Question:
Last year I allowed my 4 foot windmill palm to get too dry resulting in the top dying, leaving only the trunk and side fronds. I’m wondering if the top will reemerge this spring. I’m 90 % sure it died from lack of water. Other very healthy plants in proximity died as well. Trunk and side branches appear to be healthy.
Answer:
The Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) is a single trunk upright palm whose growing point is at the very top of the plant. If that tip has been killed (black and mushy) the plant will not recover. However, if that tip is still solid you will not know if it will put on new growth until the spring. If it doesn’t, you will need to replace it.

Question:
My neighbor has a large wisteria tree just beginning to grow over my wrought metal fence. I told my neighbor last summer about this problem. He stated it would kill his wisteria if the branch is cut. Since it is dormant now, do you think it would be a good time to approach him about cutting the branch?
Answer:
Cutting the Wisteria will not kill it and now would be a good time to do it.

Question:
My yard was diagnosed with Take-all patch on my St. Augustine grass by Texas A&M. Neil Sperry recommends treating it around April with a layer of Canadian peat moss. Where can I buy this from? My yard is sizeable, so I will need quite a bit.
Answer:
Canadian peat moss refers specifically to Sphagnum peat moss that is most commonly sold in compressed bales of various sizes. This can be found at almost all of the nurseries/garden centers in the San Antonio area. The recommended application rate is one 3.8 cu ft bale per 100 sq ft of turf.

Question:
I am slowing losing part of my yard and I was wondering if it was due to the oak leaves and acorns that have fallen so heavy this year.
Answer:
If the fallen leaves and acorns have accumulated to a thickness that completely blocks the light and the grass had not gone dormant because of freezing temperatures, it could damage the lawn. However, I suspect that the grass decline was caused by a combination of drought and insufficient sunlight caused by the large trees

Question:
Can you tell me what causes clear sticky beads on the back side of orchid leaves?
Answer:
It is probably what is commonly called ‘happy sap’, which is just happily growing plants excreting this sugary syrup-like sap. If it was spread on the upper surface of the leaves, I would suspect sucking insects such as aphids or scale.

Question:
How do I take care of a beautiful stock plant I just won? I don’t know about light conditions & weather tolerance in San Antonio.
Answer:
Stock (Matthiola incana) is normally grown as a cool weather annual in San Antonio as it cannot stand the summer heat. You should grow it the same as pansy. Plant it in moist but well drained soil in full sun.

Question:
Last summer we were invaded with stink bugs in our flower and vegetable gardens. Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of these insects?
Answer:
Stink bugs are difficult to control. I have had some success with horticultural insecticide dusts such as Ortho® Bug-B-Gon MAX® Garden Insect Killer Dust. Others have recommended liquid Sevin.

Question:
I have several Mexican Heather and Pride of Barbados in my yard that look like they have died from the winter. How does one actually know? Do I cut it back and hope for the best? Or just leave it alone and allow new growth, if any?
Answer:
Cut them all back to the ground and hope for the best. Unfortunately these are two of the latest plants to show new growth, so I wouldn’t give up on them before mid-May. However the Mexican Heather is a fast grower and can be purchased very inexpensively, so you may want to go ahead and replace them after danger of the last projected frost in mid March.

Question:
Do you have any suggestions for a blooming plant during spring and summer in a 4′ x 4′ area under an oak tree? I currently switch out the plants for this area twice a year. This has included planting impatiens, caladiums and Gerber daisies. Simply put, I am looking for something else. This area is in full to partial shade.
Answer:
Consider wax leaf begonias. You can get bedding plants with bronze or green leaves that have pink, red or white blossoms. They are quite drought tolerant, with their leaves becoming somewhat translucent when they are thirsty.

Question:
I was away from home in Seguin when my gardenia bushes froze during that last severe cold spell. Some of the plants look completely dead; while others have some have frozen “ends.” Is there anything I can do to save them?
Answer:
The gardenia should have survived the ‘deep freeze’ that we recently had. I recommend that you do nothing at this time and wait and see if they put on new leaves this spring. At that time you should cut out any obviously dead wood. If the leaves of your gardenia are not bright green you should foliar treat with a chelated iron product.

Question:
I have recently been asked to chair the landscape committee of my homeowners association. We want to keep the areas looking nice, but keep costs as low as possible. With that in mind, is it necessary to remove crepe myrtle seedpods each year? Our current contractor charges to remove them up to 8′.
Answer:
The only reasons to remove the seed pods are to promote re-bloom in current bloom season and, in the eyes of some, to improve how the plant looks. From a plant’s health maintenance there is no reason to keep them removed.

