Sub Topics
TOPIC: Home, Garden, and Yard
- We have a flowering Japanese Cherry tree that has bloomed beautiful pink flowers until last spring and this spring. Half of it is white flowers and half is very small pink buds. What has happened? It is about 15 years old.
- We have a red Haven peach dwarf peach tree. It is really not growing as tall as advertised. If that is the case and we plant a standard size can we count on it not getting as tall as advertised? What are the best peach trees for Utah. I know our zone Starks have a few trees that are very hardy but they really don't brag about the taste and quality of the peach. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks
- We have a scrub oak that has been growing between a pine and an aspen, which has made the oak very lop-sided. The aspen is gone now. How much purning can we do to the oak to try and even it's growth?
- We have a space along the north side of our house that is shady most of the day. We are wondering what we can plant there. It is right beside the house and we would like to put something that is edible in that space? We wanted to put in strawberries but decided it was probably too shady for them.
- We have a weed in our hay field that is choking out the field in quite a large area. The weed has a hard stem with heart shaped leaves about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in size around the stem leading to seed pods that look like flowers that are hard and have a seed in them. The seed is red and the husk around them is green when the seed leaves the husk is white, stem is hard green and stick like.
- We have about 6 pine trees (blue spruce) in our yard and we have noticed that this year they are loaded with pine cones. Does this mean anything? We have looked on the farmers almanac thinking that it must mean we are in for a hard winter, or something in that nature, but have been unsuccessful in finding the answer. Do you have any information why the trees are loaded with pine cones?
- We have creeping mountain sorrel in our lawn and can't get rid of it. Do you have any recommendations on products that might kill it, or any other ways to get rid of it?
- We have lost 2 pine trees and are now loosing our quaking aspen. It has black spots on leaves and trunk has back on it also. The leaves are falling off. Is there anything that can save the tree?
- We have Ray wood ash trees around our home and last year they were topped by hormworms. What do you suggest?
- We have several ornamental trees such as flowering pear and cherry, they have holes in the trunk and are weeping in some places.We are trying to save them, we have sprayed them with imidan for a couple years and it has'nt taken care of the problem. It would be horrible if they were destoyed. Do you have any suggestions that would help. We also have several fruit bearing trees that we don't want infested. I understand there is better spray out there but you have to be licensed, I'm not sure how much time these trees have, but we'll do whatever we can.
- We just planted a maple tree in our back yard and noticed today that almost every single leaf has large circular spots that appear to have been "eaten" out of the sides of the leaves. I've read about a tar disease, but I don't really see the tar on the leaves. What could it be and is there something we should do about it?
- We live in a suburb near the mountains and have a lot of deer wandering through our neighborhood eating our flowers and vegetable gardens. They are not afraid of people and walk through our backyard any time of day. What can we spray on the garden plants to stop them from eating them?
- We moved into our 2-story home in Lehi 1 year ago. The tree out front (which I planned to have my husband cut donw) has doubled in height since then. I don't know what kind of tree it is...medium size, darkish leaves. How do we (and when should we) cut it down to prevent it from sending up suckers?
- We planted apple trees last year. When do we spray for cottling moths?
- We planted some scrub oak plants a few years ago that we got from a nursery. Although they come back every year they never get any bigger. They are still the same size as when we planted them. Do you have any suggestions on how to make it take off?
- We recently bought a home in Salt Lake city. The parking strip has very hard soil and weeds mixed with grass. Should we till it under and start over or air-rate it, keep it watered and sprinkle some grass seed on it in the fall or spring? We planted a sycomore tree (Bloodgood London Plane) and I think we stressed it by overwatering. About 50% of the leaves look sun scorched, some very dry and other leaves are green, full and lush, will it snap out of it? Should I air-rate the ground with a pitch fork around it?
- We recently purchased new sod for our yard. It came with small redish brown beetles. I asked the sod company what they were and they didn't know. Are these beetles bad? Will they kill my lawn?
- We tilled our garden and planted peas and lettuce about three weeks ago. Nothing has come up yet. We were talking to our neighbor yesterday, and he told us that about 30-40 years ago, in a fit of vexation, the former owner spread an industrial strength soil sterilizing chemical on the area in which we planted our garden. He further explained that weeds have only started to grow in that area in the past 5-10 years. This information has caused my wife to give up on trying to cultivate this area. Should we give up? What can we do to amend the soil in this area?
- We want to grow aspen and scrub oak on our property. Can we transplant, if so how and when? Or do we need to grow from seeds? How often to water if we grow from seeds?
- We want to plant a couple of trees in our front yard that don't get very big (about 10 to 15 feet high). Can you suggest any are not messy and don't send up runners? If you have literature on selecting trees, could you send me a link?
- We would like to know if Legacy Buffalo Grass would work alone in our back yard or whether we should mix it with something else. We are looking for a low water, low mowing frequency product that will work well with dogs who live inside but do run hard and play on it. We also like the pollen free feature of Buffalo Grass as one of our dogs has allergies and chews at her feet after being outside. We currently have mostly Bermuda grass and are in the process of killing it off. We live in Hooper and our yard is approximately 1/2 acre with a few young trees along the borders (which of course will get bigger). The trees are Mulberries, Cottonwoods, Red Oaks, Tulip Trees and Austrian Pines. Suggestions for mixes we have heard are Sheep's Fescue and Bella Bluegrass. Also, is there a place in Utah where we can buy these grasses so we don't have to pay a large price for shipping?
- We would like to plant a pasture (about 2 acres). We would like one that creates sod, like a lawn, rather than a bunch grass. It will be used to hold a hillside and eventually to graze a few animals. We could cut it for grass hay also. What would be the best varieties of seed to use for a pasture like this?
- We would like to remove the lawn from a large area around some 40-50 ft pine trees and cover the area with decorative bark. The roots are close enough to the surface in some areas that using a sod cutter would damage the trees. Would it work to just spray the grass with a killer, such as Roundup, and then put the bark directly on the dead grass? Would this affect the trees in the areas of the partially exposed roots? Any other suggestions?
- What are the differences and advantages or disadvantages of soil amendments? Specifically Perlite (expanded silicous rock), Vermiculite (expanded mica), Utelite (expanded shale).
- What can I put in my soil to loosen it up so it does not turn into clumps of heavy mud when wet?