Garden Detective

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.

This plant showed up in my flower bed. I have no idea where it came from. Do you know what it is?

We are having a problem with squirrels in our yard. While they are adorable to watch, they have been gnawing on our metal patio furniture.

Privets! The bane of my existence. I live on a corner lot in the Rosemont area. I'm in my 70s, single, retired, no gardener, bad back, yada yada. Over the years, I have tried a little at a time to grow a "park" for myself. Got rid of the lawn, water less frequently, etc.

I have three separate bird of paradise plants in south Sacramento near Fruitridge Road and the 65th Street Expressway. Lately, it seems like they have more flowers.

Two domestic dogwood trees I planted 12 years ago have failed to bloom. Can you suggest a solution?

There have been really bad black spot and mildew problems the last two seasons, due to weird weather. Last year, the problem was too much rain and not enough heat.

I have a question about my dogwood tree. For the last two years, its lower branches have blooms that refuse to open. The top of the tree is just fine.

Can you please help me with my angel trumpet? My plant is 3 to 4 years old, but has never bloomed.

My fiancée told me her favorite flower is anthurium. It's imported from possibly Hawaii or the Philippines, and it's considered an exotic flower.

We purchased our home 11 years ago and every year since, we have been battling olives dropped by 12 trees that surround our home. Our trees are typically in full bloom the second or third week in May.

I have a 3-year-old oak (from a stray acorn) that's growing 4 feet away from my 7-foot navel orange tree.

About two years ago, possibly three, I had a very tall liquidambar tree cut down and the roots ground. Within a month or two, I had shoots coming up all over the removal site.

We've been in our home for more than seven years, and in the first year, we had a couple Japanese maples and a fruitless plum planted on the north side of our home. It seems as though all the trees along this side of the house are stunted.

I just had a conversation with an experienced gardener and told her about some of our plants dying right at the start of last year. I told her we put in chicken and/or steer manure.

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 greyish-brown spot that is softer than the rest of the orange.

There's this invasive ground cover with little white flowers that's growing all over our yard and intruding into the vegetable garden.

I think I've got the only grapevine in Napa that will not make a grape!

This huge fruit came from our Eureka lemon tree. Do you know what it is?

I have a question about Italian cypress, in particular their seed pods. I would like to harvest and plant as many as I can. What is the best way to accomplish this task?

Is it too late to do anything about pear psylla? I have read to use dormant sprays, but of course the leaves are out now.

I have a plum tree that is 4 years old. Its trunk is approximately 4 inches in diameter. In the spring, it's loaded with blossoms. However, it has never had one piece of fruit. Any thoughts on what I can do to get some fruit?

I hope you can help me. I love my elephant ears, but they have grown so much that they are going to fall down or grow into the way of the sidewalk.

When should iris be dug up and replanted? Is it based on the calendar – a certain time of year – or condition of plants?

My yard has over the years been invaded by this clover. It spreads perhaps via bulbs or tubers. Either way, it is spreading everywhere.

Would you please direct me to the website that would provide a list of native plants and trees that would grow well in the soil of our El Dorado Hills home?

I planted raspberries in a raised bed. I plan to use nylon baling twine as my guide wires.

I recently moved into a new subdivision and notice that the homeowners association or developer's landscaper planted a magnolia tree directly over my water service lateral.

I have a 30-foot redbud tree that has been losing its outer bark quite severely on the lower 4 feet of the trunk.

I love the Sacramento climate for my vegetable garden. Is there a lettuce that I can grow here in the summer months?

Is it OK to plant edibles where oleanders have been?

While thinning fruit on my apple tree, I came across these little critters. They are about a half-inch long and mainly black with orange in the middle of their backs.

In my backyard here in Elk Grove, I have an apple tree and a peach tree. Every year, I get hundreds of apples and peaches, but every one of them has a brown hole and a worm inside.

My liquidambar trees drip a sticky "sap" that is as hard as a rock when it dries. It is death to car paint.

I am looking for suggestions for plants or shrubs that can withstand full summer sun in a south-facing area and that won't freeze during the Sacramento winters. I want them to bear flowers and grow to about 3 to 4 feet tall. What types of plants or shrubs should I consider?

My Japanese birch is suffering die-off in some of the smaller branches and twigs.

I have an heirloom (Brandywine) tomato plant that I purchased at Eisley's nursery here in Auburn.

Each year, I plant tomatoes and each year they end up with yellow leaves.

I'm trying to grow orchids. I can't find a book that tells me when and how to repot them.

I have noticed this flower (pictured at right) when I have been biking on the American River bike trail (which is often).

Our Asian pear tree these last three or four years has wormy fruit. Before that, the fruit was always worm-free.

A few years ago, this plant started growing in my garden. I did not plant it so I'm assuming that maybe a bird somehow brought it into my yard.

I'm curious about this plant. It was given to me as a clipping a few years ago and now blooms prolifically.

We live off a busy street and were looking for planting suggestions to block the street view and noise. We were thinking about planting some Thuja (arborvitae) for evergreen coverage. We'd like to plant several layers of plants if possible. Do you have any other suggestions? This area gets the late-afternoon sun.

Last year, my serrano chile pepper had a highly variable amount of heat. One week they were very hot, the next week very mild. Does overwatering or cool weather make for milder peppers?