Q&A – Ask Neil: December 25, 2025
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QUESTION 1
CAN I CUT MY HONEYSUCKLE DOWN TO THE GROUND?
Question: I have a large native honeysuckle growing on a fence. The fence will be replaced the second week of January. If I cut the honeysuckle back near the ground at that time, will the honeysuckle regrow from the existing roots? Bill B., Iola.
Images clickable for larger views.
Answer: Yes it will. At 75 m.p.h. It won’t bloom much this spring, but the vine will be lush, green, and aggressive. It will resume normal blooming later this year, but mainly next year.
Side note that you didn’t ask for: I, too, like Hall’s honeysuckle. However, we both need to admit that it is a terribly invasive vine. Birds devour the seeds and “plant” them all over the neighborhood. As they twine around shrubs and even small trees, their encircling stems will often shroud or strangle the support plants. I feel compelled to tell the “bad” side of the vine. If I don’t, I get crushed under a pile of virtual emails from readers who feel the need to remind me. You might consider Carolina jessamine, sweet autumn clematis, or crossvine instead.
QUESTION 2
WHAT IS CAUSING THE BROWN SPOTS ON THE LEAVES OF MY OAK TREE?
Question: What is causing the brown spots on this oak tree, and what do you recommend to stop them? Tony P., Frisco.
Answer: Please let me begin by saying that I live and garden 10-15 miles east of you, also in Collin County. I am in Frisco several times each week and I am very familiar with your soils (highly alkaline, underlaid with white caliche bedrock, and very shallow).
I’m not sure which of the many types of oaks that you were sold, but it’s not Shumard red oak. That’s the one that is native to, and best adapted to Collin County.
This is some other type, probably brought in from the Southeastern U.S. where soils are quite different from what we have in North Central Texas. It commonly happens when the “big box” national chains do their corporate buying, but it can even happen to local contractors. Those oaks thrive in acidic soils, but when exposed to our alkaline soils and even more highly alkaline irrigation waters, iron deficiency becomes a real issue for them. That’s what you are seeing here.
I made it my policy 25 years ago not to sound encouraging on this subject after seeing people spending hundreds, even thousands of dollars and many years trying to add iron to these fairly young trees trying to correct the iron deficiency, only to give up in desperation. If this were my tree, I would replace it with a lovely new Shumard red oak from a local independent retail garden center that would guarantee the species. Wrap the new tree’s trunk up to the lowest branches to protect against sunscald. By replacing it as soon as possible you’ll save yourself many years of angst.
QUESTION 3
CAN YOU RECOMMEND AN ONLINE LANDSCAPING APP?
Question: Can you recommend an online landscaping app for homeowners? I need help, but I prefer to do it myself rather than hiring someone to do it for me. Cathy C., McLennan County.
Answer: That’s extremely complex. Short answer: I do not know of one, but I will do some hunting as I have time over the holidays.
The problems are severalfold:
• You must know the tools with which you’ll be working – the plants. You can’t build a house without knowing the types of woods and how each can be used and the house-building tools it takes to put it all together.
• The list of suitable plants varies widely from one part of Texas to another. In reality, it often varies greatly within counties. You must be conversant or you’ll set yourself up to fail. You must know how tall and wide those plants will grow in your county. Apps use averages for the United States. “Plant Materials” alone is a college course in horticulture. It was a big 5-hour course in my case and there are several times as many plants now as there were way back then.
• You need to have a firm command of the look you’re trying to achieve. For that you’re best off either simulating others’ successful design concepts or hiring someone to come up with some for you. You can’t just start setting plants out into the ground. You need a real landscape plan. Could you build a house without drawings to scale? It’s the same with a landscape.
• You need to know the sequence with which things need to go into the landscape. Large trees, patios, turf, drive and walks – the permanent parts go first. Finishing touches go in later. When do you install irrigation or landscape lighting? Your landscape designer could help you do things in the right order. They’re not necessarily “doing it for you.” They’re just helping you avoid the pitfalls.
• Many nurseries will help you with your design planning. At least they will critique what you’ve designed before you start tilling and planting. Many have landscape designers on staff. County Extension offices sometimes offer landscaping schools. Localized help is available without having to feel like they’re doing it all for you.
QUESTION 4
I WANTED TO SHARE PHOTOS OF MY ROSES.
Question: Not with a question – just to share a photo of the roses from my courtyard. It’s protected by walls. I’ve been watching for rose rosette disease and so far have only lost two plants in 15 years. Sharon H., Eagle Mountain Lake.
Answer: Well done. It’s refreshing to see locally grown roses that look so nice. And on Christmas week!
Keep watching for rose rosette. It’s fatal, and there is no prevention or control. It’s the reason roses have become almost extinct in North Texas landscapes. It may be that your walls have kept the microscopic mites that spread the virus from finding your plants. It took years for them to find my roses but find them they did. Once I had rosette in one rose, I knew I would end up with them in all my roses, so I bit the bullet and took them all out. Hopefully we’ll have a work-around before too much longer.
QUESTION 5
WHY AM I CONTINUING TO FIND DYING BRANCHES IN MY BLOODGOOD MAPLE?
Images clickable for larger views.
Answer: I have two things to address.
First, it looks like there is a problem with two of the trunks somewhere out of the bottom of the image. Notice how their color is different from the other trunks. Inspect them closely for any signs of damage. It could also be leftover drought damage or just from having let that tree get too dry at a critical time sometime during an earlier year. I’m guessing there might be decay working its way through the trunk tissues leading to the dieback. You’ll probably have to prune back into healthy wood to get past it.
My second thought: I don’t think this is Bloodgood. I have 8 or 10 Bloodgoods on our property. All of them have burgundy casts to the leaves even in mid-summer and most especially as the weather turns cold. They were rich red last week, but they’ve now lost most of their leaves. I’ve never seen green leaves like this on my Bloodgoods at any time during the growing season. I’ve thought about your question a lot, and I’ve come back to your photos several times. I think your Bloodgood was damaged and has regressed, now totally died. I think the green leaves you’re seeing are coming up from below the bud union. I’ll bet those are shoots from the rootstock. Look closely and if that’s the case, you’ll need to start over with a new Bloodgood if that’s what you really want.