Getting crape myrtles ready to bloom

Question: We have two crape myrtle bushes near our gate. The first year, both blossomed well. Last year, only one blossomed.

What do we need to do to prepare them for this year? Why did one bloom and not the other?

B.R., Baird*#

Answer: Some crape myrtle varieties and cultivars bloom better than others.

Make sure the poor-blooming trees are not planted too deep and give them at least one application of organic fertilizer a year. Organic gardeners make the first major fertilizer application very early in the year. The time is now. The rate is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet of garden area.

Question: We have a beautiful pine tree that is 15 years old and 30 feet tall with great form. It has grown well with no problems. But, this fall, it dropped green needles along with normal shedding. The top is brown, and the tree seems to be nearly dead. It was planted in a nonpampered front lawn and has no shallow roots. No herbicides have been used.

What would cause this tree to crash suddenly? Do you know whether there are any problems with pine wood nematode in our area? We have another black pine about 100 feet away in the back yard that is still healthy.

D.S., Mesquite#

Answer: Too much water is probably the culprit. Far more trees die from overwatering than underwatering. Poor drainage even with proper watering also can kill trees. If disease was involved, it was brought on by a cultural problem. Citrus-based liquid products or citrus pulp worked into the soil will eliminate nematodes, but I doubt that was the problem.

Question: My climbing roses' leaves are turning yellow and dropping off, resulting in bare limbs. Over the last year, I have gathered the limbs together, training them to grow over the windows.

Is it possible the result has been not enough air circulation? Or is it just the time of year?

We are totally organic. The roses are on the west side of the house, and for the last year and a half they have seemed very happy.

M.C., Dallas#

Answer: Air circulation could be a problem on the tied-up limbs, but roses drop leaves before and during winter.

Question: We're getting ready to landscape all around our house.

We have thick sod there now. Our plan is to cut out the sod 6 inches deep.

What do we fill with so we can landscape?

M.B., Blue Ridge*#

Answer: That's overkill. Cutting turf 2 inches deep will remove all the reproductive parts of the grass. For the bed prep, add 4 to 6 inches of compost along with lava sand (80 pounds per 1,000 square feet), Texas greensand (40 pounds per 1,000 square feet), dry molasses (20 pounds per 1,000 square feet) and horticultural cornmeal (20 pounds per 1,000 square feet). About 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet of organic fertilizer also will help. There are many good brands available in North Central Texas.

Question: I have a silver maple that I planted from seed as an experiment about nine years ago. The tree is only 10 feet from the foundation of the house and has grown to about 50 feet tall. Should I cut down the tree because it is so close to the foundation?

M.K., Grapevine#

Answer: Don't remove the tree. That is an overblown concern unless your foundation is flawed, there's a drainage problem or there's a leak under the house.

Question: I have successfully grown a tropical bird of paradise from seed to a mature 11-year-old flowering plant. It is in a large pot that I must shuttle in and out of the garage during the winter.

What is your best estimate of the lowest temperature that it will withstand?

H.C., San Antonio#

Answer: I wouldn't risk anything much below 40 F on a plant that valuable.

Wind chill and other factors might come into play. They could "burn," if not more seriously damage, the plant.

An organic program gives you considerable freeze damage protection, but there's no reason to take a chance.

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Question: I just planted a 'Pawnee'* pecan tree. When I took it out of the container in which it was grown, it had two distinct sets of roots. The top set was about 9 inches higher in the pot than the lower set.

Doing what I understood you to recommend, I pruned off the top set, then planted the tree with about 1 or 2 inches of what I'm calling the root flare out of the ground. This left approximately 10 inches of roots in the ground.

Overall, the tree is about 6 feet tall. The trunk is about 161/2 inches in diameter just above the root flare.

Is this the way it should be planted?

M.G., Iowa Park*#

Answer: I know it seems scary, but you have done the right thing. Pecan trees usually are placed too low in the containers and need the nestlike roots at the top trimmed away.

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