By Kai Umeda A strategy can be implemented to control the purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus), the “world’s worst weed.” Due to regulatory constraints from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, only the use of MSMA (monosodium methylarsonate) herbicide on golf courses,…
By Jeffrey Gilbert Irrigation systems are probably one of the biggest investments made to help maintain landscape plants. They also are both customized for a particular site and probably the most heavily used ‘tools’, sometimes on a daily basis, especially…
By Dan Gregg The economics behind water conservation are pushing cities to rely on architects and other landscape industry professionals to design spaces that are more energy efficient than ever before, to save not only natural resources, but also financial…
By Bernd Leinauer, Turfgrass Extension Specialist, New Mexico State University Sprinkler systems are the most commonly used irrigation systems for turf-dominated landscapes despite their inefficiencies due to losses from run-off, wind drift, and evaporation. Subsurface irrigation systems, on the other…
Pruning is one of the most misunderstood aspects of palm culture. Correctly pruning any plant or tree can benefit the growth and health of the plant. Maintained correctly, palms are low maintenance trees. For some reason, people believe they can…
It might come as a surprise to some, but trees in the southwestern desert are not going to live forever. Sure, there are some desert ironwoods, Olneya tesota, along washes which have enjoyed the past few hundred years, but as…
By David Cristiani The use of accent plants, the Southwest green industry’s term for larger cactus and succulent plants, continues to increase beyond low desert communities. Some of that is more about following a trend, but some of that responds…
By Helen M. Stone There are almost as many different types of fertilizers as there are plants. Whole books have been written on soil fertility and fertilizer selection; this publication has covered the topic extensively in the past years.…
By Dr. John Ball Every day incidents occur in the tree care industry. Tree workers tend to call them accidents rather than incidents, but the medical field is getting away from this description. Accidents seem to imply that it just…
By Jim Downer, Ph.D By now everyone has heard the hue and cry of drought and the peril we Californians all face from prolonged snow pack depletion and lack of rain. Those who study climate change suggest that some places…