Question:
I was not able to find any Merced tomato plants last year. Can you tell me if any nurseries will have Merced plants in my area? I only have room for a few plants. If not, is there any way to have some shipped to me?
Answer:
I do not think that there will be any Merced tomato plants available this year. Efforts are underway to grow and produce sufficient seed of Merced and some of the other varieties that are no longer being produced by the commercial seed companies. We hope to have these seed available next year. Consider planting BHN 444 as an alternative or the newest Tycoon selection.

Question:
My chili piquín plant is about three years old and I would like to know if it’s ok to trim it some at this time. The deer ate some of the plant last year, but it came back real nice last summer. Right now it’s woody and straggly. Is it too soon to trim and if so when should I do it?
Answer:
You can prune your chili plant as much as you wish now. Even if you cut it to the ground it will come back strong with warmer weather. Did you know that this plant has been designated the Native Pepper Plant of Texas?

Question:
I’m thinking of building a raised-bed to grow vegetables. I was wandering instead of digging up the lawn (bermudagrass), if I could just install a good quality weed cloth barrier between the lawn and bottom of the raised bed before filling it with soil. What is your recommendation?
Answer:
I recommend that you kill the bermudagrass before constructing your raised bed. You will need to wait until the Bermudagrass greens up and then spray it with one of the glyphosate herbicides such as RoundUp. Otherwise it will just grow through the weed barrier cloth.

Question:
I have a question about the yellow pansies with a deep brown/red face. I planted them about a week ago, and they seem to just kind of sit there and not do much. The soil they are planted in is rich and grows beautiful vinca flowers all summer, fall, and part of a mild winter till they freeze. Are pansies always a little slow to take root and start growing?
Answer:
It’s too hot! For maximum performance, pansies should have been planted during late November-early December. These are cool weather plants and cannot take the heat of summer.

Question:
Please tell me how I can get rid of my Mexican bird of paradise plants. They are invading my yard. The roots won’t pull up.
Answer:
I am surprised that this last cold spell did not take them down? Go to your favorite nursery/garden center and purchase an herbicide containing Triclopyr. Cut the plants off about 6 inches above the ground and immediately paint the freshly cut surface of the trunk with this concentrate (do not dilute). This will kill the root system of the plant. You must take care not to get this product on any vegetative material that you do not wish to kill.

Question:
My vitex is roughly 8 feet tall and has been in the ground for one year. It was in a large container when planted. Last year I had a mixture of purple and white flowers but they were short in length. I have no leaves at present but the wood is green when I scratch off the bark. How do I get larger flowers as seen in the pictures of the Texas vitex? Also, what fertilizer do I use and when should I apply it?
Answer:
Other than optimizing the growing conditions by applying fertilizer in the spring and making sure that the plant is not stressed by lack of moisture there is nothing you can do to change the size of the blossoms. The larger blossoms shown in the images you have seen are attributed to the improved varieties such as ‘Montrose Purple’, ‘LeCompte’ and ‘Shoal Creek’ which have spikes as long as 8 to 12 inches as mentioned in the article. Any high nitrogen lawn fertilizer such as 19-5-9, 15-5-10 or Scotts Turf Builder (32-0-4) will be fine.

Question:
My Cross Vines (trumpet plants) do not appear to be coming back after the hard freezes this past winter. What other flowering vines would you recommend for replacement on our privacy fence?
Answer:
You shouldn’t give up on the Cross vine just yet. It will probably come back from its roots if all of the above ground growth is dead. If it doesn’t come back, you can consider Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) or Butterfly Vine (Mascagnia macroptera).

Question:
I shared a blossom of the delightful smelling Texas Mountain Laurel with my co-workers. One lady immediately returned the blossom to me, stating it was highly poisonous to even breathe the aroma. Would you please help me “clear the air?”
Answer:
The flowers of the Texas Mountain Laurel are toxic if ingested but certainly the aroma is not. The seed that is enclosed in the bright red, extremely hard, coat is extremely toxic if ingested. These toxic and hallucination generating properties were used by the shamans of the early people in their sacred rituals.

Question:
I need a grass that will grow without too much sunlight under a large shade tree. Will it be better to plant sod or seed? Will buffalo grass work?
Answer:
First, neither buffalo grass nor bermuda grass will work in the shade. Those are the only two that can be started from seed. Therefore, sod is your only choice. The most shade tolerant turf grasses that will grow in San Antonio are the St. Augustine, Palmetto or Delmar. These are the varieties that I would recommend.