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June Questions &Answers Compiled by David Rodriguez County Extension Agent-Horticulture Bexar County

Extension educational programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.

Special thanks to Forrest W. Appleton and volunteers of the "Master Gardener Hotline" in support of the weekly gardening questions and answers.

Question:
Why are peaches falling off the tree while they are still green? There is no evidence of pests.
Answer:
This is Mother Nature's way of thinning. This is normal for a tree that is loaded with fruit. Often, it is a lack of pollination or some other damage to the seed or embryo.

Question:
How soon can peach fruit be eaten after spraying?
Answer:
Every product has a pre-harvest interval. Once this time has passed, the fruit is totally safe to eat. Check the label on the product to see how long this period is. Generally speaking, most insecticides last only three-to-five days at the most.

Question: Can the seeds from a neighbor's peach tree, which is a nursery-grown hybrid, be used to start a peach tree?
Answer:
Yes, but it will not come back exactly as the same cultivar.

Question:
When should you plant peach pits to start a new tree?
Answer:
Starting peach trees from seeds is not recommended because the seed will not exactly produce the same variety as the tree the pit came from. However, if you wish to try, they will either need to be stratified artificially or by Mother Nature. In January, wrap the seeds in moist paper towels and place inside a zip-lock plastic bag, refrigerator until April. At this time they will be ready to plant in a pot or in the ground. Or, place the seeds in a pot of loose potting soil in early winter and allow Mother Nature to do the job for you.
You will need to keep the pots watered during the winter months if it doesn't rain occasionally. The seeds should sprout naturally in the spring once the weather conditions become favorable.

Question: Are peach pits poisonous?
Answer:
All parts of the peach except the fruit pulp and skin are toxic. These parts contain cyanide-producing substances. Symptoms are: difficulty in breathing, coma; and may be fatal.

Question:
We recently purchased some hosta bulbs & I need to know how deep to plant them?
Answer:
You should cover the rhizomes about 4 inches deep. Then be prepared for the slugs and snails (and deer if you have them) to eat them before they succumb to our soil and summer time heat. Hostas do not do well at all in San Antonio.

Question:
I understand that pecans and live oaks are native to the area and would make a good choice for a new cemetery. Are there any other options for trees? We are looking for a tree to plant at the cemetery as memorial for a loved one.
Answer:
I like crape myrtles for use in cemeteries as memorial trees. They are long lived, do not require much maintenance and are very colorful. Visit this website for more information at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/trees/crapemyrtle/ I would certainly not recommend pecans or live oaks for their eventual huge size. However all of the above is immaterial if you haven't visited with the cemetery administrator and received his/her guidance and okay.

Question:
What is grafting, and why do it?
Answer:
Grafting, in the horticultural sense, is the joining (by splicing) of two plants so that they live as one. This is most commonly done to allow the use of the roots of a plant to support the growth of another. These roots are chosen for their ability to grow under certain soil conditions, fend off certain diseases, and impart to the portion grafted (spliced) to them attributes such as size. Only closely related plants may be grafted together.

Question:
I planted a Monterrey (Mexican white) oak one year ago. It is the second one I have planted in the last 10 years. The one year old has bumps on the leaves, hard bumps; some leaves are rolled up and have spiders in them. The tree does not look as healthy as it should. What is wrong and can I fix it?
Answer:
Just keep the plant as stress free as you can. Water in the absence of rain and spread some high nitrogen lawn fertilizer around it over its root zone. The bumps are most likely galls which occur in most oak trees. The rolled up leaves may be the result of spiders or the spring caterpillar called oak leaf roller. Neither of these is causing serious damage to the tree.

Question:
I have lived in the same location for about 12 yrs and until this month never had a problem with ticks. Now I have found one on my dog and one on my cat. Is there any reason that I am now seeing them? I have sprayed a product called Sevin on the yard, was that a good choice?
Answer:
The reason that you now have ticks is that they have been introduced into your yard by one or more of many carriers; such things as squirrels, raccoons, skunks, cats. The favorable weather has allowed them to reproduce there. Sevin (Carbaryl) is one of the many insecticides that are labeled for the control of ticks. Just keep an eye on your pets and keep them picked off. If they continue to get more than just one or two at a time, you might consider one of the flea and tick repellents for the pets. Your veterinary doctor will have one or more to recommend.

