Garden Detective

Last summer, I had them in large pots, watered once a day, sometimes every other day. They had no pests on them and I used fertilizer for tomatoes.

Help! I have two beautiful crape myrtle trees planted between my two driveways. They offer great shade for our cars, but all summer long they drop a dewy mess all over the cars.

My husband and I are in our 70s, can't afford a lot of work on the yard and can't do it ourselves. Some years ago, portions of the yard were filled in with plastic sheeting and small rocks in hope of keeping the weeds out. Naturally, over time it backfired. Short of having the yard dug up, is there anything we can plant that will reach through the rocks and flourish?

I have a 1-year-old Japanese maple I transplanted from my backyard to my front yard. A few months ago, its leaves wilted because a pipe broke and drowned my poor tree.

I was once told of the invasion of an unwanted squirrel into my Carmichael orchard/forest. But I can't remember which – gray or red?

Last week's question about a fungus-prone, nonblooming crape myrtle prompted a detailed response from another master gardener with plenty of experience growing this Sacramento favorite.

I have a crape myrtle tree that was planted in my backyard about four years ago in April. That first year, it got some blooms and also some fungi.

Our Black Jack fig tree is in its second year. This past year, it developed a brown-leaf problem. About 15 percent of the young tree was affected. The leaves eventually dry up and fall off.

We have a birch tree that has taken a turn for the worse and may be dying. I believe it was planted in 1960 when our house was built. We have had problems in recent years with a neighbor who fed the squirrels a gourmet diet. They are ground squirrels. The neighbor, who has moved, was on the other side of the yard from this tree and we have ground squirrels there, too.

My peonies always droop. Once they start to bloom, the weight makes them fall to the ground and they never really get to bloom out. What would be a good fix to help them hold their heads up high?

During the summer, our pine and redwood trees turned brown next to the tree trunk. Did we water too little or too much? Or is this a sign of disease?

I leave my tuberous begonias in their pots, but turn the pots on their sides in winter so they stay dry. When they get started in the spring, I upright them and let them grow.

For decades, our large yard had what we referred to as "native California grass." That is, it was green and had blades and was some kind of grass, even if clearly not sod-perfect.

I have a Laurus nobilis tree that was planted in my yard by a landscaper. I noticed the tree was looking very sticky. Many of the leaves were curling.

Will you suggest a few herbs or flowers I can grow on a small apartment balcony that gets no direct sunlight? It is a bright patio that needs some plant life.

I have a 10-year-old brown turkey fig tree. For the last four years, I have been bothered by leaves showing brown spots, including on the stems. The spots get larger, starting just before harvest time.

We have ants in our raised-bed vegetable garden as well as a few other areas around our home. We use bait traps only when things get out of hand in early spring when they historically show up indoors.

I planted an Arbutus unedo about a year ago and it has done great – until recently. The leaves nearest the trunk of the tree and ground are turning yellow and falling off.

I live in Natomas (with heavy clay soil), so I want to build some raised planter beds with better soil (such as loam) for growing vegetables. However, I also want to feel confident that these veggies are safe and healthy for my family to eat, and grown in clean, uncontaminated soil.

I have a mystery rose bush. I've been told that it is an Austrian Copper rose, but I've been unable to find any information regarding this plant. The flowers look more red than copper.

My mom's pomegranate tree has very low fruit yield. It's been low for several years. Most of the blossoms just fall off.

I have two fig trees that produce figs profusely – figs galore! But I can't eat any of them because they never get ripe.

We have mushrooms that sprout up and grow in our lawn, mostly. We also have dogs that like to eat stuff in the yard.

Last winter, the fruit on our Satsuma mandarin tree developed odd black spots. The black part of the fruit is very hard and when I cut it open the part attached to the black area is a light-green color. The rest of the fruit is normal. Not all the fruit has the black area. Some of the fruit is tart, but other fruit is OK.

This plant is popping up all over our yard. What is it?

My apple tree developed a weird web on one branch only that is full of caterpillar-type worms. The branch has died, but the rest of the tree is fine.

I wonder what has happened to my rose bushes. In the middle of summer, they suddenly developed all these spots on their leaves. Any suggestions?

While in the San Diego area about 10 years ago, I purchased a bulb about the size of a softball. It was labeled "white squill."

Help! We have moss growing in a shaded area of our yard and also on the planter edging. Can we spray bleach water on the ground and be effective? This is getting to be a very big problem as I feel it is spreading.

On two occasions, I have purchased potting soil and azalea mix from a local nursery and mixed it 50-50 to grow tomatoes in large pots. This combination was recommended by the nursery.

We have a large shrub juniper in our yard. Is it possible to prune it to a smaller size?

I seek information on how to start indigenous plants with no irrigation water available. It is an area adjacent to a greenbelt area in Roseville. There are many blue oaks in the greenbelt.

Our deck is inundated with box elder bugs. We got some Ortho spray at the nursery that says it kills box elder bugs. We sprayed the screen door and put little lids around the edge with poison in them.

For the past three years, we have grown lemon cucumbers at our home in the Arden Park area of Sacramento. For two years, they were planted directly in the ground and this year in a large clay pot.

I have two full-grown (7-foot and 10-foot) orange trees that were loaded with oranges, but as many as 10 (total from both trees) fall off each day. We find each of these on the ground with a large grayish-brown spot, which is softer than the rest of the orange.

We live in Fair Oaks Village and want to plant a tall hedge (to reach about 7 feet) as a privacy fence. However, there is a massive maple tree in that part of our yard, so there is only filtered sun throughout the day. What hedge do you recommend?

I would appreciate a little help with my tomatoes. Last year, I planted five plants – two cherry and three large (I cannot remember which variety). The cherry tomatoes produced wonderfully but the others – though they produced lots of flowers – did not set fruit.

I would like to know when a lantana plant should be trimmed and if there are any tips you could give me. My lantana was planted last year, did very well and grew a lot. It seems, though, that all the growth is on the outside branches.

They have gathered on a plastic blind hung in a west window. They first appeared in December.

We have a 4-year-old dwarf mandarin tree that blooms every spring. It gets little fruits and then they all fall off.

I need your help with a pear tree we planted in our backyard about 10 to 15 years ago. It seems to be dying a little at a time.

We live in Herald in south Sacramento county. About 18 years ago, we planted several eucalyptus trees for a fast-growing light shield from a neighboring light.

I have an orange tree that has produced a good crop every year, and last season was the best. But this season, the tree had very few blossoms.

Our flowering cherry tree is 10 years old and within the past four years has become infected with something that is causing the lower branches to wither and the tree to drop a sticky sap.

I planted bougainvillea in a sheltered location in my entry way, facing south. The first year, I got many blooms; last year, almost none.

I had two raised beds built for a vegetable garden. So far, all the veggies look healthy – but so does the nutgrass that won't stop growing along with the veggies.

We have an entrance to our home in Sun City Lincoln that is 15 feet of wall leading to the front door. Right now, there are junipers planted in the 12-inch-wide planter against that 15-foot wall. The walkway is 47 inches wide. There is only one planter on the side of the walkway.