Wilson County Q & A 

By Calvin R. Finch, PhD, SAWS Water Resources Director, and Horticulturist

Week of May 19, 2008

Q.       On your radio show you talk about modern tough roses that produce great blooms without spraying.  What are they?     

A.       Belinda’s Dream is light pink.  Katy Road (also called Carefree Beauty) is a darker pink bloom.  The Knockout rose is carmen red. It is available in a single and double version.  Grandma’s Yellow has a true yellow bloom.   

Q.       What is the viney weed with heart-shaped leaves?  The leaves are shiny green and it has thorns.  How do you kill it?                                     

A.       The weed you describe is greenbriar. It has large storage bulbs on its root system that allow it to be very drought-tolerant.  The waxy leaves make it hard to kill with Round-up, but Remedy will kill it if it is on a fence away from other desirable plants. If it is growing in the shrub border, apply Green Light Vine and Stump Killer at the point where you cut it off.  The herbicide in Vine and Stump Killer is the same as the active ingredient in Remedy, but you are very specific in its application.   

Q.       I want to plant zoysia grass, but there are too many varieties to choose from!  What varieties do you recommend?                              

A.       I think Emerald is the most attractive selection, but it is hard to mow.  The best choices for most lawns are El Toro or Jamur.  Both are great.  Select the one that is the least expensive and easiest to obtain.  Zoysia grass requires just as much water as St. Augustine to keep it green, but it can go dormant in a drought and green up again when the rains begin.  Zoysia has almost as much shade tolerance as St. Augustine grass.    

Q.       My neighbor says he signed up for the SAWS’ SIP program and receives a watering recommendation e-mail based on grass-types and weather every week.  Is it based on San Antonio weather?  Would that be accurate for us? 

A.       There are over 5,000 homeowners taking advantage of the San Antonio Water System SIP program and only one-half are SAWS customers!  SIP does use San Antonio weather as the basis for its SIP recommendation, so the further you are from San Antonio, the less accurate the recommendation will be.  It is a good idea to check the weekly recommendation against actual conditions anyway.  If it rains in your area do not water!