Hi I'm daphne richards. Augie is taking a little time off this week to the
vacation with his doxie cousins our question
this week is from Marie who's having some issues with her mandevilla plant
her plant's in a large pot getting full Sun until about two in the afternoon
the leaves are yellowing and have some splotches and some leaves are falling off well
marie
there are definitely a few issues here that we can help with first
the amount of sunlight mandevilla are tropical species
although they do need more sunlight the many tropicals they
still can't take the intensity of our sun
here in Central Texas and more importantly they struggle
in the moisture sucking heat that comes with it we have our mandevilla
in very bright shade in our demonstration garden and they perform very well
leaves grown in shade tend to be darker green
so give your plant a good shearing to remove those yellowing leaves
and struggling growth after you've moved it to a shadeier spot
then watch for the new growth which should be slightly darker
some of the leaf damage here is sunburned but most appears to be photo oxidation
when sunlight is very intense it can burn sensitive leaves
causing brown spots or sunburn but before they leave completely burns
you may notice yellowing leaves which is a sign that the heat the Sun
has denatured the chlorophyll and since chlorophyll
as a green pigment less chlorophyll means less green
the smaller brown splotches here are likely secondary issues
possibly fungal which move in once a plant is stressed and vulnerable
so Marie move those containers to where they won't get direct Sun
any later than mid-morning and shear the plant to about six inches
to force it to produce new healthier growth you'll see improvement in no time
our plant this week shoestring acacia acacia stenophylia
this strikingly unique tree is widely used in the desert southwest
not only for its beautiful forming a weeping habit but also because it
thrives in extreme heat
with very little water once established as with the majority of southwestern
species
this tree will not take kindly to poorly drained soils
so if you had heavy clay you may want to choose another species
shoestring acacia grows twenty to forty feet tall
and will have a canopy about 15 feet wide from a distance it resembles a
willow tree
with very long shoestring like leaves I could go off on an excited botanical
tangent here
but how the leaves are actually modified structures called the loads
but I'll spare you that plant nerd ramble for the moment shoestring acacia
is a relatively fast growing tree
with all of the potential issues that come with it it has a rather thin trunk
and long thin branches leaving it more susceptible to breakage
and wind damage this tree is evergreen and it's best used as an
accent to enhance the beauty of your landscape with its diffuse leaves in
billowy habit
it provides very little shade shoestring acacia has a similar
powder puff flower to other acacias you may hardly notice them amongst the
graceful foliage
although this tree can be virtually ignored once established
when you do water it be sure to do so deeply and thouroughly
but not too much or too often or it might develop root rot
our viewer Photo this week is from my very own garden
I snapped this cute little guy landing on the sea of pink perry wrinkles in my backyard
in this week in your garden
if you're planning for some cool season vegetables it's time to plant
cabbage broccoli cauliflower garlic
kohlrabi and many others also we have a fruit tree seminar coming up in October
check the extension website Travis- TX
.TAMU.edu for more information we love to hear from you so please
visit us at klru.org/ctg
with your questions and plants from your garden