Plants That Love Arizona Too Much Print

• Talking through the current issue of Arizona Highways.
• What to expect the rest of the year and what you can see!
• Look forward to the pics you'll see from National Geographic photographers.
• Listen to some descriptions of hikes you should take and what you could see.

• Discussing a few books and a few we give away...including Wildlife Guide: 125 of Arizona's Native Species.
• More about our 22 National Parks and the move to increase them in Arizona. (3 are being proposed right now)
• History and the beauty of the Chiricahua National Monument.
• Don't forget that when you travel Arizona, you don't always have to go North....the Southern Arizona region is full of treasures!

Sign up for the Sanderson Ford Arizona Staycation here!!!

*You'll find a gift basket from Designing Women of Arizona, Coyote Oaties, Cerreta Candy Company or Sphinx Date Ranch!

• Not every park is huge....discover some of the smaller parks in the state.
• Check out Tonto National Forest. 

• How to submit a photograph to the magazine and the history of a few winners and participants.
• A little more on the history of the magazine.

Thanks to Robert and Win for joining us and remember to sign up to receive your own Arizona Highways Magazine!

It's monsoon season and summer, so we talk with Jay from Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company about what you should be doing in your yard!

• Talking about the recent rains across the state and a phone app that shows you where the lightning is around you.
• Rosie's dog is dealing with a dog who's scared of the storms. He needs a "dog whisperer!"
• Back to the rain and how to know if you need to change your irrigation systems.
• In August, your planting options really increase. Get the soil prepared and we discuss pre-emergent herbicides too.

Caller:

• Maggie - She has a purple dragon tree and it has some bark problems. Is it salvageable?

Recommendation - It's severely sunburn and the bark is cracking and peeling off.  It looks like the vascular system right beneath the bark is damaged, so it could be too late.  Jay would peel off the damaged bark and use trunk paint to protect it. (you should be doing that with all your think bark trees like citrus, etc.) It's just a waiting game at this point.

Text From a Listener:

• How can he get a 20 foot saguaro removed from his front yard?

Recommendation - There are specialty nurseries that can do this and will salvage them, so make a few calls to see if it can be saved, moved and not simply destroyed.

Callers:

• Peggy - Is there anything she can do to help save an old fan tex ash tree that's been neglected and the leaves have all dropped during the recent heat?

Recommendation - Pray!!! Ha. Ash tree needs a lot of water and even suffer in the heat with a lot of water. Slowly soak it for a  few days and then let it recover for about a week and do the same thing for a few weeks. If it doesn't recover quickly, it will probably go downhill fairly quickly. The chances for recovery aren't reall good.

Email From a Listener:

• They love their shade tree in the backyard, but can't keep any grass under it.....

Recommendation - After talking with Peggy, keep the tree! They are very valuable, especially with the shade. We'd recommend having a nice winter lawn and leave the tree alone. The shade won't affect the winter grass.

• Talking about the benefits of just letting your lawn take the summer off.

Text From a Listener:

• When should I put sod down for a winter lawn?

Recommendation - Remember, you can just seed in the winter and it's much cheaper.  Plant in mid to late September, depending on the weather and you should be fine. 

Email From a Listener:

• Their Palo Verde is leaking sap and bark peeling off. What to do?

Recommendation - Jay's seen a lot of damage from Palo Verde beetle larva. It's a big beetle you'll see at night near your porch lights. They lay eggs this time of year and the larva eats a lot of the bark. Look for holes in the ground or trees and get rid of them. Extra water and fertilizer will help the tree get through it, plus you can use insecticide to get rid of the larva.

Caller:

• Barbara - Is there a way to add nitrogen to a plant to help with the decrease during the summer?

Recommendation - Yes, she'll need to do fertilizer. It supplements the missing nitrogen, but isn't the same as a natural rainfall.  Add water more too. Jay talks through it what to expect.

• We talk through fall planting and what you can do to get ready for the change of seasons.  Soil prep and what you can grow by seed, not starts! Here's Harper's Fall Planting Guide.
  
• The benefits of raised bed gardens and what to line the bottom of your bed with. "Weed barrier" if it sits on the ground.

Caller:

• Jen - One of her drippers on the irrigation system is on today and shouldn't be. She's checkd all the settings and wants to know if the dripper could freeze open?

Recommendation - Yes. The rubber gasket called a diaphram in the head can wear out or something in the valve keeps it from sealing closed. She needs to replace the guts of the valve. Jay goes through her options.  She can pick it up at Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply today.

• Watering & trying to keep plants alive when it goes over 110 degrees. How to gauge when it's "a lost cause" with plants.

Remember, you can reach Jay weekdays at Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company in Scottsdale.