Question:
Please help me determine what to do with our compacted front lawn. We don't have children or pets that abuse it, however, our soil is poor to non-existent (i.e. rock is about one inch below the ground). I'm at my wit's end trying to strengthen the lawn to no avail. I had it aerated a few years back, but don't know if I should have it aerated again.
Answer:
The condition you describe is much the same in many parts of the Hill Country and surrounding area. It is a fact that St. Augustine, or any grass for that matter, does not do well in less than four inches of topsoil and prefers more for the water holding capability. The best thing for compacted soil is periodic aeration and top-dressing with compost. However, unless you have more soil than you say you have, it is not going to make much difference other than to severely damage the aeration machine.

Question:
Last year, I had tiny green worms in the leaves of my tomato plants. What are they and how do I treat them?
Answer:
These are leaf miners that get into the leaf and eat out the material between the upper and lower surface leaving white lines. Usually the best solution for them is to remove the affected leaves and destroy them, as there is no way of killing the larvae after it gets into the leaf. Preventative spraying with any insecticides can help prevent them but they seldom inflict serious damage to the plant.

Question:
What hardy blooming plants might I plant in a flower bed that gets lots of afternoon sun during the summer?
Answer:
You can use periwinkles, cosmos, moss rose, purslane, verbena, zinnias, bachelor buttons (Gomphrena), celosia and any others that your favorite nursery has displayed in full sun. Amend the planting area with some organic compost and mulch the bed with at least two inches of cedar mulch. Fertilize often with a phosphorus fertilizer, like BR 61.

Question:
I have a home office and regularly throw out a lot of plain white paper (8 1/2 x 11) that my company's reports are printed on. I also have a lot of waste paper from my computer printer. I have a shredder for business/personal financial records. Could I use the shredded waste paper in my compost pile?
Answer:
Surely you can. I do the same thing except I do not compost it. I just till it into my vegetable garden between crops and add a little lawn fertilizer at the same time. It decomposes very rapidly. If you put it in your compost pile you will need to add some green material along with it (high nitrogen fertilizer) to help it decompose.

Question:
David, are there any type of flowering plants that can grow under or near a live oak tree? Every flower in the landscaping near the live oak doesn't last very long, even though they are perennials.
Answer:
Jack, the main problem is that the live oak has a quite shallow feeder root system and it is going to get the vast majority of the moisture applied (rain or irrigation). Also, the perennials need to be ones that can live and thrive in the shade. Some that I would recommend are Blue Plumbago, Turk's Cap, Jerusalem Sage, Four O'clock, Mexican Petunia, Purple Heart, and Shrimp Plant.

Question:
Mr. Rodriguez, ryegrass was planted at our new home last fall is dying out and we want to plan a new lawn. I was told that the ryegrass was temporary and would die out by May, so this is expected. What lawn grass do you recommend and how should it be planted?
Answer:
Mr. Hendricks, true rye grass will fizzle out in our part of the world about that time frame. However, you might have seeded it too heavy and in conjunction with the record breaking rainfalls and cool nights have probably kept it alive longer. For full sun, Tiff 419 Bermuda grass is hard to beat. Prior to planting, the dying rye grass may be mowed down to ground level and solid sod set directly on the remains.

Question:
David, my beans appear to be very healthy. However, in examining the root system, I find that the roots have small galls attached to them.
Answer:
Larry, these are nodules formed by nitrification bacteria. All legumes have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in their root system. Do not confuse these nodules with knots caused by nematodes. The nodules, caused by nitrification bacteria, appear to be attached to the root system whereas knots caused by nematodes are enlarged areas of the root itself.

Question:
Dave, how do you keep squirrels from eating tomatoes?
Answer:
Jerry, trap and release (into the skillet) or kill. Or cover the base of plants up about three-to-four feet with N-Sulate or surround bearing tomatoes with a wire barrier such as hardware cloth or small mesh chicken wire. Lead poisoning or number 8 shot (propelled out the barrel of a shotgun) works too but might damage the plants or fruit and might be illegal in the city limits. For healthy and delicious recipes on squirrels and other garden fed rodents, please visit this link at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu./PLANTanswers/recipes/squirrel.html