Texas A&M AgriLife agents offer answers to Houston garden questions

Texas A&M AgriLife agents offer answers to Houston garden questions

Houston-area audience are seeking for answers to their backyard questions. Texas A&M AgriLife agents provide answers.

Q I have had tried increasing Tigridia and Crocosmia in the floor and in pots with no luck. I place them in very well-draining soil in comprehensive solar and try to continue to keep them moist but not soggy. They sprouted but didn’t flower. Right until this year. The Crocosmia lastly bloomed. But the Tigridia grew poorly. When the foliage browned in early tumble, I observed that most corms are rotting. What am I carrying out improper?

A: Tigridia pavonia , also recognized as Mexican shell flower or tiger flower, is a summertime bulb native to Mexico that prefers sandy or loamy soil. In cooler temperatures, it would have to have to be lifted from the ground, but it winters great in Zone 9. Blooms are spectacularly colorful and look as a mixture of iris, daffodil and orchid.

Though the county extension brokers I spoke with don’t have 1st-hand encounter with this particular flower, deficiency of flowering is usually similar to gentle, drinking water or fertilizer. If it is getting 6 to 8 several hours of whole sunlight, then that is not the offender.

That leaves way too substantially or as well minimal drinking water. Except they are new plants, soil can dry among watering. Contemplating the bulb is rotted by tumble, I would guess overwatering. Try to go lengthier in between waterings, and mulch the crops. According to LSU AgCenter, basic goal granular fertilizer can be utilized in April and July, if the vegetation are not rising vigorously. See how that functions out.

Crocosmia, or Montebretia, is a summertime bulb indigenous to east and south Africa with flowers extending above the gladiola-like foliage spikes. A popular wide range is ‘Lucifer’ with deep red, tubular blooms that catch the attention of hummingbirds. It grows 2 to 4 feet tall, prefers entire sunlight and is drought-tolerant when founded. ‘George Davidson’ has a yellow flower.

Newly planted corms may not bloom the very first yr, which is the most possible rationale in your scenario. Care ought to be taken not to overfertilize. It can avoid blooms by producing too significantly foliage.

Other factors influencing blooms for both equally crops in problem: very poor soil drainage, overcrowding of established crops (drop is a terrific time to divide), or elimination of green foliage, which is the bulb’s source of nutrients. Only browned foliage ought to be slash. 

Q: My satsuma tree survived the freeze of 2021, but experienced to be pruned to about 50 percent its authentic sizing. This yr is the initially harvest since that freeze. Even though 98{30865861d187b3c2e200beb8a3ec9b8456840e314f1db0709bac7c430cb25d05} of the foliage is wholesome, all the fruit is scarred, rotten and diseased. I have scoured the web, but cannot locate shots or description that match what I’m going through.

A: The destruction is not from insect or illness, but from Northern mockingbirds pecking and scratching. According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension gurus, this prevalent apply gets worse for the duration of periods of drought, when birds may peck past the skin even deeper into the fruit’s juice. Apparently, it is believed that when they peck the skin, they are utilizing the citrus oil for preening or insect resistance.In minor instances, the fruit can even now ripen. In extra serious circumstances, it ruins the full fruit.

Netting will fix the trouble.

What are these yellow spots in my garden?

By Michael Potter, horticulture extension agent in Montgomery County

Q: My lawn has yellow places. What are they?

A: The spots are thanks to a fungus known as Massive Patch (aka. Brown Patch).   The mixture of cooler temperatures and moist conditions bring about the progress and distribute of the fungus. It is most widespread in the drop and can persist all over the wintertime.  Symptoms are irregularly formed patches that are golden to tan in color.  Once temperatures drop into the 60s at evening and very low 80s during the day, with addition of both rainfall or irrigation, the fungus starts to build and spread.

 To decrease the challenge in the upcoming, lessen irrigation or flip off irrigation prior to the initially chilly front of the year.  Also, fertilize at the right time. Fertilizing when the fungus is actively developing will only feed the fungus and make it spread faster.

Fertilization for the drop should consider spot in late-August by means of mid-September.  The fungus will sluggish the green-up in the spring but will not eliminate the turfgrass.  Using a fungicide will only slow the spread of the fungus, having said that, will not treatment the challenge.  Fungicides are improved made use of as a preventative.