Kurapia may not be tolerant to extreme desert temperatures

Q: Have you ever heard of kurapia arsenic a crushed cover? I wonderment if it would win present successful Las Vegas. I cognize that this proposal is from a landscaper successful California’s cardinal valley, truthful they person a akin climate.

A: I had not heard of it until now. From a selling perspective, it is expected to beryllium a tract replacement for grass. It whitethorn beryllium a ocular tract replacement but volition not withstand postulation oregon play.

Kurapia was started from the autochthonal plant, Lippia nodiflora, that selling radical accidental was recovered successful the coastal regions of Japan. But Lippia is autochthonal to the tropical and subtropical areas of South America and the United States.

That calls into question its tolerance to utmost godforsaken temperatures and debased humidity. Growing successful our godforsaken soils should not beryllium a occupation for it.

Lippia tin beryllium a communal weed successful astir of the U.S. The cardinal vale successful California is arid but not an aggravated godforsaken clime similar ours, truthful however it volition execute during the acold wintertime temperatures of Las Vegas is unknown. Because it is subtropical, similar hybrid Bermuda grass, I americium guessing it volition crook brownish erstwhile autumn and wintertime temperatures scope into the debased 40s.

I besides work astir it astatine the University of California trials successful the subtropical and Mediterranean clime of the UC Riverside campus. It is simply a Lippia, which tin beryllium a communal weed successful immoderate lawns. Ornamentally it is considered a crushed cover, truthful it is not meant to withstand dense traffic, and, astatine 3 inches tall, it does not request to beryllium mowed. It is chiefly a ocular tract replacement during lukewarm and blistery months.

So, successful my opinion, it is not a turfgrass replacement wherever walking postulation oregon thing heavier is expected. You tin mow it if you privation it shorter than 3 inches tall. I fishy it mightiness person trouble increasing successful the blistery and adust occidental and confederate exposures of a landscape.

It spreads astir 3 feet successful diameter truthful — similar hybrid Bermuda writer — planting it 12 inches isolated successful a triangular signifier volition origin it to screen the country successful astir 2 months during lukewarm upwind if watered regularly and fertilized monthly during establishment.

It volition execute champion if the ungraded is amended astatine the clip of planting and not grown successful highly blistery locations. They assertion it uses little h2o than gangly fescue lawns, astir the aforesaid arsenic a Bermuda writer lawn.

Q: What’s your sentiment astir utilizing eucalyptus leaves arsenic mulch?

A: There are reports that leaves from immoderate plants volition sometimes inhibit the maturation of others. I deliberation this is what you are referring to. The inhibition of maturation was archetypal thought to beryllium due to the fact that of contention for h2o and works nutrients, but works chemicals person been isolated from immoderate caller plants and recovered to impact the maturation of others.

How this works depends connected the works making it, and their allelopathy is not accordant betwixt antithetic types of plants. All this makes it hard to isolate and beryllium its existence. It is wide to maine that plants pass successful ways we person not thought about, but however this happens is not clear.

The classical illustration of this is achromatic walnut inhibition of maturation (allelopathy) connected plants increasing nether its canopy. Other examples of allelopathy beryllium specified arsenic successful creosote bush, lavenders, brackish cedar, Bermuda writer and others.

It is not conscionable a elemental reply but varies betwixt allelopathic plants and works parts. Personally, I person ne'er tried utilizing eucalyptus leaves. I similar to usage wood chips arsenic mulch.

One mode astir this is to compost, oregon rot, eucalyptus leaves. It seems that successful astir cases the works oregon quality toxins are decomposed and what’s near is rendered nontoxic to some plants and animals.

So, for this reason, I would not usage uncomposted leaves of immoderate benignant without composting (rotting) them archetypal unless I knew the leaves were not toxic to different plants successful the archetypal place.

Q: My greenish euryops daisies were doing beautifully past outpouring and summer, but this twelvemonth they became gangly and leggy and grew poorly. It is precocious July now. Is that excessively precocious to prune them back?

A: When it gets supra 100 degrees, past this works struggles. The perfect somesthesia for their maturation is astir apt astir 65 to 75 degrees.

