Springtime in the garden is my favorite time of year.
Cool-season flowers are still in bloom while summer-bloomers are getting started. The garden is awash in colorful flowers, vegetables, young fruit AND a few bugs and suckers.
I have two areas in my backyard where I grow edible plants. Today, I invite you to take a tour of the largest edible garden, which is located along the side of my house.
Apple trees – April 2014
At the back of the garden, are two apple trees that I planted last year.
They have grown so quickly. This is what they looked like last year…
Newly planted apple trees – February 2013
What a difference!
I’ll admit that this area looks rather barren. There used to be flowering shrubs up along the wall, which we took out in order to plant edible plants.
Usually, you have to wait a few years before you apple trees will produce fruit, so I was very surprised to see small apples forming.
This is what they look like now. The apples will ripen in June and I am all ready to make homemade applesauce, which tastes so much better then store-bought.
I wrote a post about how to make applesauce, which you can view here.
Blackberry flowers
Against the wall, behind the apple trees, are a row of blackberry bushes.
One of my favorite childhood memories are those of the blackberry bushes we had growing in our backyard in Southern California. We would try to pick all we could before our dog would eat them.
Blackberry bushes are surprisingly easy to grow and there are thornless varieties available. Unfortunately, some of my blackberry bushes are not thornless;-)
They are covered with flowers and small fruit. BUT, I also saw something else on my berries…
Orange/black bugs covered a few of my berries.
I hadn’t seen this type of bug before, so I got to work on researching what these were. Turns out they are the juvenile form of stink bugs – not good.
Evidently, they are fairly resistant to organic pesticides. You can pick them off and squish them.
The chives, garlic, parsley, thyme and sage are doing very well in my herb container. However, the purple petunia is beginning to fade due to warming temperatures. So, I will pull it out soon.
Flowering Sage
I don’t add flowers to my herb container during the summer. I usually let my herbs flower, like my basil and sage.
At the same time we planted our apple trees, I also added two peach trees. I was surprised that this tree produced 19 small peaches just months after we planted it last year – that is not normal. I used them along with peaches from my mother’s trees to make peach jam.
This year, the same tree has decided to put it energy into growing just 2 peaches – which is normal. They are huge! I love to look out my kitchen window and see the fruit slowly ripening.
While admiring the peaches on my tree, I noticed something that did NOT make me happy…
Can you see what the problem is? SUCKERS! And I don’t mean the sweet candy that your grandma used to give you.
Fruit trees are grafted onto rootstock and occasionally, the rootstock decides to send up its own branches. They are called ‘suckers’ because the ‘suck’ up the nutrients that would otherwise got to your fruit tree.
To learn how to recognize and get rid of suckers, click here.
Underneath my apple and peach trees, I have garlic growing. Garlic is a very helpful plant. In this case, it helps to repel borers, which are beetles that lay eggs on the bark. After the eggs hatch, the larvae bore their way into the trunk of the tree, often killing it.
Small fruit is beginning to form on my orange tree. Like other fruit trees, it can take a few years before producing substantial amounts of fruit.
Our orange tree has been in the ground for 2 years and we got three oranges last winter. I was so excited that I wrote an entire post about it.
Looking toward the vegetable garden, my artichoke plant is busy. It has 9 small artichokes growing.
I have a confession to make…
I don’t like eating artichokes.
But, the plant itself is very attractive and is often grown as an ornamental because it is a perennial and lives for more then 1 year.
I do have plans for these artichokes though.
– I will cook a few for my husband, who loves them.
– I will dry a few for fall arrangements.
– And, I will allow some to bloom – the flowers are gorgeous!
The purple violas in my rusty, old watering can will soon fade as the heat rises.
I do not plant anything in it during the summer months because it is too hot. The soil temperature in small containers, literally ‘cooks’ the roots of plants. Stick with planting larger pots for the summer and let your smaller containers take a break.
At the beginning of this post, I showed you a picture of my edible, side garden from the opposite side, near the wall.
This is the other view, looking in. Toward the left side, are two ‘Summertime Blue’ Eremophila shrubs.
Can you guess the last time that they were pruned?
3 years ago!
I love these shrubs and their bright-green foliage and purple flowers.
Bell-shaped, lavender flowers appear spring through summer. This is a great ‘fuss-free’ shrub for the garden. It is hardy to 15 degrees and thrives in full sun. A definite must for the southwest garden.
For more information about ‘Summertime Blue’, click here.
