Desert Blooms

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson Updated from July 2018 Robert DeWitt Ivey’s  Flowering Plants of New Mexico  is a must-have ( http://www.lulu.com/ ) . Question: What are your favorite plant books?               - Santa Fe County Extension Master Gardener Trainee Answer: I love this question. In summer 2018, Extension Master Gardener Lin Yeskie was looking for recommendations while revamping a Master Gardener volunteer library. So, I wrote a column about my favorites and surveyed other experts for their suggestions. I’ve recently updated our collective recommendations: I still try to keep an edition—any edition—of Robert DeWitt Ivey’s Flowering Plants of New Mexico with me as I travel around the state. Every plant in the book includes a hand-drawn image of the flowering structures and leaves, and a zoomed-in portion of the plant if there are distinguishing characteristics to ...

Southwest Yard and Garden By Dr. Marisa Thompson, NMSU Extension Horticulture Specialist https://nmsudesertblooms.blogspot.com/2020/01/pruning.html Notice how this ash tree at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas has co-dominant stems? That’s when two or more branches of similar diameter stem from the same union. These aren’t a problem, yet. Over time, if they continue to grow at the same rate, included bark can form at the base of the branches and as they grow they’ll be pushing each other apart, causing a weak union that could be damaging, both to the tree and as a hazard to the surrounding area. Select one of the co-dominant stems and do either a reduction cut to a live lateral branch or a removal cut just outside the branch collar. Photo credit M. Thompson. Links to related columns:  Pruning Do's and Don'ts Rose Pruning Lilac Pruning Pomegranate Pruning Fruit Thinning (late spring/early summer) Scroll down for more pruning resource lin...

Southwest Yard and Garden By Marisa Thompson Lady’s mantle ( Alchemilla mollis ) in Asheville, North Carolina (photographed last May) provides a beautiful example of guttation, which is the formation of water droplets on leaf margins and is not dew. Photo credits M. Thompson. In the past month I’ve had a great time teaching “basic botany and plant identification” to Extension Master Gardener Trainee classes in a Doña Ana, Santa Fe, and Taos Counties. From the NMSU Extension Master Gardener (EMG) website: “Each year, EMG chapters throughout NM produce knowledgeable gardeners who enjoy assisting their local Cooperative Extension Service office in providing accurate, research-based gardening information to county residents. Within the programmatic structure of the Extension Master Gardener Program is a curriculum focused on the fundamentals of good horticultural and biological land management practices. Classes are held at varying times of the year (depending on the coun...

Southwest Yard and Garden Written by Dr. Curtis Smith (Photos by Dr. Marisa Thompson) 2 reprints Skinny Tomato Plants Started Indoors - February 23, 1997 Amaryllis Flowers Too Tall - February 11, 2000 Starts of artichokes (left) and tomatoes (right) grown from seed by Ph.D. student Chuck Havlik at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas in winter 2019 became subjects for summer experiments on tomato rooting and artichoke viability. Photo credit M. Thompson. Skinny Tomato Plants Started Indoors By Dr. Curtis Smith Reprint from February 23, 1997 Question: I started some tomato plants inside this winter so I could move them into the garden as soon as the weather allowed. I started them on top of the refrigerator like the books said, but they are skinny and keep falling over. They don't look as good as the plants I bought last year. What is wrong? Answer: The books recommend starting the s...

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson partial reprint from October 2018 Frosty cottonwood leaves add a nice layer on top of several inches of shredded woodchip mulch. Photo credit M. Thompson. Question: Should I add fertilizer or amendments to the soil when planting landscape plants in my garden?      -           Gardeners All Over New Mexico Answer: The short answer is no. And the long-term answer is an even stronger no. Soil amendments are materials that are worked into the soil with the intention of improving soil physical qualities. The trouble is it’s just not that simple. As City of Las Cruces Community Forester Jimmy Zabriskie said when I asked if he ever recommends using soil amendments when planting a tree, “Save your money for mulch.” Mulch is material that sits on top of the soil, providing an insulation layer that helps control soil temperature, retain moisture, and suppress weeds...