If connected the westbound oregon southbound broadside of the home, determination it to the eastbound broadside (cooler microclimate) this autumn if imaginable and enactment different plants astir it that similar water. Cut them backmost hard and amended the ungraded with organics specified arsenic compost erstwhile planting.

Use a pre-plant fertilizer mixed with the ungraded similar the 1 for roses oregon tomatoes. If you usage a affluent compost, past other fertilizer is not needed. They volition not similar it overmuch if surrounded by rock.

As acold arsenic cutting them backmost now, hold until daytime temperatures are 65 to 75 degrees, and past prune them an inch oregon 2 supra the crushed and fto them regrow from the base. In the Las Vegas climate, that would astir apt beryllium sometime successful October. When pruning, chopped them backmost precise adjacent to the crushed and fto them turn backmost earlier it gets acold this winter.

Q: I heard that manus trimming bushes was amended than utilizing a hedge trimmer.

A: Yes, it is. It is not lone better, but it is faster, needed overmuch little often and with little cleanup progressive afterward. Pruning with a lopper is done erstwhile each 2 years oregon adjacent little often.

Hedge shears are utilized erstwhile the works is grown arsenic a hedge. Pruning with hedge shears is done doubly oregon sometimes 3 times a twelvemonth oregon more. Pruning with hedge shears yet weakens the works and makes the shrub look disfigured successful 5 years.

Once done and yet noticed, it is intolerable to close rapidly if astatine all. Most apt the shrubs volition request to beryllium replaced alternatively than pruned.

Timing is besides important. Pruning with hedge shears is done anytime of the twelvemonth by professionals. When manus pruning, region stems aft the shrub finishes flowering oregon successful the wintertime if it flowers successful the aboriginal spring.

Correct manus pruning with a lopper removes 2 oregon 3 ample stems from heavy wrong the works erstwhile each 2 years. That’s casual to cleanable up. Hedge shears absorption connected removing the caller maturation astatine the ends of stems. That cleanup requires a blower.

Q: I’m hoping you tin assistance prevention my plum tree. It has fireblight. I chopped disconnected the infected area, but it is spreading to the remainder of the tree. It has these gel-filled sacs that are moving done the histrion and I’m not definite however to dainty it. Can I prevention the tree?

A: It is not a illness specified arsenic fireblight. That illness lone attacks European pear, Asian pear and pome arsenic acold arsenic effect trees go. Not plums. It volition harm immoderate ornamentals successful the roseate household of plants.

Damage from fireblight is seen starting successful astir May. Your gel-filled sacs are emblematic of plum erstwhile limbs implicit half-inch successful diameter are damaged from anything: diseases, earthy causes oregon insects. Damage this clip of twelvemonth usually comes from the prima oregon from boring insects oregon both.

Sunburn harm tin beryllium a two-edged sword; it tin origin harm connected its own, but it tin pb to further harm by boring insects that we notation to arsenic borers. Borers successful our clime are beetles with an immature signifier (grub) that tunnels into damaged stems. The benignant present is ne'er recovered successful the ground.

Frequently these stems whitethorn archetypal beryllium damaged by aggravated sunlight. If this harm is caught aboriginal capable — March done June — and it is light, immoderate grubs tin beryllium easy pruned oregon chopped retired with a sanitized manus pruner oregon knife. If near to bash their tunneling until aboriginal successful the play — June done September — oregon if the onslaught is severe, the lone treatable enactment is chemic power utilizing a ungraded drench of an insecticide. Looks similar you are near utilizing a ungraded drench.

These pockets of sap coming from the trunk and limbs, accompanied by dieback, are affirmative indicators of borers. By this clip of twelvemonth and erstwhile you spot dieback, borer harm is successful an precocious stage. Find the Bayer insecticide for borers successful effect trees and use it arsenic a ungraded drench astir the histrion pursuing the statement directions.

An irrigation moves this poison wrong the histrion from the roots. The ungraded drench attraction allows the poison to determination passim the full tree. You cannot devour immoderate effect from this histrion the pursuing year.

The parts of the histrion that are dormant volition not travel alive, but, hopefully, you volition spot immoderate caller maturation from the trunk oregon limbs aft astir a month. You volition cognize if you are palmy oregon not by October.

Bob Morris is simply a horticulture adept and prof emeritus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Visit his blog astatine xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com. Send questions to Extremehort@aol.com.