Sour peaches likely due to harsh heat in early summer

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Question: I have a peach tree that has produced beautiful and delicious peaches for a number of years. I have looked forward to my annual crop with anticipation. This year, the peaches still look beautiful, on the outside. Inside, they have a strawberry color and a rather sour taste. Somewhat pithy.

My untrained eye can detect no parasites. One of my friends in another part of town has had the same thing happen to his peach tree. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Answer: I don't particularly like the answer I am going to give you and wish I had a better one. What makes it difficult is that you had good peaches in previous years. All I can do is some guessing. The strawberry color next to the pit is very common in peaches and nectarines. You may not have noticed that before.

I do not know of any pest or disease problems that would cause this. My guess would be that it is weather related. We had an early heat spell. I am guessing that there was a water restriction to the peaches during the week or so prior to ripening.

This can be due to a failure to give it enough water at that time due to the very hot weather we had in early summer. It caught a number of people off guard, including us at the Master Gardeners' Orchard. We did not experience what you did, but might have if we did not catch it in time.

I think we are saved out there because of the thick layer of organic mulch we maintain throughout the orchard. If you do not have wood mulch beneath the tree, I would highly recommend it. If your tree never produced good fruit, then I would attribute it to the variety, but since you have had a past history of good fruit production, I would lean more toward water and weather.

Q: I have a California pepper tree, quite tall, and a Fantex ash, both in need of thinning out and pruning. Should they be pruned and thinned at this time and with this heat, or shall I wait until fall or January to have this done?

A: Any major pruning and major limb removal should be done after leaf drop. Minor pruning that will not result in major thinning of the tree can be done any time of the year. No pruning paint is needed after limb removal. Make sure pruning utensils are sterilized, sharp and adjusted properly prior to pruning.

We do some summer pruning in the Master Gardeners' Orchard, but it removes only the current season's wood and is done to allow more light penetration inside the tree. Too much removal and it will lead to damage to the tree, so it has to be done very carefully. Summer pruning has a dwarfing effect on the tree.

Q: Why are pine trees planted in the desert? Do pine trees go through a seven-year cycle where they shed their needles more than other years? This past year my pine trees dropped a lot more needles than in previous years. It was crazy! I have raked every weekend and filled garbage cans only to notice that by the end of the week, the needles were covering the yard again! I also have a pool and the needles and those little pine cone things got in there and made a mess.

A: Most pines really get too tall for most home residences. The only exceptions might be the Japanese black pine and Italian stone pine. We should remember, though, that native pines grow from the cold northern latitudes all the way into the tropics and stretch from the mountains and wet climates to the upper elevations of deserts. Such is the case with our Aleppo pine, which originates in the Middle East.

A sudden drought or temporary water shortage can cause needle drop. If they go through a period of water shortage, even a short one, they will drop needles to conserve water. This hot, early summer, catching most of us off guard, probably had something to do with that.

Q: My indoor plants were accidentally watered with a white vinegar solution that I use for washing my windows. I was out of town for 10 days and half the leaves were bright yellow when I returned. I was mystified, as they are always extremely healthy, until I learned the party who was watering them for me thought my window washing jug was pure water and used it instead of tap water. What can I do to save them? Is there any hope?

A: I am guessing you may have had some root damage to the plants. The only thing you can do is flush the soil with water two or three times and place the plants in a cool, humid environment that has light, but not direct sunlight, for about two weeks. Prune the plant back to remove as much canopy as possible.

This is an attempt to regenerate damaged plant parts, probably the root system. I am recommending this technique because low temperature, high humidity and light, but no direct light, will slow down water loss and dieback if roots were damaged. Removing leaves also will slow water loss and give the roots a chance to regenerate.

By the way, our tap water has quite a bit of salts in it if you are using water that came from the Colorado River. If you are on well water, this could be a different story. There are some interior plants that may get some tip damage from our tap water. If you could dilute our tap water with about half distilled or reverse osmosis filtered water it might help them.

Q: We are looking for a tree for our side yard to be planted in an outdoor shower, which is 10 feet by 6 feet. The space would be all open, but for some privacy fencing. We want a weeping willow effect. So far we thought about evergreen elm, a weeping acacia and ruled out pepper trees because of their root systems. The tree would face east and we live on Black Mountain.

A: Your weeping acacia, which I think is the shoestring acacia, is the better of the two you are considering, except that it is a tall tree for this purpose. I think your challenge in finding a tree is size. It is tough to create a canopy over the shower area with a smaller tree, so a structure, covered in vines, might be more appropriate.

Have you considered a gazebo-like affair over the shower area with vines instead? The advantage you would have is it is more size appropriate for the site, it would use less water and the eastern exposure would give you some very unique opportunities for some more delicate types of flowering vines.

With this exposure you might be successful with even clematis if protected from the late afternoon sun. You also might consider one of the more cold tolerant passionflowers. If you choose this route, do not use wood, as it will require a lot of maintenance in our climate.

Q: Here at our retirement community, we have a number of trees that are 1 to 3 years old (2 to 3 inches diameter) that blew loose or broke free from stake wire supports. They have their trunk bark gouged 2- to 3-feet-long strips away by rubbing and slipping past nursery stakes. Can we use a water-based, white paint to seal the areas where the bark is missing, or what would you suggest?

A: Fairly recent research has demonstrated that nothing is needed to seal wounds when the trunk or limbs are damaged or pruned. The tree sets up a chemical defense within hours after the injury, followed by mechanical healing of the wounded area.

However, if damage has caused loss of canopy and you fear sun damage to the trunk and limbs, then a white latex paint, diluted 50-50 with water, is a good topical coat to apply to reduce sun damage to these tender areas.

Bob Morris is an associate professor with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.