I am so fond of having Bougainvilleas in pots in my landscape. Nothing really compares to the riot of color that they can produce during the heat of the summer. Add that to the fact that they are so easy to care for, and we have a real winner on our hands. Simply familiarize yourself with their needs, and you will have vivid color in your yard, too! Bougainvilleas require at least 5 hours of sun each day in order to bloom well. [...]
Annuals and Perennials Now is the time to plant warm season annuals and perennials. Their root systems will have a chance to become established before the summer heat sets in, and hand watering will be easier when temperatures are cooler. Be ready to protect your newly planted/tender plants with frost cloth just in case we get a late freeze. The average last frost in Burnet County is March 15. Some of my favorite plants to add instant color to the winter-worn landscape or to your containers are marigolds, geraniums, [...]
Herbaceous perennials: These are plants which die back to the ground in the winter. They may be cut back to the ground as soon as they freeze back. Examples are: Mexican Bush Sage, Copper Canyon Daisy, Katie’s Dwarf Ruellia, Russian Sage and Turk’s cap. Evergreen perennials: These stay green all winter, but benefit from either a light shear or a “rejuvenative” pruning, especially if they are old and woody. Plants requiring a light shear, or “ponytail” cut would include Damianita, Blackfoot Daisy, Mexican Oregano, and Pink Skullcap. Cut only into [...]
The old-timers always said to get your potatoes in the ground by Washington’s Birthday. Well, now that Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays have been combined, I guess we’ll have to say to get them in by “President’s Day”! Plan ahead by getting your seed potatoes about 5-7 days before planting. You will want to cut them into pieces with each containing an “eye”, and put them in a paper bag with some HiYield Dusting Sulfur to help prevent disease problems. Shake the pieces around in the bag until they are coated [...]
Treat Italian Cypress NOW! I’ve often mentioned that we have these “windows” for controlling insects and diseases on plants. For those of you who have Italian Cypress planted in your landscape, don’t miss this opportunity to apply dormant oil to prevent spider mites from infesting your plants this spring. I have had great success with one application of All-Season’s Spray Oil in February/March on Italian Cypress to suppress this damaging insect which often shows up in March. There are a few guidelines to go by for successful results: Temperatures must [...]
Is it necessary to water lawns in the winter? Many people are asking whether to water their lawns in the winter. In Central Texas, that can be a loaded question. Some winters, the temperatures do not drop low enough for a long enough time for our lawns to even go dormant. In that case, if we do not receive ½” of rain, we would advise watering about ½” every two weeks. During our colder winters, when grass turns brown and goes dormant, the roots still remain viable and grow very [...]
It is a “given” in Central Texas that certain popular varieties of plant material will sustain a freeze, eventually, that will cause extensive damage or even death. I receive many questions, daily, following an unusually cold period, about how to deal with plants that appear to have frozen and what to do with them. Here are a few that may have experienced damage, and some suggestions on how to deal with them. Little John Bottlebrush: Although this plant is rated for Zone 9, it is used extensively in this area, [...]
Keep those Loopers off your cabbage! If you have ever grown members of the Crucifer family, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radish or turnip, you have probably experienced the wrath of one of three hungry caterpillars. The cabbage looper, the imported cabbageworm and the larvae of the diamondback moth can all make your beautiful vegetable leaves look like Swiss cheese! Imported cabbageworms adults are probably the most conspicuous of the three, as a white to yellowish butterfly flitting about the garden laying their eggs on your plants! Their [...]
I am sure you all have heard the old adage “the best time to plant a tree was ten years ago!” Well, I am here to tell you that it is TRUE! Because some varieties of fruit trees can take a few years to produce a good harvest, it is even more important to plant them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Planting them now gives them a jump-start for spring-their root system will be well on the way to becoming established, and better able to survive the Central Texas summers! Some [...]
Plant asparagus roots or crowns in late winter/early spring (January-February in Central Texas). Prepare beds with heavy amounts of compost and organic fertilizer. We recommend using a mycorrhizal root inoculant (Happy Frog JumpStart contains both fertilizer and microorganisms, as does MicroLife 6-2-4) at the time of planting, as this has been shown to greatly increase yields in asparagus. Be sure to plant in full sun (at least 8 hours) and make sure that the soil drains well. Because once asparagus gets started it becomes very well established and difficult to [...]
ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS: Continue watering and fertilizing cool-season annuals to ensure productive flowering. Use NutriStar Color Star time-release fertilizer once a month for continuous feeding. Pansies are particularly heavy-feeders, and will always respond to fertilization with added blooms. Continue planting pansies, violas, ornamental cabbage and kale, snapdragons, dusty miller and cyclamen (protect cyclamen from freezes). VEGETABLES: If you plan on growing transplants for spring planting, count back 6-8 weeks from the last average frost date to start tomato and pepper seedlings. This is early to mid-January in Central Texas. Place [...]
With any luck, your Poinsettias have made it through the holidays unscathed, and you are wondering what to do with them now. Many people treat them as a “seasonal” florist plant and discard them, replacing them next year with new ones. However, if you hate throwing perfectly good plants away, you might be interested in learning how to keep your Poinsettia growing until next Christmas, and how to make it bloom again. Here are some steps to help you succeed: Locate a sunny window to grow your Poinsettia in until [...]
