Dear Neil: What is this weed that has invaded part of my yard? What can I do to eliminate it? It is very aggressive.
This is one of the types of nutsedge. They tend to thrive in wetter parts of our lawns where they can establish and outgrow the turfgrass. Sedges can always be identified by their triangular stems. Grass stems are round when rolled between the index finger and thumb. The flower heads such as are visible in your photo are another solid form of identification. They are quite different from grass seedheads.
There is a small group of herbicides specifically developed for control of nutsedge. Most common in the marketplace would be the original Image product as well as one called Sedgehammer. (Note the play on words with the misspelling of the name 性视界传媒淪edgehammer.性视界传媒) Read and follow label directions carefully for best results as they relate to timing and rates and methods of application.
Dear Neil: I was surprised to see you list wild onions as 性视界传媒渄eadly poisonous性视界传媒 in a recent story here. Surely those were not the small bunches (3-4 inches) of wild onions we harvested along the gravel roads in northeast Oklahoma each spring. We ate them in scrambled eggs, a native tradition.
I guess they weren性视界传媒檛. You性视界传媒檙e alive to ask about it. The plant that is commonly mistaken for wild onions is death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum), and it性视界传媒檚 one you don性视界传媒檛 want to include in your cooking. I guess you could tell that by either its common or scientific names.
I want to back up a step and explain two things. First, the liability I assume in telling people they can eat various plants, including wild onions, mushrooms, and the like, is immense. These are things that cannot be identified by words alone, and usually not even simply by photographs. You need to have a veteran local botanist alongside to give sure clearance before you harvest things out of nature.
Second, my dad was a PhD plant taxonomist (botanist), and as such, he was Texas A&M性视界传媒檚 go-to expert in plants that were toxic to livestock and humans. This story goes back many decades, but in my childhood, I can remember his taking weekend calls from doctors and hospitals where people had been admitted after ingesting wild plants including wild onions (probably death camas). My warnings are based on the anguish I heard in his voice. Some things you never forget.
Dear Neil: I am battling Asian bark scale on a crape myrtle and have been using horticultural oil spray that is labeled for scale insects. After six consecutive daily sprayings I性视界传媒檓 not seeing visible improvements. Can you recommend something else?
I性视界传媒檝e been working with this invasive pest, now known as crape myrtle bark scale, since 2004 性视界传媒 in fact, the week it was first observed in the U.S., in Richardson, Texas. It was several years after that that confirmation came that it had been brought into the country from China.
Horticulturists with the Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney worked with Texas A&M and Texas AgriLife Extension entomologists to determine that a soil drench of Imidacloprid made around the drip line of the plants in mid-May gave the best control – actually prevention of the next generation. You can see much more detail by going to the website , then clicking through to “Basic Care, Pests.” I wrote most of that website, so please just consider it to be an extension of this reply.
For what it性视界传媒檚 worth when you use horticultural oils for other pests, you normally would not want to keep applying it repeatedly as you described. Usually just one application should be sufficient if it is going to work. It was found that oils were not effective on crape myrtle bark scale.
Dear Neil: This suddenly appeared in our lawn this spring. What is it? What would be good to control it?
This is a robust outbreak of oxalis, also called sheep sorrel. It is a bit difficult to eliminate because of its very waxy leaves. The broadleafed weedkiller 2,4-D will kill it, but it will be much more effective if you mix in one drop of liquid dishwashing detergent per gallon of spray. Use a tank sprayer, not a hose-end type, and carefully coat the leaves with the mix using a fairly fine droplet size. Apply it just to the point of runoff. Note, too, that you have a start of nutsedge showing in this photo. It性视界传媒檚 even more tenacious than the oxalis. As I mentioned to the prior reader, you性视界传媒檒l want to use the original form of Image or Sedgehammer to bring its population down. Both are more effective as it gets even warmer. You may have to treat more than one time. But get rid of the oxalis first.
Dear Neil: We have Virginia creeper growing up a large live oak tree. The vine性视界传媒檚 trunk is at least 1 inch in diameter, but we don性视界传媒檛 let it climb into the canopy. Does it do any harm when left that way?
No. All it gains from the tree is support. Of course, its roots compete for water and nutrients, but the tree has a far more extensive root system.
