Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romero’s radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers specifically suited to wherever someone lives in Arizona.
I just moved to Tucson and would like to plant strawberries. I’m planning to grow them in a fairly big greenhouse that I built rather than outside in the garden itself. I keep getting lots of leaves, but not berries. What’s wrong?
You probably won’t get any berries until your plants have been in the ground for a year. It might speed things up to fertilize; you don’t need to feed them with anything special. They do need a fertilizer with more phosphorus than nitrogen. You also want to cool the plants down this summer by providing extra shade.
I have an 18-inch high saguaro that I started from seed. When can I put it in the ground?
Right now, in the spring, would be a good time. Just be sure to plant it in your yard so that it has the same orientation to the north and south that it faces right now while it’s in a pot.
I have a 20-foot-high saguaro in my yard, and the top six to eight feet are leaning more and more over my concrete block wall. If it falls, it could break the wall. What should I do about it?
You need to call in a cactus expert who will have a lot of heavy equipment as well as know-how on how to help save your saguaro. They might advise you to replant the cactus or prop it up in some way. A full-grown saguaro is very valuable and it would be costly as well to replace it.
For more tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. Rosie Romero is the host of the Saturday Rosie on the House radio program from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) and -FM (97.1) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley.
