Mulleins Weed

Question: Dr. Dirt, I have a weed growing in my yard that I do not know what it is and how to control them. I have never seen anything like this before. 

John

Tuesday, June 20, 2017 

Answer: John, thank you for dropping this off at the Western Heritage Museum’s reception desk. The weed you brought in for identification is called MULLEIN or sometimes known as WOOLY MULLEIN.

Mulleins can be found in Lea County. They usually have hitch-hiked into our area via baled hay, seeds embedded in dirt or mud from excursions to the mountains west of Lea County. You will find ample stands of mullein growing in the Pecos River Valley agricultural farm fields and wildland interfaces. It can be found up in the Guadalupe and Sacramental Mountains. 

The mullein plant grows rapidly from very tiny fine seeds and creates a stunning rosette of gray intensely covered gray hairs on the leaves and stems. Leaves are very soft to touch. They take two years to develop a flowering stalk that you brought to me today. They are much like thistles or sun flowers and shoot a stalk upwards from two feet to six feet in height. The terminal end is covered with light yellow honey-scented flowers; which are followed by small rounded capsules containing 100,000 to 180,000 of fine seeds on a parent plant. Wind, animal fur/hair, dirt removed from mullein growing sites will be infested with the fine seeds which will readily germinate in Lea County’s soil once sufficient moisture is present.

Control Measures: You can pull mulleins out easily if small; they do have a deep tap-root like a carrot. Broadleaf herbicides can be applied to the plant for a kill action. You must use a soap, adjuvant or spray oil with the herbicide mixture. The extremely hairy leaves will repel the weed spray and run-off the plant’s leaves and not killing the mullein. The spray additive to the herbicide will penetrate the hair and get the herbicide to the plant’s leaf surface. Spray the entire rosette on large plants and concentrate the spray mix to the center of the mullein’s growing point. They do not spread by underground roots or stems. This plant can be a noxious weed if left unchecked once it gets established.

Native Note: This plant can be utilized in a water wise/native landscape and it requires very little water to survive, hence the various locations in our mountain ranges. It does good as a backdrop specimen, the hairy leaves are attractive. Pollinators like the yellow flowers. English plant breeders have taken this particular plant and created flowering ornamental landscape mulleins with different color patterns.

Mulleins are used around the world as a medicinal plant to treat numerous health conditions and used in other forms and ways. It is totally a multi-use plant besides a common weed.

John, I hope this brief information helps you out on your new weed pests. 

Dr. Dirt 

Yellow Flower Trumpet Vine

June 17, 2017 

HELP Dr. Dirt! I've got this mess in the corner of my backyard. I have no idea what to do with it and honestly I'm scared of what I might find in there (insect- wise). I like the flowers but would like to see it look cleaner. 

Erin
Hobbs, NM

Erin’s Vine                                Honeysuckle Vine with pruning, and a trellis against brick wall.

Thank you, Erin for this interesting picture of the Yellow-flowered form of Trumpet Vine.

Answer: From my observation looking into your photo and the background details. I would recommend cutting the trumpet vine back in height and sides coming inward. Whack the vines a few times first with a broom, etc., wear gloves of course and watch for pests or other critters. I would definitely remove a lot of the vinery growth up from the ground. I would install a heavy-duty trellis between the trumpet vine and the fence. Trumpet vines are an aggressive grower and weighty. I would utilize the fence as a support mechanism to hold the weight as the vine grows and becomes larger. You would need to train the vine’s runners to attach itself to the trellis; once established onto trellis the vine will take off on its own.

Under-cutting the draping ground hugging tendrils and runners will give you a cleaner look and shape to the whole plant. Yes, the photo looks messy and could have some critters living within the tangled mess. But a good hair-cut and selecting good runner vines and attaching them to the trellis will give you a more manicured looking plant. The yellow flowered form is NOT as aggressive as the orange flowered type that can take over a backyard landscape.

Dr. Dirt would be happy to assist you in the your gardening endeavors and demonstrate how to cut the vine and do the proper uplift towards a trellised look. What is out-of-bounds now can be brought back into a controlled growth pattern with the yellow flowered trumpet vine.

These vines are great for watching hummingbirds and Sphinx moths feeding off the nectar-laden flowers.