************************
Well, that is what is happening in one area of my garden.
I invite you to come back next time, when I will show you my other edible garden, which is in full flower. *I will also share with you the rest of our adventure when we hosted three young girls for the weekend from the Ugandan Orphan’s Choir.
Yellow-Flowering, Native Beauty
desertThe back wall along my backyard is covered in yellow blossoms spring through fall.
Every year, I find myself pleasantly surprised that such this lovely, yellow-flowering shrub is native to southwestern deserts on into Mexico.
Most of the flowering plants in my garden have a long flowering period. I tend not to waste time on plants that flower for less then 2 months.
My yellow bells (Tecoma stans) provides me with beautiful, yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers spring through fall.
Hummingbirds love the flowers too!
Want to learn more about this lovely shrub? I invite you to check out my latest plant profile for Houzz.com
Great Design Plant: Yellow Bells, a Screening Queen
A Visit to the Wild West and Its Plants…
Arizona, Arizona garden, Containers, UncategorizedOver the weekend, my husband and I went away for the weekend to celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary.
We had debated on where to go and decided to make the trip to southeastern Arizona. Why this area, you may ask? Well, I have lived in Arizona for 28 years and during the time, have traveled to the northwest, southwest, southern, northern, northeast and eastern regions of the state – but I had never been to the southeastern areas. Our ultimate destination was to be the former mining town of Bisbee, now a popular tourist attraction.
Along the way to Bisbee, we decided to visit Tombstone along the way. My husband had visited Tombstone when he was you, back when many boys dreamed of becoming a cowboy.
If you are a little rusty on your cowboy history, Tombstone is the place the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in 1881.
The main street is blocked off to cars and is lined on either side by stores and restaurants catering to tourists.
It was an interesting mixture of historical places converted into tourist attractions.
I enjoy visiting museums, so my husband and I headed over to the old courthouse, which has been turned into a museum.
It was very interesting to learn of Tombstone’s history as a silver mining town.
The back of the courtyard was where hangings took place.
Inside, was a diorama where the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral was depicted with a detailed description of what happened.
Cowboys stood along the side of the main street of Tombstone, which added to the illusion of being taken back in time.
After visiting the attractions along the main street, we decided to stroll through the adjoining streets. There were many old buildings dating back to the late 1880’s that were still standing.
Tombstone is in zone 8a, which means that it gets down to 10 degrees in the winter months. As a result, I was interested in seeing what types of plants did well here.
Coastal Cholla (Cylindropuntia prolifera)
Prickly pears and cholla cacti were in full bloom.
Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii)
There were no lawns to be seen and most of the landscape consisted of a variety of succulents including desert spoon, hesperaloe and yucca.
Yellow Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii)
I did see a beautiful yellow bird-of-paradise, which is usually seen in high desert areas where its more cold-tender cousins red bird-of-paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) and Mexican bird-of-paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana) can struggle.
I love how the bright red stamens contrast with the yellow flowers, don’t you? Yellow bird-of-paradise is hardy to -10 degrees or zone 6.
Texas sage as also prevalent in the area.
I wasn’t sure what to think of this collection of container plants.
It consisted of a mixture of plastic pots and toilets planted with live and silk flowers. I’m pretty sure my HOA wouldn’t allow this 😉
While Tombstone was much of what I expected, the history and cowboy themed attractions weren’t my favorite part of our visit…
I invite you to come back for my next post, where I will share with you why this small plant made me so excited and how it is part of a very historic plant!
Join me for my next post about our adventures in Tombstone.
Looking for Inspiration: Low-Maintenance Desert Landscapes
desert gardening, Landscape Design, UncategorizedI have been dreaming of converting our backyard into a beautiful, low-maintenance desert landscape.
Right now, it has a large area of grass surrounded by large, flowering shrubs against the wall. I would have loved to have taken out the grass years ago, but my husband and son protested since they would throw the football back and forth each evening before dinner.
low-maintenance desert landscape
But, now my son is almost 12 and often throws the football over the wall, so now I have been give permission to at least start thinking of converting the backyard.
Often, on my way home from a landscape consult, I will mentally design my new backyard garden. I have some concrete ideas, but there is still a lot to be decided.
Whenever I see a landscape area that I like, I stop to take a picture. I have quite a few pictures that I have taken of landscapes that inspire me.
Here are just a few…
Red flowering Chuparosa, growing underneath native mesquite and foothills palo verde trees. A hedgehog cactus grows by a large boulder. Mexican bird-of-paradise, trained as trees are growing in the background.
