Q Our Meyer lemon tree is very ill, and we are afraid we are going to lose it. After having more blooms than one could think possible as well as setting fruit, it is now dropping leaves like crazy. We researched it online and thought perhaps it was getting too much direct sun in the house and so have moved it to a bedroom with filtered light. This morning, I removed most of the fruit as that was one of the online recommendations. Watering has been consistent ever since we got it late last spring. It did have some scaly pest but we sprayed with diluted dishwashing soap and then when that didn't do it, we used neem oil. No evidence of any more pests. It has doubled from its original size.
A I cannot believe it is too much light. I have seen many in greenhouses where the light intensity and duration would be much stronger than in a home. Scale insects can attack and cause leaves to shed. It is possible there are still some on the plant even after you sprayed. It is also possible the neem oil caused some of the leaves to shed. I would make sure you are not overwatering, and baby it through the next few weeks. You should be able to move it outdoors by the middle of April. Gradually expose it to sunlight and then monitor for new growth. You may need to do some selective pruning to help reshape the tree, but I think it will rebound once outdoors.
Q Where and how do I send a soil sample for my garden?
A A pint of dry soil is needed for each sample you want the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service experts to test. Typically we recommend taking separate samples from a vegetable garden, flower/shrub garden or lawn -- one pint for each. In the garden you are testing, get a core sample of soil from several spots -- at least four and up to 10 areas in the garden, depending on the size of the garden. Mix the soil samples from each garden up well; put samples in a one pint container per garden and label; then take the samples to your local county extension office. There they will fill out a form with your contact information and what you are growing. In roughly two weeks you will receive a computer printout with the data from your soil along with recommendations on whether or not to add lime and fertilize.
Q Can you shed some light on what has been blooming along the roadways -- all the white I have seen? I know Bradford pears but am unsure of the other bloomers that are more shrubs.
A A few native trees and shrubs bloom white and early, but the majority of the white you will have seen in the past few weeks were seedling Callery pears, the parent species of the Bradford pear. As you can tell by the amount we had in bloom, that's an extremely invasive plant. Now the redbuds are blooming along with wild plums and cherries, and the dogwoods are too.
Q I live in a condominium complex that was built in the '70s. We have many old, large crape myrtles that have been "murdered" year after year and have the resulting ugly knots. How can we get them back to their natural growing form? What do we do about the knots?
A You have a few options. One is to cut the knots off, then choose up to three of the sprouts to grow, and prune everything else out. You can also keep the knot, let the sprouts begin growing and then choose up to three of the new sprouts to train into trunks. Next year, take the three new branches that you chose this year and only prune them where they become smaller than a pencil in diameter. Eventually they will form into well-structured trees with beautiful bark. It won't happen overnight, but it can be done.
Janet B. Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Write to her at 2301 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72204 or email her at
jcarson@arkansasonline.com
HomeStyle on 04/02/2016