Dear Neil: Is it a good idea to use fertilizer in the summer with all the heat? A: That depends on the plant species involved and the vigor of the specimen you’re growing. Many types of southwestern plants do their very best growing when it’s really hot. Plants like lantana, bermudagrass and Boston ferns, just to cite three that many of us have in our landscapes, thrive in the heat.
If we water them up to standards, they will quickly use up available nutrients. That doesn’t mean that we should overfeed them, but it just means that when we begin to notice that their growth is slowing and leaf color is turning less than rich green, then it’s probably time to consider feeding them. Of course, that is tempered by other factors.
Plants that have been planted or transplanted recently may need time to get adjusted. Water curtailments may mean that we don’t want to encourage vigorous new growth at the moment. Common sense needs to prevail.
Dear Neil: Something is causing small, twig-like branches to fall off my pecan tree. I’m concerned that eventually it won’t have any growth left. I see no insects in them.
What might correct this? A: That’s damage of twig girdlers. The adult female beetles lay their eggs on the tip ends of those branches, then they score the branches with their sharp mouthparts. You’ll notice that the ends look like they’ve been cut around and around with a knife.
As the tip dies, it breaks and falls to the ground. The larvae develop in the fall.