Goodding’s verbena, chuparosa and brittlebush blooming with creosote bush in the background.
Desert ruellia provides an attractive background for golden barrel cacti. This area needs to be pruned once every 2 years.
Young palo verde tree with potted artichoke agave.
I am still in the “designing inside my mind” stage, but will soon need to put things down on paper. I have my drafting supplies ready to go once I am.
Of course, the entire project hinges on having enough money for large containers, big boulders, trees, plants, dirt for mounds and paying someone to rip out our grass.
I would hope to be able to do this next winter, but we will see…
Which one of the landscape areas above do you like best?
From Grass to a ‘Natural’ Desert Landscape
azplantlady, UncategorizedHave you ever taken out an area of grass and added plants in its place?
I have – numerous times.
My past was filled with grass – acres and acres of it, when I worked as a horticulturist for golf courses. Nothing made me happier then when areas of grass were being removed and I was able to design a new landscape area.
It’s been 8 years since I worked as a staff horticulturist for golf courses, but the past few weeks have found me spending a lot of time back on the golf course.
Earlier this week, I told you about my most recent project – creating landscape designs for up to 30 acres of former grass area. Two golf courses, that I have worked with in the past, are removing large areas of turf in favor of a more natural, desert-scape.
The plants that I have chosen are extremely drought-tolerant, need very little maintenance and are native to the deserts of North America.
Another important criteria for my choices of plants was that I have to had experience growing them myself, either in my own garden or professionally in landscape areas that I have managed.
Here are the plants that I am using in this first area:
Desert Ruellia (Ruellia peninsularis)
Desert Ruellia is a favorite shrub of mine. It is incredibly drought-tolerant. I like to use it as a smaller substitute for Texas sage.
In this first landscape area, I wanted a shrub that could survive with intermittent deep-watering, limited maintenance while still looking attractive. The purple flowers that appear spring through fall will add color to the area.
Chuparosa (Justicia californica)
This flowering native, will find a place underneath the filtered shade of the large mesquite tree already present.
Chuparosa explodes with color off an on throughout the year, attracting every hummingbird in the neighborhood. It does well in full sun or filtered shade.
Desert Spoon (Dasylirion wheeler)
Succulents are a vital part of the plant palette for all of these new areas. Their unique colors and shapes add texture to the landscape and contrast well with the more softly-shaped plants.
Desert spoon will be interspersed throughout this first area where its gray color will contrast with the darker greens of the shrubs.
Santa-Rita Purple Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita)
Santa-rita purple prickly pear is also high on my list of favorites. You just can’t beat the purple coloring that appears toward the tips of gray/blue pads.
Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata)
Often grown as a annual, Desert Marigold is a short-lived perennial that flowers throughout the year.
Cold and lack of water don’t bother these tough little perennials. They require little to no maintenance – but I cut them back severely to 3 inches once a year to improve their appearance and promote more flowering, although you don’t have too.
Whether you or not you are a fan of yellow – it is an important color to include in the garden because the color yellow helps the other colors in the landscape to ‘pop’ and stand out more vividly.
Although short-lived, desert marigold self-seeds, ensuring that they remain a presence wherever they are planted.
Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatoni)
If you are a fan of penstemons, this is one to consider adding to your list. Firecracker penstemon has a long bloom period in the low-desert. It starts blooming in late December and continues into spring.
You can often prolong the bloom period by removing spent flowering stalks, which will promote a second flush of bloom. I have several of these growing in my own garden – some are 15 years old and still going strong – although that is uncommon.
Bursage (Ambrosia deltoidea)
I’ll be the first one to admit that this low-growing shrub is not exciting – one may even call it ‘boring’.
But, bursage is seen carpeting the ground throughout the Arizona portion of the Sonoran desert. Its gray/green foliage serves as an understory plant that helps to tie the separate elements of this ‘natural landscape’ together.
Example of bursage use in a natural desert landscape planting.
The key to keeping bursage attractive is to prune it back severely to 6″ tall and wide every 2 – 3 years in early spring.
So, this is the plant palette for the first of many ‘natural desert landscape areas’. I do have a few more plants that I will show you as I create designs for the other areas on the golf courses.
Do you grow any of these plants in your garden?
Pink Beauty in a Desert Garden…
Arizona, UncategorizedAs a horticulturist, I have quite a few plants on my list of favorites. So many in fact, that I cannot grow them all in my own garden.
