Question:
Why do my Live oak trees have so many “sprouts” emerging 20-30 feet away from the trunk? It would be nice to use these infinite oak root sprouts to move and plant more oaks around my landscape. Is that in any way possible?
Answer:
Since those are root sprouts coming off the roots of the mother tree, it would be difficult to successfully transplant them. A better solution would be to plant fresh acorns and grow them to a large enough size to plant into the landscape.

Question:
We have eight Live oak trees in our front yard which have several dry leaf patches on most of the trees. I picked off a small branch and do not see any type of insect. Is this general for Live oaks? Could this be because of all the daily wind gusts in the vicinity? Other ideas or suggestions?
Answer:
Are these dead areas at the tip of branches? If so, it is possibly a disease called diplodia die back. It is not life threatening to your tree and nothing can be done about it.

Question:
I have numerous cucumber plants that I have assumed to be doing well. They have had many blooms now for more than a week, but I see no fruit starting. I was wondering how long it usually takes from blooms to set fruit? I am getting some pollination, since I have many developing gourds, tomatoes, and peppers.
Answer:
Cucumbers, like all cucurbits, has both male and female blossoms. Usually there will be a lot of male blossoms before there are any female blossoms. This is nature’s way of ensuring that there will be male pollen available to pollinate the female blossoms when they arrive. You will know that a blossom is female when you see a small fruit directly behind the flower as shown in the attached images.

Question:
My plums are turning ripe already but they are only one third of their normal size. Why is this happening? I water them twice a week and have already eaten a few from the trees with no worms. The corn is doing the same thing, short stocks with almost ready ears of corn.
Answer:
My best guess is that they are getting insufficient moisture and this unusually harsh and extreme drought is not helping. Even watering them as frequently as you are doing, the soil moisture due to our extended serious drought is drastically low. This is further seen in your corn. The wrong planted varieties could also play an issue here.

Question:
I have been given these Cymbidium orchids. How do I take care of them in San Antonio?
Answer:
I assume that you are growing this as a pot plant as it must have winter protection. The care and culture of the Cymbidium grown as a houseplant is the same all over the world. See the article by the Cymbidium Society of America found at http://www.cymbidium.org/cymbidium.html.

Question:
How do I plant and care for zinnias? Also, can I transfer them from the pot to the flower garden? If you bring them into the house during winter will they live?
Answer:
Zinnias should be planted in the ground in a full sun location. They also need excellent air circulation to prevent the leaves from getting mildew as well as perfect soil drainage. Zinnias are annual plants which do not survive from one year to the next. Also, you can save seed from the spent flowers and plant them next year.

Question:
When do I trim my Live oak trees? My landscape man wants to prune them now but I don’t think I should at this time of year, especially with them being already stressed with the drought.
Answer:
The ideal time to prune Live oak trees in areas that have oak wilt pressure is during the coldest time of winter and the hottest time of summer. Since we, in a normal year, do not have much cold weather, the summer becomes the best time. I recommend that you let the landscaper do it now but ensure that he paints all wounds with any tree wound dressing or latex paint within 10 minutes of making each individual cut.

Question:
When is the best time to plant a crape myrtle?
Answer:
The best time to plant most trees and shrubs is in the fall (“Fall is for Planting”) when the weather cools off. However, the best time to buy them is when they have blossoms on them while the nurseries have the best selection. This way you are sure that you are getting the color that you want. You can plant it when you buy it and be sure that you never let it get water stressed or you can keep it in the container (again watering it as needed) and put it in the ground when the weather cools.

Question:
My husband wants to spray trees and shrubs with hand held hose every morning. I thought that this was more harmful to plants. We are watering on specified days. Is this good or bad for ligustrum, althea, magnolia and oleanders?
Answer:
Other than the therapeutic value to your husband there is little to be gained from this. It will not hurt the plants but the water would probably do more good if applied to the ground under them.

Question:
I recently planted hibiscus, geranium and a knockout rose in ceramic containers, with ample space in good potting soil and discovered ants nesting in them. How can I get kill the ants? Should I drench them with insecticide or do I have to replace the soil?
Answer:
You can drench the soil with an insecticide that is labeled for ants. Ortho Fire Ant Killer (Acephate) is one. It is a powder that you can mix one tablespoon per gallon of water.

Question:
Is it safe to transplant an established Pride of Barbados plant to another area of the yard during this heatwave? If so, what is the best way to do it?
Answer:
This is not a good time of the year to try to transplant it. A much better time would be after a freeze (or when the plant is dormant). February is usually a good month. Then the plant can reestablish its roots without having to worry about its foliage. When you do move the plant, dig down and get a root ball as large as you can, at least 10 inches in diameter, and move it with the soil intact to a hole you have prepared in advance. Backfill with the soil you removed from the hole. Water it well and keep it barely moist until you see new growth. You can then water and fertilize as you normally would.

Question:
I can’t find Mari-mums anywhere. Do you know where I can obtain some seed?
Answer:
Mari-mum is a catchy name given to large flowering African marigolds which bloom in the fall, similar to fall blooming chrysanthemums. For years they were also sold as Discovery marigolds. This is what the Texas Superstar pamphlet has to say about them: “There are several different varieties of African-type (large flowered) marigolds such as Antigua which can be used to produce the Mari-mum-effect. The Mari-mum-type marigolds bloom two to three times longer than chrysanthemums and are very low maintenance. ‘Tahitian’ is the newest selection available and does superb here. It is recommended to purchase transplants that are not in full bloom, starting from August through mid-September.

Question:
My wife has some cute small ceramic pots that she bought at a garage sale. They do not have any holes in the bottom for drainage. I tried to drill a few holes in the bottom to no avail. Either the material is too hard or my drill bit is too dull. We have also tried using pea gravel but the plants still get water logged. Do you have any suggestions on how we can absorb the extra moisture?
Answer:
The only sure-fire answer is to get a new ceramic drill bit and drill a few drainage holes. Another answer is to restrict the watering to only what the plant can use. However, when you inject the human habits into the mix, invariably, the plant will be over-watered and drown.

Question:
I just received my asparagus crowns from Seeds of Change. Is it too late to plant them? My other crowns were planted months ago.
Answer:
The ideal time to plant asparagus in this area is from January through early February. Most independent nurseries will have well established two year old bare-root crowns of UC 157, which are best suited for this climate. More information on growing asparagus may be found at, http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/easygardening/E-503_asparagus.pdf.

Question:
How do I care for my Texas Mountain Laurel?
Answer:
Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) is native to limestone outcrops of Central and West Texas. It needs to be planted in a well-drained soil and may need to be raised up, as it cannot withstand constantly wet roots. It should be watered at the base of the trunk about once a week until it can establish roots out into the surrounding area. Once established it will need very little supplemental water as well as very little supplemental fertilizer.

Question:
I received a Norfolk Island pine during the Christmas Holiday season. It’s growing in the house and looks brown and droopy. Should I plant it outside in the full sun? How do I water it?
Answer:
While there are some Norfolk Island Pines planted outdoors in the San Antonio area, they are all in a well protected location and somehow managed to survive the hard freezes. However, this is not the normal growing recommendation. Ideally, these tropical like plants should be grown as a houseplant or patio in our area. I don’t know why yours is not doing well, but suspect that it is lack of sufficient sunlight. They do not need direct sunlight but should have bright light.

Question:
I bought a morning glory vine a few months ago. The vine is flourishing, but it isn’t producing many blooms. It gets about three hours of afternoon intense sunlight. What do I need to do so that it will have blooms?
Answer:
It probably just needs more sunshine (6 hours plus) and less fertilization.