Dallas Morning News – March 9, 2017
Q. I have two sets of nandinas at my house. One that lines the east wall of my house and the other is a strip about twenty feet wide that sets up against the neighbor’s wooden fence to the north of my house. This past fall, and through December, they all looked great as they have since I bought this house in 2014. They were full and lush, with plenty of berries on the ones situated at the east wall, but the ones to the north in the back yard did not have many berries. Since I moved here, the nandinas in the north part of the back yard have always had an abundance of berries, but not this year. Then, about two weeks ago when I started to begin my early spring work in the yard, I noticed that both groupings, although they have good foliage at the tops, are thin from the base to the tops. Upon a closer look, I discovered that the majority, and in some cases, all of the lower branches were denuded of leaves. I crawled under the plants, and saw that the ground was littered not only with Nandina leaves, but also with the thin branches that had held those dropped leaves. I have attached two photographs that show this problem. The photograph at the east wall clearly demonstrate the thin lower branches that are now bereft of all leaves. The photograph in the back yard show how the canes are so lacking branches and leaves, that the wooden slats of my neighbor’s fence are now clearly visible, where before they were completely hidden. Thank you for any guidance that you can provide. R. B. Dallas, TX
A. Could have been a little injury from the huge drop in temperature we had a while back. What I would do is cut some of the longest canes all the way to the ground. Those plants will put out new shoots right away and develop a low bushiness quickly. Broadcast a little extra organic fertilizer also to help push the plants along. The choices that are available in north Texas are Good Natured, Lady Bug, Maestro-Gro, Nature’s Guide, Espoma and GreenSense.
Q. As a board member of a local youth sports organization I have become aware of a disturbing practice that seems fairly widespread: the addition of glyphosate or diesel to the paint used to stripe the fields that kids play on. Now I’m 100% organic but the problem is I can’t argue the results. The lines remain on the fields exponentially longer so you don’t have to stripe the fields as often. I don’t feel like I have an organic solution that can give the same results. I love using vinegar/orange oil to knock back Bermuda in my own beds but really only browns out the tops and doesn’t seem to kill the roots (even 20% strength). So the lasting effect is minimal. Also I don’t know how well it’d mix with paint. I’ve thought about flame weeding the lines but time constraints being what they are, and would have to build some contraption to keep the flame no wider than the lines. The fields are Bermuda with Rye over seeded in the winter. I listen to the podcast every week and am about halfway through the organic certification course. R. Dallas, TX
A. Great question. Thanks for your interest in eliminating this danger. I realize changing the status quo is tough. Although many gardeners have reported total kill with the 20% vinegar product, I have gotten the most permanent kill on undesirable plants from a 50/50 mix of 20% vinegar and one of the fatty acid products such as BioSafe or Scythe. I realize this is an “off label” use of the product but so is mixing diesel or Roundup with paint. See if you can get them to give it a try and let me know. If they refuse to change, try to get them to use diesel because it’s far less toxic than Roundup. Hope you are enjoying the course.