But, this favorite has a prominent place in my home landscape – I have four of them.
This pink beauty is what I see when I look out my kitchen window.
I can also see another one growing when I look out my living room window.
And another one when I look out my bedroom window.
You get the idea…
Pink Trumpet Vine (Podranea ricasoliana) grows in both humid and dry climates. Believe it or not, it is drought-tolerant too!
To learn more about this beautiful, pink plant and why you will want to add one to your garden, check out my latest plant profile for Houzz.
My Latest Project: Goodbye Grass and Hello Drought-Tolerant Landscaping
azplantlady, desert, UncategorizedLast week was a busy one for me. I had several appointments scheduled, and then I got the ‘mother’ of all colds.
I don’t get sick colds very often. So, that is probably why when I do get them every few years – I get a severe one.
My constant companions the past week.
I am finally among the living after a week of fighting through all that this cold could throw at me, and I feel weak and drained – BUT, I can now walk through the house without carrying a box of tissues. *Being able to breathe through your nose is so delightful when it has been stopped up for a week (cold medicine just doesn’t seem to work all that well for me).
Despite this terrible cold, I was able to make it through my appointments, although I prayed that my nose wouldn’t start dripping in front of my clients. Whenever I started to feel weak or faint, I would come up with an excuse to sit for a minute or two by saying, “Let’s sit for a minute and see what the view of the landscape looks like from this perspective.”
I promise that I used a lot of hand-sanitizer before shaking hands with everyone 😉
Alright, enough complaining about my cold. I am excited to show you my latest project.
Okay, I admit that it doesn’t look too exciting right now.
As you can see, the project is on a golf course. This particular course is removing 50 acres of turf and planting drought-tolerant landscapes in their place in their attempt to save water. The area pictured above is just one of many that I will be working on throughout the summer.
As part of the turf removal, the golf course will be re-designing its entire irrigation system. (It hasn’t happened yet in this area, which is why it is wet.)
Along the entire length of this area, will run a river-rock lined wash, which will help to channel stormwater.
I have been working on a plant palette that includes native, drought-tolerant succulents, shrubs, and groundcovers that will require minimal water once established.
Railroad ties, that separate homeowner properties will be removed to help the transition toward the golf course landscape visually. To that end, I will include a few of the same plants already present in the adjoining properties to create the illusion of a seamless landscape.
The goal is to create a beautiful landscape area that has minimal water and maintenance requirements. To say that I am excited about working on this project is an understatement.
Interestingly, my first job out of college was working as a horticulturist for a golf course. Although I had unlimited opportunities to golf for free – I never did. Other than indulging in an occasional round of miniature golf – I don’t play golf at all.
I may not play golf or completely understand the passion for the game – I have come to know the unique challenges that landscaping around golf courses entail – overspray from sprinklers, carts driving through landscape areas when they aren’t allowed, knowing what plants to use in areas that are in play, etc.
Next time, I will share with the plant palette of drought-tolerant natives that will be used in these areas. Who knows? You may be inspired to use some of these plants in your landscape!
Tips to Save Money When Shopping for Succulents
My First Edible Garden 4 Years Later
Arizona, azplantlady, UncategorizedDo you have a vegetable garden or have you thought of maybe starting one?
Four years ago, we planted our first vegetable garden.
The kids were eager to join in the fun and helped us install our new garden.
We created a raised vegetable garden that measured 7 x 8 feet for a total area of 56 square feet of space for vegetables.
Although I have grown vegetables as a child and again as a horticulture student – this was our first time growing vegetables on our own.
It has been an incredibly rewarding an learning experience.
After the first year, we enjoyed our little garden so much, that we added an extension…
Our garden was fenced to keep our dogs out.
It was so great having even more space to grow vegetables. You can view how we built our vegetable beds, here.
Those of you who grow vegetables, probably won’t be surprised to hear that we took it even further. We created an edible garden along the side of our backyard, complete with our largest raised bed and added fruit trees and berries.
But, back to our original vegetable garden. This is the garden that I see from my family room window. Besides growing vegetables, it is also where I have masses of flowers growing, which attract pollinators.
Hollyhocks grow year after year, with no help from me. I planted hollyhock seeds 4 years ago and since then, they come every year.
The hollyhocks are located just outside of the raised bed and get enough water from the vegetable garden.
Every year, I am never certain what colors of hollyhock will come up. Some years, I have had white, red, pale pink and magenta flowers.
This year, it is magenta.
