Deciduous Tree Care:

• Stone fruits and “Chill Hours”
• The importance of planting varieties to account for unproductive years.
• Planting various trees in the same hole.
• Warnings for frost sensitive trees and why leaving them alone this time of year is important. Waiting until late February is a good idea.
• Caring for evergreen trees.

Caller:

• Gary – His took out a 9 year old palo verde tree out after it fell down in a storm, but now the shoots are sprouting up all over his yard. He let one go and it’s about 8 feet tall and about touching the replacement tree. Will he have a problem in the future?

Recommendation – It does sound like it will be crowded in that space. John talks about the established trees doing so well with an already existing root system. He’ll need to decide which one he wants to keep or he can let them grow together to provide a larger shaded area. It’s just am aesthetic choice. It will grow according to the sunlight availability.

Text From a Listener:

• What can he do to keep his mesquite tree healthy?

Recommendation – Mesquites are practically “Bulletproof” and John talks about some potential causes and reminds you that pictures can help determine issues. A site visit from an expert will help.

• Mushrooms keep growing under her lemon tree….what can they do to get rid of them?

Recommendation – It can be connected to the irrigation. They’ll need to check their watering cycle and make sure it dries out. Wherever moisture exists, they can grow. They can use a fungicide to get rid of existing growths. If she needs fungicide, she can stop in at Treeland Nurseries.

Caller:

• Mike – He had two sissou trees that annihilated his yard. He did all the work to remove and kill all the root systems like we reccomend. After 2 years, he added irrigation and was ready to start a new yard. 2 weeks later he had 50 shoots over his yard. How long will this battle go on?

Recommendation – This is common.  Unfortunately, the roots can sit dormant and once watered, shoot up again.  He should probably keep watering and adding a contact herbicide to all of the shoots. It can be a multiple year project/pain in the you know what.

• Olive trees are a messy tree and they are ripe right now. John talks about processing the olives at his home.
• Prevent olives from fruiting and creating a huge mess and have them sprayed right now. This will help you have a clean litter season next year.
• Ficus trees are seeing a white fly problem and their is a spray available. Just call John!
• Remember, you can attend classes with John at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

If you have questions on your trees, remember to reach out to John all week at Integrity Tree Service!