• Rosie has a Scam Alert!!! - There is a marketing company leaving "We missed You" door hangers on homes closing esgrow. It says it's a "coupon," but be very careful!
• More on Super Cooling your home. Details and the savings homeowners are seeing.
• Mother In-Law Units and costs to expect....we'll cover that next week!
• We need a "handyman" in the East Valley of Phoenix & Tucson, plus an electricain in Prescott. If that's you, call us!
• We welcome a new partner, Sun Valley Solar Solutions to the network.They're working with Advanced Home Sytems and are great for SRP customers.
  

Callers:

• Frankie - He just moved into a new home and the water pressure is really low. Where should he start to figure out what to do about it.

Recommendation - Stop and pick up a water pressure gauge at ACE Hardware. Rosie talks him through how to hook it up and check the pressure coming into his home. (should be between 45 - 65 lbs) He can check with his neighbors to see if they are experiencing the same problem. Listen for all the details.

• Johnny - She's been "Super Cooling" and is saving big $$$ and shares her experience. She also wants to paint her patio that's facing west. What do we think?
  

Recommendation - We walk her through her options in the next segment. ( She can paint year round, but there are precautions to take. )

Callers:

We answer Johnny's question:

Recommendation - Rosie talks about her exact situation and the precautions to take.....don't paint in the middle of the day, avoid painting when it's raining or there is a high, dry wind. Get it done between sunrise and 11 o'clock in the morning.  Make sure to take notes on the whole conversation to get it done right.

• Cindy - She'd like to add water treatment to her system and wants some tips on what to do.

Recommendation - There are several options, but several are scams too. So buyer beware! (nano filtration is an option we trust now, but it's ridiculously expensive) She can call Water Treatment Technology.

•  Dennis - He's installing artificial turf and wants recommendations on properly installing it. He wants to do it himself. 

Recommendation - Rosie is not an expert, but he needs to call Mark at Sunburst Landscaping, an Easy Turf distributor.

• Jim - He's had a few "home tune-ups" (Home Energy Audit) done where they've added insulation and improved other areas of the home. He's considering a "home energy audit." What will they do in this process?

Recommendation - The big difference is pressure mapping the home and discovering the problem areas of the home.  We'll schedule an a free energy audit for him.

Caller:

• David - He wants to know what we think of a self macerating toilets so he doesn't have to add plumbing through the foundation?

Recommendation - Rosie's never installed one and isn't sure and it sounds like it could work on a project Rosie on the House Remodeling is working on.  We reccomend checking with city codes first and we'll look for an update on how it goes. 

• Rosie talks about James Buchanan, considered the worst president of the U.S.

We're joined by Jay with Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company to talk about plants that do too well in Arizona and can cause problems.

1st Plant is Cat Claw:

• It's a vine....why it grows so well and why it causes problems.
• You can cut it completely down and within a few months it will be growing right back.
• The reasons people like it too.
• Using herbicides to get rid of it completely.
• Heights it can be expected to grow....Jay has one that's about 60 feet wide!

2nd Plant we discuss is Oleanders:

• It's used as a privacy and wind screen.
• There is a standard and dwarf variety.
• When it's a good option. "Right Place, Right time"

More on plants that do to well, specifically trees, with John Eisenhower of Integrity Tree Service.

John Talks about the Sissou Trees:

• He's even been an expert witness in court because of the problems it can cause in neighbor's yards.
• It's a great tree if you have room for it. It's a big canopy, creating a lot of shade.
• The root system is extremely aggressive. That creates a major problems going under block walls, foundations, etc.
• When it's cut down, a hormonal message goes to the roots and sends up new trees from the roots. They send up hundreds of shoots!
• Getting rid of all the sprouts is a long process.
• John describes his method of eliminating the root system.

More about the sissuo tree with John:

• How far can you trim it back before the shoots start popping up?
• John talks about the court appearances he's made regarding these trees.
• Limitations on what you can do to your neighbor's trees that are creeping onto your property.

Callers:

• Rebecca - Her tree is leaning after a strong wind last year. She wants to start propping it back up and wants to know how to go about pulling it back without damaging it?

Recommendation - With the tree being so big and not being propped back up after a year, it's probably re-rooted and it will be difficult to move it at this point.  Basically, leave it alone and let it grow.

• Frank - His ocotillo tree has uprooted. What should he do?

Recommendation - If there is enough root material leftover, he can water the area really well and pull it back in position. Make sure you listen, so you do it correctly.

 *Rosie tells a personal story about an ocotillo at his neighbors home and how it grew back after she replanted it.

Email From  Listeners:

• What was the water treatment company we mentioned last hour?

Recommendation - It was Water Treatment Technologies 

• Pat - He started "Super Cooling" and saved a ton of $$$, but remember it has to be the right situation for your home and lifestyle.

Join Rosie on the House every Saturday Morning!!!