Nasturtiums always play an important part in my spring vegetable garden. They help to repel damaging insects from my vegetables AND they add beauty to my garden as well.
They usually come up from seed, beginning in February.
This is the last of my leaf lettuce for the season. Hot temperatures will cause it to ‘bolt’ soon and make the leaves taste bitter. In my garden, this usually occurs in mid-May.
The blue lobelia came up on their own from those planted the previous year.
Onions are beginning to flower and I will harvest them once the tops die back, which should be around late May, early June.
I like to dice my onions and freeze them for future use.
My garden also has an unlikely plant growing next to my carrots – Pink Wood Sorrel. I received a cutting of this plant from a fellow-blogger from Oregon. Surprisingly, it thrives in its corner in my vegetable garden.
The flowers appear throughout spring and then the entire plant dies down in the summer before growing back in the fall.
Along the front of the extended vegetable garden, sit three containers filled with a combination of flowering plants, vegetables and herbs. It is very easy to grow vegetables in pots and you can read how to here.
The newest addition to this area of the garden is a Meyer lemon tree. I realize that it looks rather sad, but there are quite a few new leaves beginning to bud and a few, tiny lemon fruit beginning to form.
The chicken wire is a temporary barrier for the dogs. Eventually, we will remove it.
We selected a Meyer lemon tree because it is slightly more cold-hardy then the ‘Eureka’ variety. Meyer lemons are sweeter them other lemon varieties because they are not a true lemon – they are a cross between an orange and lemon tree. As a result, they are slightly sweeter then your typical lemon.
The only downside to Meyer lemons compared with ‘Eureka’ is that they are thorny.
Strawberries, malabar spinach and garlic are also current residents in my first edible garden.
But, this time of year – my favorite plant in my edible garden isn’t edible – it is my 12-foot tall hollyhocks.
So, how about you? Do you have an edible garden, or are you thinking of starting one?
Flowers, Fruit, Veggies, a Few Bugs and Suckers
Fruit Trees, Uncategorized, Vegetable GardeningSpringtime in the garden is my favorite time of year.
Cool-season flowers are still in bloom while summer-bloomers are getting started. The garden is awash in colorful flowers, vegetables, young fruit AND a few bugs and suckers.
I have two areas in my backyard where I grow edible plants. Today, I invite you to take a tour of the largest edible garden, which is located along the side of my house.
Apple trees – April 2014
At the back of the garden, are two apple trees that I planted last year.
They have grown so quickly. This is what they looked like last year…
Newly planted apple trees – February 2013
What a difference!
I’ll admit that this area looks rather barren. There used to be flowering shrubs up along the wall, which we took out in order to plant edible plants.
Usually, you have to wait a few years before you apple trees will produce fruit, so I was very surprised to see small apples forming.
This is what they look like now. The apples will ripen in June and I am all ready to make homemade applesauce, which tastes so much better then store-bought.
I wrote a post about how to make applesauce, which you can view here.
Blackberry flowers
Against the wall, behind the apple trees, are a row of blackberry bushes.
One of my favorite childhood memories are those of the blackberry bushes we had growing in our backyard in Southern California. We would try to pick all we could before our dog would eat them.
Blackberry bushes are surprisingly easy to grow and there are thornless varieties available. Unfortunately, some of my blackberry bushes are not thornless;-)
They are covered with flowers and small fruit. BUT, I also saw something else on my berries…
Orange/black bugs covered a few of my berries.
I hadn’t seen this type of bug before, so I got to work on researching what these were. Turns out they are the juvenile form of stink bugs – not good.
Evidently, they are fairly resistant to organic pesticides. You can pick them off and squish them.
The chives, garlic, parsley, thyme and sage are doing very well in my herb container. However, the purple petunia is beginning to fade due to warming temperatures. So, I will pull it out soon.
Flowering Sage
I don’t add flowers to my herb container during the summer. I usually let my herbs flower, like my basil and sage.
At the same time we planted our apple trees, I also added two peach trees. I was surprised that this tree produced 19 small peaches just months after we planted it last year – that is not normal. I used them along with peaches from my mother’s trees to make peach jam.
This year, the same tree has decided to put it energy into growing just 2 peaches – which is normal. They are huge! I love to look out my kitchen window and see the fruit slowly ripening.
While admiring the peaches on my tree, I noticed something that did NOT make me happy…
Can you see what the problem is? SUCKERS! And I don’t mean the sweet candy that your grandma used to give you.
