Jeff & Romey discuss planting during the summer heat. Yes, you can! It just takes some extra care.

Callers:

• Joel – He is having a problem with his irrigation system. It says it’s set correctly, but it’s not actually watering his yard. Could the system itself be bad?

Recommendation – It sounds like it’s the electronic valve that is faulty. If the time is correct and everything else is okay, that should be it. That’s where Jeff would start.

• Burt – He wants to severely trim back his oleander bushes….several feet. Can they handle that much pruning, even with though they are very tough.

Recommendation – Yes! They are that tough and can handle it. There might be some bare branches towards the bottom when you 1st cut them back, so just beware that it won’t be that pretty for a while.

Callers:

• Tammy – She bought multi trunk pygmy palms to surround her pool. They are not looking good. What should she do?

Recommendation – It sounds like it could be the sun exposure, but switch to a deep watering every 3 or 4 days, give them some shade and wait a few weeks to see if they start looking better.

• Stephanie – She has a Texas Ash tree in a raised flower bed. It’s been in the ground for 3 years now and has barely any growth at all.

Recommendation – Jeff says that the first couple years is spent recovering from the transplant and the 3rd year it should really start growing.  Ashe trees do usually grow faster, though, and she can transplant if she wants.

• Wayne – He removed a sissou tree a few years ago and it wants to take a few more out. They’re a mess and he wants to know if there’s a way to treat the tree before removing it, so he can prevent the roots from shooting up everywhere.

Recommendation – This is a very common problem. Jeff just took a trunk out 3 feet down, used stump killer and even then had shoots pop up later. (50 feet away!)  It’s just a lot of work and needs to be treated in the specific areas that they are popping up.

• Jeff – He has some sage bushes where the branches are getting too thick. When can he cut that way back to make it more manageable?

Recommendation – He can cut it way back like an oleander bush, but it can be cut back too.  It should regrow quickly and be just fine.

• Steve – He’s growing chiles right now and not looking good. They’re small and deformed. Is it due to the heat or is he doing something wrong?

Recommendation – It’s just the heat. Nothing is growing well right now. The good news…they’ve made it through a lot of heat already and should be ready to explode in the fall. Use epsom salt for the peppers to treat the yellowing plant.

*We cover good “hot weather” plants.

Callers:

• Rod – He planted Japanese privets to use as a hedge on New Year’s Eve. They were doing fantastic until they fertilized and covered them with mulch. Any idea what’s happening?

Recommendation – It sounds like it was fertilized when they were really dry. That will burn the plants up.  Always water deeply before you fertilize and soak up into the plants in a healthy way.

• Bob from Grandma’s Farms! – He wants to plant a hedge around the front yard that produces something edible. Can he use citrus to do this and what do we recommend?

Recommendation – It’s true! Go with a sour orange bush. (Citrus are bushes. We make them trees)

*Bob also mentioned plants that thrive in the summer heat!  The Armenian Cucumber and Ocra.

Stop by Harper’s Nurseries & Landscaping Company for plants and advice!