Insect egg casings appear white, fuzzy

Q: I have these white fuzzies growing on the stems of my bell pepper plant. I also have one coreopsis among many that is showing the white fuzz on the stem. In addition there are black specks on the leaves. Same thing, two different stages, or two different problems? The coreopsis in general is sickly, and I see that something is eating the leaves. I have not sprayed it with anything.

A: (I passed this question on to Terry Mikel, my counterpart in Phoenix, Ariz.) Those are the egg casings of a couple different critters. One can be a species of sharpshooters (not the ones that spread oleander leaf scorch or grape's Pierce's disease).

These sharpshooters are kind of cool when, if you are standing under a tree with the sun on the other side of the tree so it is backlit, you can see the fluid raining from the sharpshooters. Sometimes you even can feel the moisture raining down when you are under the tree. Just try not to remember it's bug pee.

Another critter with a similar egg cluster is a close relative that passes through our lives nearly undetected except for the egg casings. They tend to show up on just a few plant stems and the petioles. Most people think it's a fungal infection.

The sharpshooter's impact to plants is negligible so in this case the education value far outweighs any possible harm to the plants.

Q: Hi, I'm a follower of your blog and I have two questions if you don't mind answering them. First, what is your overall opinion of queen palms in the Las Vegas climate? It seems like every winter they struggle but eventually come back in the late spring, early summer. My second question is: What is the best water requirement for a 15-gallon queen? Is it best to have a few 4-gallon emitters over an hour time or many 1-gallon emitters over a few hours? Also do I water every other day or three days a week in the summer months?

A: Queen palms are not the best choice of palm trees for our climate in general. This is a harsh environment for them, particularly our very low winter temperatures, lack of humidity, strong dry winds and poor soils. Once we recognize this, then we can begin to address the situation, determine if a queen palm is a good choice, and what needs to be done to get it to work here. The absolute worst thing you can do with a queen palm is put it directly into a very harsh climate, fully exposed to the elements, without amending the soil or amending it very little.

If you were to plant it in our desert environment, then you would try to find a place for it out of strong winds, protected from extreme winter low temperatures, and amend the soil adequately at planting time. Unless you can find this ideal micro environment, you will have poor results. It's not impossible, but it is hard to find.

You should also use organic surface mulches that break down and improve the soil over time.

Palms are high water users in the small spaces that they occupy. Water does not have to be applied over a large area but should be applied in an area equal to at least half of the spread of their canopy. The water should be applied so that it soaks the soil down to about 24 inches each time you water.

The soil should never go totally dry and surface mulches will help in this. Also, planting understory plants that require more frequent watering will help.

How many gallons does a 15-gallon palm require? About 7-10 gallons each time you water or about half to two-thirds of the volume of the container (even though a 15-gallon container does not hold 15 gallons).

Four emitters in a square pattern about a foot from the trunk would be good. How many minutes (or hours) should you run it? I don't know. That depends on your emitters. If these are 2-gallon-per-hour emitters then 60-75 minutes would be a good idea.

The other question to answer in watering is how often. You are asking about a one-day difference in your watering. I really can't tell you that without knowing more about your soil and how much water it holds. If it drains freely and doesn't hold much water, then irrigate every other day now. If this is a soil that can hold a bit more, then every third day would be good.

Why don't you try using a houseplant soil moisture meter to help determine how wet the soil is before you irrigate. Once you do this a couple of times it will become more intuitive about how often to water.

Q: Do you have recommendations or suggestions for new avocado and lime tree plantings for Las Vegas? I currently have a Meyer lemon tree that is doing great.

A: I don't like to recommend lime or avocado for this climate, particularly avocado, unless you have a spot in the landscape that gives off a lot of winter warmth and protection from winter winds.

These plants are very tender and the chance of losing them due to winter cold is extremely high. That being said, if you decide to move ahead with a lime, then any of the limes would be a good choice. It depends on your preference.

Rangpur and red limes, although cold hardy, are not limes at all but could be used as a substitute. To my knowledge there is little difference in the true limes' abilities to make it through the cold here so that would not be a consideration.

As far as the avocado goes, I would select a smaller variety to give it a better chance of surviving. Watch out for the rootstock or the plant it is grafted on. It also must be cold tolerant or you could lose the roots in a winter freeze and not the top.

Here are some recommended cold-hardy varieties from a Texas website: http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/fruit/varieties_avocado.htm

n Brazos Belle avocado produces medium-large, purple-black long fruit in October through November.

n Fantastic avocado produces green, paper-thin-skinned avocados. It is supposedly the most cold hardy of all. The fruit has a creamy texture.

n Joey produces a medium-size, egg-shaped purple-black fruit. It has excellent flavor and is a heavy bearer in September through October.

n Lila produces medium-sized, green fruit in September through October. This should not to be confused with Lula, which is popular Florida variety and commonly used for rootstock. (Lula is cold hardy to 25 F.)

n Poncho produces medium-to-large green fruit and is supposedly cold hardy to 15 F.

Bob Morris is a horticulture expert living in Las Vegas; he is on special assignment in the Balkh Province, Afghanistan, for the University of California, Davis. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com.