Fruit trees are grafted onto rootstock and occasionally, the rootstock decides to send up its own branches. They are called ‘suckers’ because the ‘suck’ up the nutrients that would otherwise got to your fruit tree.
To learn how to recognize and get rid of suckers, click here.
Underneath my apple and peach trees, I have garlic growing. Garlic is a very helpful plant. In this case, it helps to repel borers, which are beetles that lay eggs on the bark. After the eggs hatch, the larvae bore their way into the trunk of the tree, often killing it.
Small fruit is beginning to form on my orange tree. Like other fruit trees, it can take a few years before producing substantial amounts of fruit.
Our orange tree has been in the ground for 2 years and we got three oranges last winter. I was so excited that I wrote an entire post about it.
Looking toward the vegetable garden, my artichoke plant is busy. It has 9 small artichokes growing.
I have a confession to make…
I don’t like eating artichokes.
But, the plant itself is very attractive and is often grown as an ornamental because it is a perennial and lives for more then 1 year.
I do have plans for these artichokes though.
– I will cook a few for my husband, who loves them.
– I will dry a few for fall arrangements.
– And, I will allow some to bloom – the flowers are gorgeous!
The purple violas in my rusty, old watering can will soon fade as the heat rises.
I do not plant anything in it during the summer months because it is too hot. The soil temperature in small containers, literally ‘cooks’ the roots of plants. Stick with planting larger pots for the summer and let your smaller containers take a break.
At the beginning of this post, I showed you a picture of my edible, side garden from the opposite side, near the wall.
This is the other view, looking in. Toward the left side, are two ‘Summertime Blue’ Eremophila shrubs.
Can you guess the last time that they were pruned?
3 years ago!
I love these shrubs and their bright-green foliage and purple flowers.
Bell-shaped, lavender flowers appear spring through summer. This is a great ‘fuss-free’ shrub for the garden. It is hardy to 15 degrees and thrives in full sun. A definite must for the southwest garden.
For more information about ‘Summertime Blue’, click here.
************************
Well, that is what is happening in one area of my garden.
I invite you to come back next time, when I will show you my other edible garden, which is in full flower. *I will also share with you the rest of our adventure when we hosted three young girls for the weekend from the Ugandan Orphan’s Choir.
Fruit Tree Suckers – How to Identify and Get Rid of Them
Fruit Trees, UncategorizedFruit Tree Suckers
The other day, I was walking through my edible garden, admiring the ripening peaches on my tree, which I looked down and saw an unwelcome sight…
Suckers!
So, what are suckers and why are they bad for fruit trees?
Most fruit trees consist of two parts: the scion (the top part) and the rootstock (the bottom).
Fruit trees are grafted onto rootstock. Occasionally, the rootstock decides to send up its own branches, which literally ‘suck’ up nutrients from the tree – hence the name ‘suckers’.
It is usually easy to identify suckers because the originate toward the bottom of the tree, below the bud union (where the tree connects to the rootstock). The bud union usually looks like a slightly swollen spot on the trunk.
Okay, so now we know what suckers are. Now how do we get rid of them?
Pull the suckers away from the tree trunk and use a sharp hand shovel or regular shovel to cut them from the tree.
Be sure to remove the entire sucker at the point where it attaches to the tree trunk, or it may grow back.
Note the slightly swollen part above the suckers – that is the bud union. Any branches that grow below this point should be removed.
Once the suckers are removed, simply throw them on your compost pile or in the trash.
The solution to suckers is a very simple one. Wouldn’t it be nice if every garden problem were this easy to take care of ?
What Is Wrong With This Citrus Tree: The Answer
A Carpet of Fallen Flowers
Flowering Annuals, UncategorizedQuestion: Do you like the way fallen flowers look in the landscape?
Some people describe the layer of spent blossoms of trees or shrubs as a ‘colorful carpet’ that adds beauty to the landscape.
Or do you feel the pull of your leaf blower calling out to you whenever you see a layer of spent blossoms littering the ground?
For me, I love the beauty of small, fallen flowers. It is a natural occurrence and benefits the soil and plants as they breakdown.
In spring, palo verde trees are covering the ground throughout the southwest with a yellow carpet. In winter, red blossoms from Valentine shrubs (Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’) create a carpet of red and in the summer months, Texas sage, (Leucophyllumspecies) leave a layer of purple in their wake.
Of course, if you have a swimming pool, you may want to clean up the flowers and put them on your compost pile.
So, what about you? Do you allow the flowers to remain or do you clean them up?