A great pic and garden question Erin, I hope my brief answer gives you a direction. And I do make house calls for my patients.

Dr. Dirt 

Ocotillo Care

June 5, 2017


Question: I planted an ocotillo recently and have been watering it every day to give the roots a good start. Do I need to feed it? If so what? I had a little bone meal and used that. 

Bob
Lea County, NM

Answer: Many Ocotillos (Oc’s) in Lea County succumb to the local landfills. Number one enemy, too much TLC (tender loving care) given to them and that comes in the form of over-watering Oc’s. Now depending on your local soil, if it is real sandy and loose, YES, maybe a couple of watering’s a week in high heat and wind. If you have red clay or gray clay soils then water sparingly, once a week to 10-days, and do water deep as the scraggly roots come off of the Oc’s center stem. Remember, where you see these desert natives growing naturally, on the steppes/foothills of the Guadalupe Mountains, they get whatever rains come along, drenching’s or light showers. They are basically rooted in four inches or less of soil, and grow into cracks of the underlying rock formations. Then they have the blistering summer heat and winds to contend with...a true survivor.

So, when they are dug up and transported to other areas of the state we need to replicate the soils and growing conditions as best as we can similar to their natural environment. This is where TLC kicks-in way too much!

Clay soils should have some coarse sand and/or gravel added for drainage, wet roots and soggy ground is a death knell.

No fertilizers for the first year, our soil, your soil will be nutrient rich compared to that spot on the slope of the mountainside where it was growing. If you added bone meal, that’s cool and okay, it is very low in nutrients but stay away from the commercial brands for now. Let this native get re-established, the second biggest problem is the plant collectors who hack- off all the scraggly roots trying to extract them from the rock ledges. Most are sold with very little major roots and usually NO feeder roots are attached. These underground anchors are foremost and foundational to getting your Ocotillo to live. With me not seeing the actual root structure, I am giving you a broad care scenario.

If you found this Ocotillo with good root structure then you will be rewarded as these plants are long-lived and will add much growth and vibrant color as it matures. Best yet, is the beauty, the form, its uniqueness and the brightly fire-torch ends that are hummingbird magnets and with night-time large moths feeding on the rich nectar they produce.

Bob, I hope this helps you out and you have a successful transplanted Ocotillo to admire for years. 

Dr. Dirt 

Arborists in Lea County

June 4, 2017

Question: Are there any Area Certified Arborists for pruning our trees in Lea County? P.S. I really appreciated the class on raised beds you and the other WHM Horticulture Society members put on back in April. The hollyhock giveaway wasn't bad either! Your class and the words of wisdom helped me put in a nice pavestone raised bed this year. 

Kristina
Lea County, NM

Answer: Kristina, unfortunately, we do not have anyone in Hobbs/Lea County that is a Certified Arborist. However, we do have a local guy who comes to Hobbs and Lea County in the fall to early spring who is Nationally Certified and a credentialed arborist. I refer people who need his help and use him on tree- trimming project on the NMJC Campus grounds. He does a great job trimming and pruning trees, Dr. Dirt is one picky horticultural professional when it comes to trees and their proper care and canopy maintenance.

That person is Ben Maddox, owner of Outdoor Solutions LLC, who is ISA Certified Arborist license #83397. He resides in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico. Call him at 575-776-2275.

Kristina, Thank You, for the kind words and acknowledgement of some good horticultural training being received by local gardeners.

Let’s get growing, 

Dr. Dirt 

Artichoke Plant

May 19, 2017

Question: I have an artichoke plant; I have never seen it flower. It looks like I have an artichoke on the plant, don't plants have to flower in order to fruit?

Kelly

Lea County, NM

Answer:  Yes, you have a young artichoke plant that is maturing and coming into its flowering (fruit) process. On artichokes you are eating the terminal growing point, which is the vegetative head of the artichoke.  If this is left on the plant the artichoke itself becomes the terminal flower.  The green artichoke head is tight in the bud form and this bud is what is cut and eaten. Leaving the flowering head will dramatically change in a few days as the bud now expands and fills out inside with thousands of individual stamens/ovaries to bloom an electric brilliant blue flower. Each filament contained in the artichoke head will produce a seed, with a parachute end much like the dandelion seed head. As time goes by the flowering process will cease and the head will flatten out and begin to dry-out for seeds to be blown away.

