question: I am moving my tropicals into the greenhouse and a couple of pots are full of fire ants. I experienced this earlier in the summer. I drenched the soil with highly diluted Malathion which killed the plants, so I know what not to do. Help! Carla L., Bedford.
Answer: Malathion does damage many types of plants, notably succulents and tropical hibiscus, allamandas, bougainvilleas, crotons, plumerias, devil’s ivy (pothos), dieffenbachias and others. In many cases it’s the emulsion used with the insecticide when applied as a spray, but it’s been enough that I generally avoid Malathion in all forms with my tropical plants.
You could look for other insecticides given general labels for use on tropical plants, or a better option might be to use one of the fire ant baits. Our advertiser here, Fertilome’s Come and Get It Fire Ant Killer has a wide label that even includes use in vegetable gardens. The worker ants pick it up and take it back to the mounds and feed it to the other ants and the queen, so it does not need to make direct contact with the plants. It wouldn’t take very much of it to do the job. Test it on one less important plant to see how it has done after several days. Before you do, however, see if the ants are totally within the pots, or if their mounds might be in soil adjacent to the pots before you treat.
QUESTION 2
HOW CAN I ELIMINATE OXALIS FROM MY ASIAN JASMINE BED?
Question: I have a lot of oxalis popping up in my Asian jasmine bed. Is there a herbicide I can apply over the top of the jasmine to kill the oxalis without harming the jasmine? Angela H., Fort Worth.
Answer: Sadly, no. You are dealing with two of the most herbicide-resistant broadleafed plants in Texas landscapes. From the standpoint of the Asian jasmine, that’s a good thing, but oxalis is also a broadleafed plant – one of the toughest of them all. You can’t kill one broadleafed plant in a bed without risking damage to the other.
A couple of practical suggestions that might help in the long run:
• Let your jasmine grow to 5 or 6 inches in depth. It might be able to crowd out/shade out the oxalis.
• If you have a serious patch of the oxalis in a given area, consider applying a broadleafed weedkiller to that area once the jasmine’s new growth has become leathery dark green early next summer. Use a tank sprayer or a trigger-squeeze bottle so you can be precise in your application. If you kill some of the jasmine, accept that impact and be prepared to plant a few gallon pots to fill in the voids, but be sure the oxalis is totally gone before you do.
• Do not allow the oxalis to bloom and go to seed. Its little fruit (look like tiny okra pods) literally explode when they are mature, sending seeds several feet in all directions.
• Oxalis does not develop into clumps. The plants are single-stemmed, and you might be able to eliminate much of it using a small hand tool called a “dandelion digger” (similar to an asparagus knife). It’s a quick and easy task.
QUESTION 3
HOW AM I DOING IN IMPROVING MY RED CLAY SOIL?
Question: My goal is to improve my red clay soil for grass growth. I have mower-mulched the grass for 5 years. Also, each fall I mower-mulch 40 bags of leaves gathered in our area. What is my grade regarding goal achievement? A, B, C, D, or F? M A C, Tarrant County.
Answer: I’m going to give you an A for effort and for saving space in your local landfill. Shredded tree leaves are a valuable natural resource that should always be returned to the land. Our landfills are filling too rapidly as our populations surge. I’ve looked at your photo, and I can’t tell if you’re topdressing with the clippings. (As opposed to rototilling them into open ground.) It appears that you are. That’s a lot of organic matter to be introducing at one time. I’d rather see you put them into a compost pile to let them begin breaking down before you use them as a soil conditioner for flowerbeds or vegetable garden soils. Organic matter like that breaks down rapidly, and when that happens it can “rob” the soil of nitrogen, resulting in yellowed turf. I hope I’ve understood everything correctly.
QUESTION 4
HOW CAN I KILL MUSHROOMS COMING FROM OLD TREE ROOTS?
Question: I had a tree removed several years ago. They did not remove all the roots. Now I have large mushrooms that I’m told are growing from the old roots. What can I treat these mushrooms with to kill them? Bobby S., Anna, Collin County.
Answer: Dusting sulfur will kill most mushrooms. However, you can also hit them with a sharpened hoe and break them loose. Others may follow, causing you to use the same process. They are not harmful and they will eventually run their course as the old roots finally decay.
QUESTION 5
WHAT WOULD CAUSE SMALL BRANCHES OF MY BOXWOOD TO DIE SUDDENLY?
Question: I planted boxwoods four years ago. The first two years they did fine, but the past two years, leaves on selected stems would turn yellow and then die very suddenly. I have given them supplemental water with a bubble sprinkler, also fertilizer. I see no signs of blight. What might be wrong? Mark M., Bexar County.
Images clickable for larger views.
Answer: I’m going to guess that this is related to your prolonged periods of drought. I do not believe it is insect- or disease-related. When a plant gets marginally too dry, it’s not uncommon for roots on the drier side of the plant to be lost and top growth on that side to be lost with them.
I would suggest that you carefully remove the dead twigs now and examine them carefully as you do to see if you find any clues. I’ve even found bagworms attached around twigs of other types of shrubs, girdling and eventually killing those twigs.
Invest in a really good soaker hose and take great patience to water the planting carefully next year. Although this is not an issue of lack of nutrients, do fertilize them in the spring. Keep them growing actively and see if the problem returns. My hope would be that it will not.
QUESTION 6
IS THIS BLOODGOOD JAPANESE MAPLE DEAD?
Question: Could you please tell me if this Japanese maple is dead? If it’s alive, should I leave it there as it is, or should I transplant it into a pot or more shaded area in the ground? Pre S, Roanoke, Denton County.
All images clickable for larger views.
Answer: I’ve included all 5 of your photos. All the tissues I can see look like they’re dry (no longer living). I’m sorry for that bad news. Japanese maples do need shade here in Texas, so that may be a big part of the problem. The tree may also have gotten too dry one or more times. Bloodgood is an outstanding variety. I’d suggest you try again next spring if you have a spot with full shade, or at least shade from 9AM on.