Week 29 Tips for the Zone 9 Garden

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Jay White

Last week my wife and I left blogging and gardening behind and headed to New England for a little R&R. It was so cool and lush and beautiful. I saw lots of beautiful landscapes and vegetable gardens. I have to admit, everything up there was so pretty I had serious “garden envy”.

If you are a gardener then you know that July is the best time to leave your gardening chores behind for a while. The temperatures right now are so hot that even the bugs and the weeds have decided to take a break. Even though it is hot and dry there is still a lot that can be done in the July Texas Garden.

Sally and I spent a week in the Berkshires. It was so lovely and so cool!

Vegetables

Water correctly– It doesn’t matter how much rain we got in the spring, our gardens need watering now. Water deeply and more frequently. Use drip or soaker hoses if possible. Soaker hoses typically put out about an inch of water per hour. In this heat you may need to apply an inch of water every second or third day
Stay Cool-This morning at my house it was 84 degrees at 8;00 am. If you are going to work outside take care to avoid heat exhaustion or dehydration. Patty Leander wrote a great post a while back about keeping cool in the Texas heat. Click on the link to read all of her tips: No Rest for the Weary-Summer Gardening Chores by Patty Leander

Harvest okra, Southern peas, Malabar spinach and other heat loving veggies often– Some of these heat loving veggies are still producing. Pick often
Prepare beds for fall – This weekend I will pull out all of my spring cucumber vines. Once they are gone if will begin preparing the row for fall planting. I remove all remaining weeds. I also remove my old hay mulch and take it to the burn pile. The old hay is full of bugs and their eggs. Next I cover the entire row with about three inches of compost and then I cover everything with fresh hay. Come planting time I will push back my hay mulch, give the row a light till and then plant

I have never been to New England. I was impressed with all of the quaint cottages and lush landscapes.

Ornamentals

Water correctly and water frequently – If you see yellow or brown leaves, curled leaves, spotted leaves, etc. on your ornamentals, there is a good chance they have some water stress. The general rule of thumb in Texas is water deeply every five days. During July and August you may need to up your frequency to every second or third day
Mulch, mulch, mulch!- I generally mulch my beds with finished compost. This gives me a two in one benefit. Mulch conserves water and by using compost you feed your plants at the same time.
Control aphids and white flies – Use a strong blast of water to the underside of leaves or apply a mild horticultural oil like neem

We visited the FDR house, museum and library. This is his horse stable. Wish I could have been one of his horses!

Trees and Lawns

Water, water, water! – An inch of water every five days may not be enough for St. Augustine and Bermuda. Walk on your lawn. If your grass does not bounce back and fill your footsteps quickly you need to water. Trees and woody shrubs need frequent, deep waterings; especially ones that were planted in the last two years. Check out this article on tree watering from Denton County Extension Agent Janet Laminack – Tree Watering Basics by Janet Laminack
Lift up the height of your mower deck – If you have been mowing at 3” raise it to 3 ½”. Taller grass will keep it and the soil cool

It is believed that these orange day lilies are the descendants of the first day lilies brought to the Americas. They grow, and spread, with abandon which has led to their common name of “ditch lilies”.

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Winter Watering by Janet Laminack

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Jay White

“Should I be watering my lawn and shrubs this time of the year? It is extremely dry but has also been very cold and below freezing temperatures.”

You should definately water during the winter

This is a question I recently received from a local resident. It’s a great question and I have some answers for anyone else who may also be wondering that very same thing.

Yes, watering shrubs and perennials, especially before we have freezing temperatures, is recommended. Watering helps insulate the plants and can help them survive unusually low temperatures better. This is especially beneficial if you have perennials that are a little tender for our area or when temepratures drop below our normal temperature range. I also like to recommend watering evergreen shrubs and trees in the winter. Since they still have their leaves on they have more desiccation in the winter than deciduous plants. When we get warm, windy days, the soil is likely to dry out and plants with leaves could be losing moisture. Shrubs and trees without leaves may not need water as much. They aren’t moving water through their system, but their roots are alive and could be damaged if they dry out too much. And you are more likely to get freeze damage with roots in dry soil rather than roots in a well-watered soil.

Evergreen shrubs lose water even in the cold months

When thinking about watering your lawn, think about watering St Augustine like a tender plant with evergreen leaves. St Augustine does not like the cold weather. Bermuda grass is much more cold tolerant and goes very dormant in our winter. It does alright with supplemental irrigation when we’ve been very dry for a long time.

Watering before a freeze will protect the roots of trees, shrubs and lawns

The last thing to know about watering is not to do it during freezing temperatures. Turn off your automatic sprinkler system, icy landscapes are not our goal. Wait until we get a warm up and then give everything a good soak. You won’t need to water as frequently during the cold season, but about once a month, when we are dry will be very beneficial.

It is time to think about planting asparagus, onions and potatoes in North Texas

It’s getting to be time to start planting onions, asparagus and potatoes! Check out our vegetable gardening information under North Texas Gardening at www.dcmga.com. While you are there, you can find out about our upcoming classes and be put on our e-mailing list. And as always, if you need more information or just have landscape or gardening questions contact us, at 940.349.2892, email master.gardener@dentoncounty.com, we are here to help.

Trimming Trees Correctly – Don’t Overdo It! by Janet Laminack

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Jay White

Some of you out there make yard work way too hard. For example, leaves don’t have to be raked and bagged. You can mow them into tiny bits and let them break down in the lawn. Or you can rake them into your flowerbeds as a mulch. But they can be messy and ill-behaved and blow around places, so I know that some people really need to rake and bag leaves and that is ok.

