Q: My builder planted Bermuda grass in my front yard and ryegrass in the backyard of our new home last October. The front yard looks great. It is growing quickly now, but the backyard is looking worse every day. Can I sow Bermuda seed on it to crowd out the ryegrass?

A: The ryegrass is dying because of the warm weather. Rye, whether it's labeled as annual or perennial, is an annual in Texas lawns. Folks only use it to hold soil during winter, when they can't plant Bermuda or St. Augustine, and to keep lawns green when permanent grass dormant.

If you want to sow Bermuda seed, you'll need to work the soil 3 to 4 inches deep, then rake it smooth, before you sow the seeds. If that's too much trouble, you could also buy sod, cut it into 6-inch squares, and checkerboard them on 18-inch centers across the lawn. They will quickly grow and cover. Hand-water them for the first week after planting.

Q: My neighbor has a fig tree that bears lots of delicious figs, but I don't know the variety. Can I root one from a cutting?

A: That's exactly how they're started by commercial growers. At this point in the growing season, you might be better off waiting another few weeks, until the new spring growth gets a little bit woodier. At that point, take cuttings that are 6 inches long and pencil-size in diameter.

Trim the leaves with scissors to remove two-thirds of each leaf blade. Stick them into a one-gallon pot filled with loose, organic potting soil and water thoroughly.

Cover them loosely with a sheet of dry cleaner's plastic to hold in the moisture, and put them in a spot that's bright but out of direct sunlight.

You should have pretty good results in getting them to root, at which point you can pot them up and grow them for a few months before planting them into the garden.

Q: What can I use to eliminate a low, dense weed that produces little stickers? It's been around for the winter, but it's taking over my St. Augustine.

A: Because you're talking about a cool-season weed that has been in place over the winter, that will rule out grassburs.

I'll assume you're looking at a broad-leafed plant with burs, and if so, a spray containing 2,4-D will be your best bet.

Take a sample to a Texas Certified Nursery Professional, and ask that he or she confirm that it's a broad-leafed plant. They'll have the necessary product to eliminate it, as well as good advice on how to apply it.

Q: We have an oak tree that has holes in its trunk. They're arranged in rows, and they're fairly close together. Black ooze is coming out of the holes, and the tree doesn't look very healthy.

We are doing construction around the tree, and some of its branches were knocked off by a cement truck. I've sprayed for insects, and I've applied a fungicide. Is there anything else I should do to try to save the tree?

A: Have a certified arborist look at the tree. The holes are probably caused by sapsuckers (woodpeckers). They rarely do any measurable harm to trees. They drill the holes, then they come back to feed on the sap. They do not suggest presence of insects.

My bet is that the construction has done the damage, and that's where the arborist would have the best insights.
