Neil Sperry's Mailbag

Absolutely. The tree will recover, assuming it suffers at all. While you have the driveway torn up you might check for any other smaller roots that may be waiting their turn to do your drive harm. Cut a trench along the side of the drive and install some type of root barrier to keep additional roots from causing a problem. You could also install interlocking concrete pavers that would allow you easier access to the soil without breaking solid pieces of concrete.

Oh, no! Blackberries produce fruit on canes that were produced the preceding year. Once they bear fruit, however, those canes will never bear again. That makes early June the best time to cut the canes that have just borne fruit back completely to the ground. "Tip-prune" the new canes this spring to keep them shorter and more compact.

Yaupon hollies, as many other types of hollies, bear male and female flowers on separate plants.

You would only want to dig the female (fruit-producing) plants.

Male plants don't sell nearly as well. Talk to a nurseryman near you about hiring tree diggers to harvest the plants. A forewarning: most of the cost in yaupon trees you find in nurseries has to do with the labor of digging them. You probably won't get rich from your sales, but it will be nice income and it will free up your property.

You probably could, but you shouldn't. Burkett is a very old variety (100 years old), and is not nearly as dependable a pecan variety as most of the newer hybrids. What you have is probably better. Plus, you'd have a mismatch of the two halves of your tree. That could lead to problems.

Use either Image or Manage as a spray late this spring or during the summer.

Water the herbicide into the soil thoroughly, and the weeds will take it up internally. It will gradually kill the nutsedge (not a true grass). Both are very effective, but your first treatment won't come until late May or early June. The nutsedge is dormant during the winter and unable to take either product into its roots. Follow label directions carefully.

You should either invest in a "smart" controller that will monitor watering needs and only allow the system to run as it's needed, or you should leave it in the "manual" mode and turn it on only as you see the need. This is a great way to conserve our state's natural resource.

This is a big task that is best accomplished in April or May. You do need to remove the old grass first. The easiest way would be to spray with Round Up or one of the other glyphosate herbicides. They will kill the old bermuda without contaminating the soil. After two weeks you can rototill and rake out the old debris, then bring in your new loam topsoil.

Your local nurseryman can suggest the best source, or you can work with a landscape contractor to do the entire job for you. They will know sources of "safe" soil, that is, soil that is free of nutsedge and other potential problems.

After you get the new soil in place, tilled and raked smooth you can plant your new sod. Let your local sod yard work with you on selecting the best type for your needs. In fact, it's probably a good idea to involve them in this entire process from the outset.

Apply pre-emergent herbicide granules (Balan, Team, Dimension or others) in late February or early March, then again 90 days later. The weedkiller will prevent germination of the weed seeds, yet it won't harm your lawn or adjacent trees and shrubs.

Apply a broadleafed weedkiller spray containing 2,4-d with a pump sprayer directly to the ajuga at a time when it is growing very actively. April or May would be ideal. Keep the spray away from groundcovers, low shrubs, flowers and other non-grassy (broadleafed) plants.

You were correct in assuming that lack of sunlight was the cause of your problem. You're also dealing with four evergreen trees, so there never would have been any light to the ground at any season. St. Augustine is your best bet, but even it requires four hours of direct sunlight daily to hold its own, more if you expect it to grow well. Try a little of it later this spring. If it doesn't take hold, you may have to switch over to a shade-tolerant groundcover as many of us have done in parts of our landscapes.

Grape pruning, whether to tidy your plant or to keep a fruiting type in peak production, is done in late January or early February.

You may be surprised by the improved quality of the foliage you get after the pruning.

Dig them during their winter dormant period. Hold as much of their root system intact as you use a sharpshooter spade to dig the balls of soil.

You'll need to trim them by 40 to 50 percent to compensate for the roots that will be lost as you dig them.

Live oaks maintain their leaves in the winter. That gives small and medium-sized birds some protection from predators, also from cold winds.

However, as the birds flock in and out of the branches, they knock off a lot of the leaves. Luckily, the trees will begin to leaf out again vigorously in less than two months. Other than that, I wouldn't worry about them. In fact, waxwings usually migrate through town in fairly short order. They're probably busy looking for fleshy fruit in your yard or nearby.

To be honest, I would never mess with the old vines. I've faced the same issue, and the best thing to do is to cut them out of the trees and also to get rid of the old root systems either by pulling the stumps or with a broadleafed weedkiller poured at full strength into holes you drill into the stumps. Then, if you want grapes over your new arbors, you would simply plant whatever type you want on the supports. You'll get much better plants much more quickly if you start with vigorous, young plants. Remember, too, how large those old vines are as you build the new structure. Grapes require large and substantial supports.

Neil Sperry
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