Callers:

• Ricky – Her date palm is creating too much litter and wants to know if she cuts the date pods off, will she have to do it every year?

Recommendation – They are seasonal, but you don’t want to remove them too early or they will reproduce and you’ll have to cut them down multiple times. John recommends removing them once a year (late May, early June)

*Discussing pricing options for certain pruning chores.

• Tom – The leaves on his red push pistache tree are discolored and some are turing dark brown on the outer edges of the canopy….

Recommendation – We’ll cover it in the next segment.

Continuing with Tom – It sounds like it could have been over-watered and John thinks he should check the soil with a probe to make sure it’s drying out enough in between waterings.  It should be wet to about 2 feet dry.

•  Alternatives for sissuo trees. (John really likes the Texas Live Oak)

Callers:

• Susan – She has two mature citrus trees in her front yard and they’re starting to not look good. She has large pots around the base of the tree. Could that cause a problem?

Recommendation – She could be right. Citrus trees are very senstive around the base of the tree (The root collar) to fungal pathogens.  Watering plants around the base of the tree keeps the ground wet and not drying out properly.  Keeping the area immediately around the base of the tree dry is a good idea.

• Denise – Her lemon tree looks dead and she’s not sure what to do….

Recommendation – John talks about pruning practices and how exposed tree trunks can burn up. He also talks watering, etc. We’d need to see some pics, but this is common in the area, recently.

*You can attend pruning classes with John at the Desert Botanical Garden, plus a few other upcoming events.

Caller:

• Bill -His Texas Live Oak has yellowish leaves and they’re turning brown.

Recommendation – With an irrigated lot, it should have enough water but this has been an extreme summer for heat. It could be that, but it would take a site visit to know for sure. A lot of trees are just stressed out at the end of an unusually hot summer.

*Discussions on watering the proper amount.

Reach John during the week at Integrity Tree Service!