Question:
What is the safest time to trim Live oak trees in the San Antonio area?
Answer:
The absolute safest time is during the coldest part of the winter and the hottest part of the summer when the vector (sap beetle) is least active. The Texas Forest Service recommends that all wounding of oaks (including pruning) should be avoided from February through June. Any pruning (regardless of time) should include painting of all wounds immediately with a wound or latex paint to seal off the oozing of sap which attracts the sap beetles which could then transport the oak wilt fungal spores into the fresh wound.

Question:
I bought a copper-tone X loquat and set it in the yard yesterday with plans to put it in the ground today. Last night the deer ate 2/3 of the plant. What shrub can I buy similar to the loquat that is somewhat deer resistant?
Answer:
The copper tone is a cross between the loquat and Indian hawthorn. It is the Indian hawthorn that the deer relish. You might try Sandankwa Viburnum (Viburnum suspensum) or Spring Bouquet Viburnum (V. tinus).

Question:
What is the best type of flowers to plant annually on cemetery lots?
Answer:
My advice is to go to the cemetery and talk to the administrators or maintenance personnel and get answers to these questions; what are the rules of the cemetery; what are the responsibilities of the maintenance crew; how, and how often, are the grave sites watered; and what do they recommend. ‘Cora’ Vinca would be excellent at this time.

Question:
When is the best time to water your vegetable garden, evening or morning?
Answer:
The ideal time to water any plant is when it needs it. However, if you are watering the soil and not getting the foliage wet, it doesn’t matter. If done with a sprinkler, it is best to do it in the morning so that the foliage can dry off as quickly as possible to help prevent fungal diseases.

Question:
I have searched the internet and cannot find a match to the hideous bugs devouring my Belinda’s Dream roses. Handpicking them would be impossible! They are 1/4 – 1/2 inch long, black, shiny beetles. They fill the rose bloom and eat it away. What are they and how can I control them?
Answer:
The beetles are called Chafer beetles. You can control them by physically removing them, especially when small numbers are present. Remove them from plants and into pails of soapy water to kill them. Or you can spray them with an insecticide containing imidacloprid, acephate, carbaryl or others.

Question:
I want to seed my lawn with Bermuda and would like to know which variety you recommend?
Answer:
Any of the Bermuda that you establish from seed will have virtually the same drought tolerance, meaning that it will go dormant if it does not get sufficient water but will not be killed. I have no preference as they all (including common) look much the same to me. Just ensure that the seeds have been hulled (the package will say this). The beauty of a Bermudagrass lawn is mainly dependent on the mowing. It should be mowed frequently to a height of 2 inches or less.

Question:
Do I need to be concerned about the little red and black flying bugs on the mountain laurels? I have sprayed for the worms in the past, but this year these bugs are rampant!
Answer:
It depends on how tolerant you are about how the plant looks. These Scarlet Laurel bugs will cause some deformation of the leaves that they feed upon but the damage is seldom, if ever, life threatening to the plant. You can spray them with one of the products containing Spinosad or Neem oil if you wish but it is not necessary.

Question:
This is the first year that my wife has discovered our yard is filled with stickers. They are flat and green and my wife says they look like tires. They are vine-like and too low to the ground to mow. Will heat kill them eventually? How do you get rid of them?
Answer:
I believe this to be Bur clover (Medicago hispida). This is an annual weed that will die with the summer heat. If you wish to spray it and it is in an area where you are not concerned about killing other plants, you can use one of the glyphosate herbicides such as Roundup. If it is in a turfgrass area, you can use a product such as Ortho’s Ortho® Weed B Gon MAX® for Southern Lawns.

Question:
Can the Vitex Texas Lilac be successfully pruned to tree form given the recommendation of pruning the bush back to the ground every winter? I’ve located some 7′ tall shrubs at my local nursery and would like to purchase one to prune into a tree – any guidelines you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Answer:
Vitex can be trained to grow as a small tree, single or multi-trunk. Just let as many of the trunks grow as you want. Do not remove any of the lower growth until it gets to be about as big around as your thumb. The plant needs for all of those leaves to produce food for root and tree growth. Keep any unwanted small trunks cut back as far as you can get them. The reason for the cutting back to the ground recommendation is to keep the plant smaller, promote larger blossoms and keep those blossoms within easy reach for dead-heading. However, there is no reason for not having it as a small tree if that is what you want.

Question:
How do you kill the fat green worms that eat tomatoes?
Answer:
Spray the plant with an insecticide containing Bt, Bacillus thuringiensis. This is carried by most nurseries and garden centers. Or, if you can find them, just pull them off and throw them against the ground.

Question:
I just planted a baby maple tree. After a recent hail storm all the edges of the leaves are brown. Did the wind and hail damage them or too much water?
Answer:
There is only one maple variety that is remotely recommended for Bexar County and that is one called Shantung Maple. I don’t know what you have, but it is telling you that it isn’t going to like our highly alkaline soil. I recommend that you not waste your time on it.

Question:
I live in San Antonio in my parent’s, old house and they have a lot of little hackberry trees growing through the chain link fences and was wondering if there anything that I can get to kill those trees off? Every spring we have to try to cut them out but they always grow back. If you can help me that would be a big help.
Answer:
Go to your favorite nursery/garden center and purchase a product called Green Light Cut Vine & Trunk Killer. This comes in an applicator bottle and you just apply some of it directly to the cut surface of the trunks. This means that you will have to cut them one more time but this should be the last time. However, you will need to pull the seedlings that will continue to come as the birds deposit seed along the fence line.

Question:
Do blackberries grow on a tree? Maybe some other kind berry that looks like a Blackberry? I have a tree growing what looks to be blackberries in my back yard and I’m wondering if they are edible? They are rather small but look identical to a blackberry 1/4-3/8″ diameter and 1/2-5/8 ” long.
Answer:
I feel sure that your tree is a Mulberry. And yes the fruit is edible.

Question:
There are clusters of seed pods hanging from my Mountain Laurel tree. Do I remove them or let them remain?
Answer:
The only advantage to clipping off the mountain laurel seed pods is ascetics. They will persist on the tree for a year or more and the tree looks better without them. If you do clip them off, put them in your garbage for disposal as they are toxic.

Question:
I have a 20 year old crape myrtle that did not produce any leaves this year. I planned to cut it down, but as I was trimming away, I saw that the main trunk and branches have green bark and the branches are supple. Only the last 12-24 inches of twiggy branches are totally dry and dead. Is there any hope for this tree to survive the summer and re-sprout next year?
Answer:
Where there is green wood there is a glimmer of hope. However, the fact that it hasn’t leafed out would indicate that the tree is badly stressed from the drought. Even if the tree survives, it will be marginal and complete recovery could take years.

Question:
Are Four o’clock flowers uncontrollable after you plant them?
Answer:
Four o’clock flowers are controllable. But you have to be persistent in pulling up all of the seedlings that you do not want as that is the only way they can spread.

Question:
What is causing the leaves on my Belinda’s Dream roses to turn yellow?
Answer:
Even Belinda’s Dream is susceptible to black spot when the conditions are right, and I suspect that this is the cause. If the leaves have black spots, turn yellow, and fall off-it’s black spot. However, it will continue to grow without treatment. You can control the black spots with a labeled fungicide.