Desert Blooms

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson Tulips and daffodils offer tons of color with remarkably low water requirements. This year at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas we’ll also be sampling bulb blossoms for presence of beneficial insects. Stay tuned! Photo credits M. Thompson. Reprints from years past. Written by Dr. Curtis Smith, retired NMSU Extension Horticulture Specialist, with additions by Dr. Marisa Thompson.  Question from 1997: What does it mean when they say our soil is calcareous? Answer: The term calcareous refers to the abundance of calcium, or lime, in our soil. This is due to the fact that our dry environment has not resulted in the leaching of calcium and other salts from our soils. Some of these salts, such as sodium, can be toxic to plants at the level found in some New Mexico soils. Calcium, however, is not toxic, but it does alter the pH, or acidity, of the soil, making it difficult for some plants to obtai...

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson with guest contributor Dr. Leslie Beck Silverleaf nightshade flowers are beautiful, but these weeds are invasive and parts of the plant are toxic to humans and animals. Photo from NMSU Extension Guide “Silverleaf Nightshade” W-15 . Yellow nutsedge seedhead (photo credit L. Beck). Question : Silverleaf nightshade and nutsedge are taking over parts of my yard! Please help. Organic control options are appreciated. -           Helen B., Las Cruces, NM     Answer : Last week I asked NMSU Extension Weed Specialist, Dr. Leslie Beck, to explain why annual weeds like sandburs and goatheads are so difficult to control and to give us options for managing them without the use of pesticides. Visit  https://nmsudesertblooms.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-early-bird-catches-weed-control-of.html to read that column. The two weeds for this week, silverleaf nightshade ( So...

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson with guest contributor Dr. Leslie Beck Controlling Annual Weeds: Timing is Everything with Goatheads and Sandburs Both are annual weeds with vengeful, spiny seeds, but sandbur (top) is a grass and goatheads (bottom) are a flowering, broadleaf species. Photos from  https://weeds.nmsu.edu/ . Question : Can you help me battle my weeds organically? I’ve got sandspurs and goatheads. Are there soil conditions weeds hate? -         Helen B., Las Cruces, NM   Answer : Ouchie, that’s a nasty duo of weedy enemies. Most readers can commiserate all too well. Sandbur is a grass of the Cenchrus genus, also commonly referred to as “stickers” or “sandspurs.” Goatheads ( Tribulus terrestris ), also known as “puncturevine,” have tiny yellow flowers; delicate, compound leaves; and spiny seeds that are even meaner and tougher than sandburs. Many people mistakenl...

Red arrow is pointing to a porcupine munching on tree bark way up in the canopy of a cottonwood at the Albuquerque Botanical Garden in January 2018. Photo credit M. Thompson. Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson   Question : The Texas red oak, live oak, and pecan trees in my yard were looking bad going into the fall, as were my neighbor’s honey locust and maple. When I searched for problems online, I found different possible pests and diseases for each tree. Can you help me narrow down the possibilities? -           Richard V., Hobbs, NM Answer : This is Part II of the column on diagnosing tree problems.  Last week, we learned that water stress and weed whacker injury are the most common tree problems in our landscapes and that the rooting area necessary for large trees to survive and grow is much bigger than most folks realize.  **click here for Part I** We also touched on the reasons why sy...

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson Part I ( CLICK HERE for Part II) Girdling roots on this mulberry tree in Truth or Consequences may be the underlying problem causing canopy dieback no matter how much extra water is applied. Photo credit M. Thompson. Question : The Texas red oak, live oak, and pecan trees in my yard were looking bad going into the fall, as were my neighbor’s honey locust and maple. When I searched for problems online, I found different possible pests and diseases for each tree. Can you help me narrow down the possibilities? -           Richard V., Hobbs, NM Answer : Local tree experts agree that the number one tree “disease” in New Mexico is drought. And the number one pest for trees in New Mexico is humans with our weed whackers and mowers. That being said, last summer over the phone with the Hidalgo County Extension Agent , I diagnosed Afghan pines with water stress. Luckily for those...

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson January 20, 2019 FOR A NEWER COLUMN ON THIS VERY TOPIC, visit  https://nmsudesertblooms.blogspot.com/2021/01/where-to-find-wildflowers-this-spring.html Scarlet globemallow at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas. Photo credit M. Thompson. Missouri evening primrose near Santa Fe. Photo credit W. Allen. Question :   We are considering a trip in mid-April to the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas and want to find out when desert wildflowers are most likely to bloom and where to find them. -           K. Kinter Answer : My first thought was to tell you to visit in late summer, during monsoon, because that’s when so many native plants have evolved to bloom and develop seeds. But the buzz among New Mexico’s wildflower enthusiasts is that all of the rain and snow we’ve been getting in the past month across the state might mean a particularly robus...

Southwest Yard & Garden January 13, 2019 Two cups of snow scooped up from the front yard at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas on January 3 rd  melted down to a little over 1/3 cup of water, but this isn’t always true because the temperature has a big impact on snow density. Photo credit M. Thompson. Question : We got 4 inches of snow just before the New Year that’s still melting a week later. I’m glad the established trees and shrubs are getting some water but is it enough to hold off on watering manually this month? -           Joe S., Belen, NM   Answer :  There’s a rule of thumb that 10 inches of snow equals 1 inch of water, but it really depends on how wet the snow is, and that depends on temperature. Drier snow can be expected at lower temperatures and vice versa. I found some fun calculations and snowmelt discussions online. (Just like snow weight, fun is relative.) “In general, colder ...