Gold finches, purple-headed finches and some of the song sparrows will feast on the seeds if left on the plant. The head can be cut for dried flower arranging materials.

Artichokes will basal multiply creating side shoot plants and they will send up artichokes to eat and flower. The first artichokes of the year are the largest and then will be smaller on the side branches off the mother plant.

Let them bloom out. They are amazing in colors, they will attract attention from passerbies and they will want to know what alien flower you are growing.

Get out and grow something!

Dr. Dirt

Grass

March 14, 2017 

Question: I sent you a picture of my front yard and would like to know the best way to fill in the bare spots under the pecan tree.

Brad

Hobbs, NM

Recommendation: I needed more points of view to assess before I gave a workable solution or answer to the problem, and decided to make a house call to Brad's home. Irregular, dead spots were noted from the previous grass out to the edge of Bermuda grass in the sun. The area is under heavy shade during the summer from the pecan tree's canopy.

Yes, I do make house calls and follow-up contacts where needed. An irrigation system was in place and seemed to be working with adequate head spacing to cover the grass area.

Brad and I discussed some options, that being laying new fescue sod and cranking up the water for the grass. There is competition for nutrients and moisture from the pecan tree's roots and shrubbery in the foundation planting.

On further discussion, I had made recommendation to utilize St. Augustine grass in this area as another shade tolerant grass. Brad had a back yard of St. Augustine turf. As a simple fix to his gardening question I recommended to take 2-inch plugs from the existing St. Augustine and plant these plugs of turf into a checkerboard grid under the pecan tree. Plugging in grasses can be a quick fix in mending a turf problem area.

To fully establish the St. Augustine grass plugs, increase the watering time, put down a balanced turf fertilizer to stimulate the newly planted plugs. Add some compost over the plugs to hold soil moisture while runners establish and take root. Lastly, keep the new turf in-place mowed short to promote horizontal vegetative growth to fill in the bare spots. This area should be covered St. Augustine by mid-summer.

Get out and grow something!

Dr. Dirt

 

Mildew on Crepe Myrtle

March 1, 2017

Question: I am growing Crepe Myrtles in New Jersey, which is USDA zone 6, and it is tricky. I love my crepes. I’ve dealt with powdery mildew for the last 2-years. The mildew makes the buds not bloom and the tender foliage defoliates once it is on the leaves. I spray but it is an ongoing endeavor.

Toni
S. Orange, New Jersey 

Answer: Crepe Myrtles were once only considered for the southern climates. Gardeners have expanded their range to the northern climates and are having success growing the Crepe Myrtles. Hot, humid weather activates powdery mildew with a vengeance.

Control: Plant in full sun and find locations with good air movement. Crepes can tolerate light shade, but the denser the shade cover the powdery mildew will show-up. As the shade promotes the fungal spores to begin to grow with the humid air and the moisture evaporating from the tender growth and flowering buds at the terminal tips. Try moving them to more open air, full sun, and wind currents that would help lessen a moist growing environment for the mildew spores. It shows up as a white dusting on the young leaves and flowering bud shoots. It will not usually kill the Crepe Myrtle, but will be unsightly and cause major leaf drop. Over time repeated attacks can weaken the plant and you may lose a plant.

Since you are already spraying the Crepes you have try some of the newer fungicides for mildew control that are systemic in action, or medicine inside the plant. Contact your local nurseries or NJ County Extension office for an approved pesticide, being I am in New Mexico products vary from State to State.

A home remedy you might try out. One tablespoon of baking soda with a few drops of Ivory dish soap in a gallon of water. Stir the mix and treat the powdery mildew for 3 to 5 days until mildew is under control. This not a toxic chemical, spray will drip off affected areas.

Mildew Resistant Crepes: A few varieties to consider are Arapho –red, Dynamite, deep red, Natchez, white with cinnamon brown bark, and Strawberry Dazzle a dwarf 4-5-foot shrub strawberry in color.

Good luck on growing your Crepe Myrtles in New Jersey. Let me know if you find these recommendations helpful.

Dr. Dirt