Dear Neil: I’ve a rural property in East Texas the place I’m making an attempt to determine a privateness display. I wish to use Nellie R. Stevens hollies. The fence is 270 toes lengthy. What number of vegetation would I want (how far aside), and the way can I discover somebody to plant them? I’ve just lately had surgical procedure. Additionally, how usually will they need to be watered?
Reply: I’m assuming you’ll allow them to develop with out pruning to cut back their mature peak. They are going to love East Texas for those who can provide water weekly in the course of the heat months. Given these rising circumstances you possibly can count on them to develop to 18 or 20 toes tall in East Texas. I might house them 10 or 12 toes aside. When you plant them any nearer collectively they are going to crowd each other. As for who may plant them for you, I’ll have to depart that as much as you. I’d counsel you ask the nursery the place you purchase them or search for a teen making an attempt to earn some {dollars} this spring. See if she or he might then be employed to do the watering each 3 days from April by means of October. Don’t allow them to dry out!
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Pricey Neil: I imagine we’ve dwell oaks in our neighborhood. They’ve began sending up lots of of little seedlings. Final yr when this occurred, I sprayed to kill them, but it surely turned the zoysia brown. I don’t wish to pull them by hand as a result of there are such a lot of, plus a few of them are very deeply rooted. What can I do?
Reply: To verify, you do have dwell oak sprouts. Use a sharpshooter spade to dig a number of of them up rigorously. See if they’re on their very own set of very immature roots or if they’ve developed from a big root of the mom tree. If they’re all separate seedlings, you possibly can most likely do away with them just by mowing them. In the event that they’re root sprouts from the mom tree, nonetheless, you’ll need to sever them with the sharpshooter plunged into the soil at a 30-degree angle. Sprays gained’t work since they’re a part of the mom tree. By the best way, in the event that they’re seedlings and also you do find yourself spraying, make certain you’re utilizing a broadleafed herbicide that’s labeled to be used on any sort of lawngrass. Generally individuals use a glyphosate product not realizing that it’ll kill grass extra successfully than it kills non-grassy weeds.
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Pricey Neil: I’ve been studying about solarization to kill leaping worms and their cocoons. Will it work? When ought to I do it and for the way lengthy?
Reply: Before everything, I’m actually not the world skilled on this imported invader – removed from it. I did some analysis on-line, and I realized an amazing deal concerning the harm they do to the soil. They’re current in Texas and nearly half of the opposite states. Nevertheless, I discovered no college info on merchandise that may eradicate them. However a number of websites do warn us that we should put any Asian leaping worms that we’d discover into plastic luggage within the solar to kill them. That will counsel that the solarization you point out for a number of weeks within the warmth of the summer time could be a plan. I might counsel that you just contact entomologists at Texas A&M. Granted, these aren’t bugs, but when the entomologists don’t work with them, they are going to know who does.
Pricey Neil: What are your ideas on Prodiamine as a pre-emergent weedkiller? When ought to I exploit it?
Reply: It’s a superb pre-emergent that additionally has post-emergent capabilities. Use it instantly, nonetheless. Time is dashing by. Learn and observe label instructions.
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Pricey Neil: I’ve had issues with lifeless spots in my garden within the spring for a number of years. Might this be a fungus? Can I simply re-sod these areas?
Reply: I don’t have almost sufficient info to present you a superb reply. I don’t know what sort of grass you’ve, and to do an “post-mortem” I would want to have some sort of description of what the affected person appeared like because it was dying. There aren’t any widespread ailments that come to my thoughts that usually kill out patches of grass over the winter. You probably have St. Augustine or maybe zoysia, you may need brown patch within the fall or take all root rot within the spring. However of these two, solely take all patch will really kill the grass. Harm of white grub worms is probably to indicate up after the winter. They feed on any sort of grass, and so they may come again to the identical components of your garden. Management for them is available in mid-summer with Benefit. Nevertheless, don’t apply it till you dig just a few holes to substantiate grubs had been really the issue. When you see greater than 4 or 5 grubs per sq. foot now, you do must deal with for the beetles come Might and June. If the lifeless patches return this spring, ship samples of the dying grass to the Texas Plant Illness Clinic at Texas A&M in School Station. They are going to cost you to tradition the leaf, stem and root samples, however then you definately would know if there could be any illness concerned. Sampling directions and mailing info can be found on the clinic’s web site.
Pricey Neil: You’re conscious that nandinas kill many birds and shouldn’t be planted however as a substitute eradicated?
Reply: I hope you’ve seen my many cautions about nandina berries and the truth that cedar waxwings and different species could have hassle digesting them. I warn individuals to get pleasure from trying on the berries for the primary two-thirds of the winter, however then to trim them off as they trim the tallest nandina canes again to the bottom to maintain the vegetation compact. And it’s vital to notice that solely three or 4 of the dozen or so nandina cultivars bear fruit. I like birds and have six feeders up at the moment, so clearly I’m involved. Nevertheless, I’ll cease wanting asking individuals to take away an in any other case excellent landscaping plant from their gardens. Good upkeep practices can resolve this downside.