Downed leaves make great mulch

Did you know that trees don’t have to be trimmed? That’s a real shocker, isn’t it? The three primary reasons a tree should be pruned or trimmed is if they have branches that are dead, diseased or damaged. There are many other reasons that people trim and prune their shade trees but not all of them are very effective or recommended, such as pruning to control size. Find a tree or shrub with a mature size within your desired limits. Removing more than a third of a plant at a time is not recommended ever, so bear that in mind when charging about with your loppers and chainsaws.

Trees will need to be trimmed if branches are crossing and rubbing. Or if a tree is touching your house or other structures, pruning is appropriate.

Trees don’t “have” to be trimmed. These lovely cottonwoods and sycamores have never seen a a pruner or saw and they look pretty spectacular

Sometimes trees are thinned out in the canopy. This is primarily done to allow more sunlight in for growing grass under the tree. Trees and turfgrass don’t actually mix too well. But, a tree adds so much more value to your home that I tend to always side with the tree over lawn health. Planting a groundcover or other shade loving plants under a tree is an option if it’s too shady for grass but you want something green. Trees don’t need to be thinned out because they are too heavy or thick.

Trees are also trimmed up to open up a view or sight line. This is sometimes necessary and advisable. Removal of a few of the lower branches so that you don’t clothesline yourself while mowing is reasonable. However, be mindful not to overdo it creating a lion’s tail. This can leave a tree less structurally sound.

Crape myrtles are commonly trimmed back severely or topped in the winter to encourage blooming. They do flower on new growth, but pruning is not necessary in order for them to put on a spectacular show the next summer. Topping can cause the tree to lose its wonderful branching structure.

You don’t have to commit crepe murder to get your crepe myrtles to produce beautiful blooms each year. Photo from Greg Grant on Aggie-Horticulture. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/stopthecrape.html

Yard work can be tough, but maybe not as hard as you have been making it all these years. If you have questions about how to care for your trees or landscape, give us a call at 940.349.2892, email master.gardener@dentoncounty.com or visit www.dcmga.com.

It’s Tree Planting Time by Janet Laminack

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Jay White

There is an old saying that goes “The very best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago”. If you didn’t do it twenty years ago you can make amends by planting one now. Fall is the perfect time for planting trees in Texas. Fall planting allows a tree to establish itself in the cooler temperatures of winter and spring.

October is the best time of the year to plant trees in Texas. This weekend, I planted two large Empire Live Oaks from Tree Town USA in the front yard of nationally known decorator Holly Mathis (http://www.hollymathisinteriors.com/).

When choosing trees, people often want a quick growing tree. Quick growing sometimes means quick dying, so it’s best to be patient and pick a quality tree. Some good choices for our area include oaks like burr, chinkapin, red oak and live oak. Lacebark elm and cedar elm do well and pecans also make nice shade trees. But pecans are not a good choice for planting over driveways or for the squirrel-adverse. You can also consider smaller trees or large shrubs such as redbud, crape myrtle, desert willow, and wax myrtle. True, these trees won’t be gigantic shade trees, but they can make a positive impact and might be more appropriate and attractive by staying in scale with your home and smaller urban lot.

When I plant a tree I use my shovel to get the hole width and depth correct. Width should be 1.5 times as big as the pot and the depth should be 2 or 3 inches shorter than the soil depth in the pot

When deciding where to plant a tree, it’s essential to consider its mature size. Consider how big this tree will be in 10, 20, or 30 years. Make sure you don’t plant a tree too close to power lines, buildings or other trees. You also need to check that the tree isn’t too close to anything underground as well. Before you dig, call 811 to have the underground utilities in your lawn marked for free. Planting trees or shrubs might seem like minor digging, but not knowing where underground lines are could put you in danger or disrupt service in your neighborhood (or both depending on just how serious the sports fans are in your area!) For more information, visit www.call811.com.

The handle of my shovel was almost exactly 1.5 times as wide as the pot of my 45 gallon Empire Live Oak. Note the black line on the handle. This is how I determine the depth of the hole.

Trees can increase the value of a home’s resale. Properly placed trees can also help with heating and cooling expenses of the home. A deciduous tree (one that loses its leaves in the winter) placed on the south or west side of a home provides shade and cooling in the summer and allows for warming up in the winter.

A big tree requires a big hole and some help. I had two grown men help me with my 45 gallon Empire Live Oak.

I’d recommend doing some research on your own in order to pick your tree. Online sources such as the Texas Forest Service Tree Selector (http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/) and the Earth-Kind Plant Selector (http://earthkind.tamu.edu) can provide you with much more information on the particular traits of trees that work well in North Texas.

When back filling the hole, it is a good idea to fill 1/3 of the whole the with soil and then saturate. Use the handle of your shovel to tamp in the soil. Then add 1/3 more soil and repeat. This will remove any root killing air pockets.

When back filling the hole, it is a good idea to fill 1/3 of the hole with soil and then saturate. Use the handle of your shovel to tamp in the soil. Then add 1/3 more soil and repeat. This will remove any root killing air pockets.

As far as planting trees a very common mistake is planting a tree too deep. Keep the same soil line on the trunk when it’s in the ground as it was in the container. If this kind of exactness makes you nervous, place the tree slightly higher. Some settling may occur and it is very important to make sure the tree is not too deep. Once the tree is planted, don’t forget about it. For the first three years it will need more care while it gets established such as supplemental water and reducing the competition of weeds and grass. For more details on proper tree planting and more tree choices for our area, check out www.dcmga.com, email us at master.gardener@dentoncounty.com or call 940.349.2892.

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