Q. We want to transplant a red oak. It’s 4 years old in our landscape, and as you can see in the photo, it is very lanky. Is it possible to move it, or is it destined to be shaped like a power pole? Can I trim it to redirect its growth?
A. It can be moved, and winter is the time to do it. If you trim it, it will branch out at the point where you make the cut, so I’d suggest trimming it to about 50 inches from the ground.
Choose the three or four branches that seem most vigorous when spring growth begins, and remove all the others over a period of several weeks. It should make you a lovely tree.
Q. Am I remembering a recent column correctly? Did you advise against using oak leaves in compost?
A. Not at all. I merely mentioned that there people who feel the tannins, or oils, in oak and pecan leaves would inhibit growth of other plants. That is not the case. I have lived in an oak/pecan forest for almost 40 years, and I’ve had success with decaying oak and pecan leaves as a mulch and in the preparation of my garden soil.
Q. I have several Texas mountain laurels that are up to 10 feet tall. At least three of them have started to turn yellow and look diseased. One has died. I’ve not seen webworms or any signs of insects. What can I do?
A. “Yellowed” isn’t a strong clue. It merely suggests that the plant is weakening — from whatever the cause. There is a vascular disease of the trunks that took one of my mountain laurels after 15 years.
You can send a sample to the Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Texas A&M, College Station 77843. Look the lab up online before sending that sample. Their website will identify applicable charges for you.
Look especially for any part of the trunks that has a small mushroom growing out of its wood. That’s what I saw on my plant, and that’s what you would want to send to the lab for analysis. Good luck!
Q. I live atop a rocky outcropping, and I’ve been unable to get flowers of any kind to grow. Zinnias and vincas have done well for a while, but they die away. Some of my skullcaps have died as well. I’m just curious about the best way to handle the situation.
A. When you discuss a large collection of unrelated plants, the odds of a disease or insect pest being the causes of their failures drop dramatically. Pests are typically much more specific than that.
I would look instead at bed preparation and upkeep. You want 8 to 12 inches of well-prepared garden soil. Start with 5 or 6 inches of sandy loam topsoil. Incorporate 2 inches of sphagnum peat moss, 1 inch each of compost, rotted manure and finely ground pine bark mulch. Add 1 inch of expanded shale if you’re trying to amend a clay soil. Rototill all of that together thoroughly, and re-till it a couple more times before spring plantings begin.
Q. How can I stop my 6-foot pear tree from sending up sprouts from its base? I cut them off, and they regrow with twice as many. That is all of the growth it has had.
A. There is a thing called “apical dominance” in trees. The buds at the growing tips produce a hormone that sends a message down through the tree that all growth will occur at the top and outer branches. When there is some kind of problem in the trunk or branches of the tree, apical dominance is lost, and the tree will begin sending out sprouts.
Your tree sounds like it has been severely weakened, either by damage to the trunk or because of dieback from drought or transplant shock.
If some of these shoots are above the graft union, you could let one of them grow into a new trunk. It sounds to me like you’re going to lose the top of the tree.
Q. What are the guidelines to winter watering for newly planted 3-foot crape myrtles and 10-foot live oaks? It’s hard to know, as much as the weather can change.
A. The main advice doesn’t change: Never let the soil become dry to the touch. Keep it moist at all times. Learn to “read” the soil, both visually and by feeling it. However, in general terms for the winter, if it’s been more than seven to 10 days without rain, you probably should soak them.
Mail questions to Neil Sperry, c/o Features, Express-News, P.O. Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297-2171, or email him at SAENgardenQA@ sperrygardens.com.