Dear Neil: I am looking for a tree to place in a cemetery. It must be less than 4-inch caliper, fast-growing, hardwood, long-lived and with very few “droppings,” as neighbors’ markers must be kept clean. I have been researching a male Chinese pistachio which seems to fit the criteria and the Keith Davey selection seems ideal. A local tree farm owner tells me that any real tree farm would cull the females out and sell only the males. I’d like to plant this fall. What would you suggest?

You have done a fine job of researching this project. I’m impressed. However, I would take “fast-growing” out of your list of requirements. Every single fast-growing shade tree has one or more fatal flaw, and every single one of those species dies a short and hard life. Also, I’d also suggest that your next compromise might be on the size that you buy. Any tree approaching a 4-inch diameter trunk would require heavy equipment to bring it in and plant it. It may be difficult to maneuver it around headstones and gravesites. Plus, it limits your options on what is available in the nursery trade. But that’s not my battle to fight so I’ll get back to your question. I’m assuming this is (and will always be) full sun. The male pistachio is a great idea. Tree growers would have to get their trees up to large sizes to be able to find out if they have male or female trees. (For those unfamiliar, female pistachios bear fruit that can result in unwanted seedlings.) The Keith Davey selection has not been common, but I see that it’s being grown by a large national wholesaler, so you should be able to find it. Personally, I’d go with the smaller tree in the same circumstances if it were my choice, especially if I was going to have to carry water to it by hand until it got established (2 or 3 years). Fall planting is the best – again, you’re right on target. Good luck!

Dear Neil: Our city has put us under watering restrictions. I’ve heard that letting the grass grow taller shades the ground and, to some degree, inhibits some post-sprinkling evaporation. Should we mow or not mow?

My vote is always to continue mowing at the recommended height month after month. Letting grass grow tall encourages the lawn to become thin as the blades stretch in competition for sunlight. Then weeds move in and really start the competition for water. Mowing keeps the turf low and dense.

Dear Neil: I have areas of my bermudagrass that turn silver and die. I’ve tried fungicides and it still dies. Nothing seems to work. Do you have any ideas?

Oh, what I’d give for a photo. If the adjacent parts of the lawn are highly manicured and dark green, I would suggest cottony blight, also known by its disease name, Pythium blight. I’ve had a lot of questions on that recently. You can see dramatic photos of what it looks like in a lawn by Googling “university Pythium blight bermuda lawn.” You’ll find good matches from Texas A&M, Clemson, North Carolina State, Louisiana State, Oklahoma State and other southern ag colleges. Or, if the adjacent grass is also neglected, just to lesser degrees, it could be that the lawn isn’t getting nearly enough water. Even bermudagrass can burn up in this heat and drought.

Dear Neil: What is the life expectancy of a Bradford pear? We have one that was planted when our house was built 35 years ago. It’s between our drive and the neighbor’s yard. I wanted to take it out five years ago but our neighbors asked us to keep it. Two branches broke and fell while we were at work last week. I don’t want any more to come down and hit our cars or the neighbor’s house. Should I take it down now or wait and see if it loses any more branches?

My advice? Hurry. They normally split right down the middles of their trunks when they’re 15 to 18 years old. I planted three in 1978. That was before we knew. The first one split completely in half in 1990. By then the reports were coming in from across America, so I took all three of mine out. You are on borrowed time already. Your tree, as judged by your photo, is sparse and brittle looking. Take it out on your terms. The cost of having someone do that for you will be significantly less than replacing a car or repairing a roof.

Dear Neil: I have had this same problem with my dwarf Burford hollies for years. The center and low-area leaves and branches thin out and die. The top and end parts remain green. I have these hollies in two areas, one facing south (10 years) and one facing west (4 years). They are hand watered two times per week and I feed them and apply iron. I have five other types of hollies and they are not having any types of troubles, although they’re not in hedge-type configuration. Any suggestions?

You’re trimming the plants repeatedly at the same heights. They put out new shoots at their growing tips, but then you have to trim those away to maintain the same heights. It looks like the bottoms of the plants in your photo are very dark, so there is little light to encourage new shoot growth down there. Perhaps there is a landscape tree casting shade, or maybe the photo was just taken late in the day. If this were my landscape, I would consider cutting these way back (18 inches) next January and letting them regrow, then trying to prune them gradually, one branch at a time, so that you maintain a more natural growth form. Or take the planting out and replace them with shorter, more spreading plants like Carissa or dwarf yaupon hollies that will never get this tall.

Have a question you’d like Neil to consider? Mail it to him in care of this newspaper or e-mail him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com. Neil regrets that he cannot reply to questions individually.

Bradford pear that has lost two branches. Courtesy photo

Dwarf Buford hollies. Courtesy photo