Jesse Jenkins

1. Proper Watering

This is the most important of all. Water slow and deep to make sure at least one inch of water is applied to all established lawn and landscape plants for our long hot summers. Smaller bedding plants such as annual color and perennial beds will require a second supplemental watering since they have a smaller root system.

2. Mulching

Use hardwood mulch three to four inches deep in planting beds to help conserve moisture as well as control weeds. Most mulch is applied too thin, only two inches rather than three to four. Do not bury crown of plant or trunk of shrubs.

3. Top Dress The Lawn

A thin layer of Nature’s Blend Compost applied several times a year helps to enrich the soil and will cut watering demands.

4. Insect Controls

Many insects are seasonal. Chinch bugs attack lawns in the hot summer months, so watch the edges of your lawn for the first signs. Spider mites also love the hot dry summer season. Keep an eye on junipers, pittosporums and houseplants for signs of mottling on the leaves or leaf drop and treat as soon as possible. Mealy bugs are also a hot weather insect and leave white cotton along the stems and undersides of many plants. More than one application may be needed to control some of these insects.

5. Fungus Control

This is not always an issue in the summer, but can be if we are getting periods of heavy rain. Proper year round watering and adding Nature’s Blend several times a year will help minimize fungal issues.

6. Fertilizing

Keeping your plants fed for the summer is very important, but applying at a lower rate may help to keep them healthy without encouraging too much new growth. Using organic fertilizers keep the plants healthy which minimizes insect attacks, Milorganite Fertilizer for instance.

7. Pruning

Some plants will need to be pruned in the summer to keep them more compact and not overgrown. Be careful, though, since some plants can sunburn easily when removing the upper leaves which have been shading the rest of the plant.

8. Weed Control

Some weeds burn off in the summer heat. Pre-emergents, such as Green Light Amaze and Hi Yield Weed & Grass Stopper can be applied year round in landscape beds to prevent weeds. Organic weed killers, such as Nature’s Guide Horticultural Vinegar, for landscape beds, are most effective in hot summer temperatures. But broadleaf lawn weed killers cannot be used in your grass once temperatures get above 85 degrees due to burning. Keep the grass mowed to remove seed heads of weeds. Mechanical means is always the best.

9. Proper Mowing Height

Proper mowing height will shade the ground and cause less water evaporation from the soil, reducing water needs. St. Augustine is best at three inches, so raise the mower. Also a sharp mower blade helps the grass look fresh and green, while a dull blade leaves ragged edges that turn brown and cause the lawn to look somewhat dead and dull.

10. Proper Plant – Proper Place

With any landscape make sure you have thought out the full mature height and width of plants, sun requirements and water needs before planting. You should never be constantly pruning a plant because it is too large for the space. That is the wrong plant for the spot. Also group like water need plants together. The most drought tolerant plants should be those furthest from the water source.

Now that you have worked hard at planting and maintaining the landscape, take the time to kick back, relax and admire the beauty you created. Gardening is great therapy! it not only burns calories, it also reduces stress from a hard day’s work and helps to lower blood pressure. Colleges are even offering courses in horticultural therapy. Gardeners live longer lives; plants give you reason to get up and get moving!

-DeAnna

My sister-in-law asked me this week-end if there was anything to do to make her tomato plant healthier. She said it was looking bad, but it was still producing good tomatoes. My comment…that’s what tomato plants look like this time of year. Keep applying Hasta Gro Fertilizer, water deeply, and enjoy your tomatoes! Then…once you’ve picked your last tomato, pull the plant up, let the soil rest for a few weeks, then mix in new Nature’s Blend and you’ll be ready for our new fall veggies!

-Sally

In 2009 our youngest son Trevor was driving around Houston, working his first job after college. Many days he listened to “This American Life” on public radio. Trevor commented to me how much he enjoyed it, calling it “really good journalism”. I started listening to the program by podcast and loved it. A few years ago I asked the KEDT staff if it might ever be broadcast here. Hurray – last month they called and asked if Gill’s would like to be the charter sponsor of the program for the first year. We said yes! This Saturday, 11:00 a.m. on KEDT, 90.3 FM, is our first “This American Life” broadcast in Corpus Christi. Check out This American Life for a short history & description of the program. Hope you enjoy!

-Sally & James

This new flyer from the City Of Corpus Christi explains our current landscape water guidelines. We’re happy we are able to pick the one day of the week that works best for us to water!

Download here.

Over the past few weeks there have been numerous inquiries about whiteflies on trees. However, these insects are not whiteflies. They are actually a large infestation of Asian wooly aphids. Wooly aphids are small white insects that fall off hackberry trees and appear to float in the air. They suck the sap out of the leaves and secrete a sticky residue called honeydew. As a result, a black mold, known as sooty mold, covers the leaves, stems and possibly the bark of the tree. This black sticky substance covers the hackberry tree, and it can cover any plant or object underneath it. When I see black soot on certain plants that are not prone to any specific insect, I always ask, “what’s above this plant”? I will usually find a hackberry tree nearby. It does not have to be directly above, just nearby. This black soot gets on vehicles, lawn furniture and anything else in the fallout zone.

To control the problem, insecticides are not always necessary, but they may be justified when honeydew and sooty mold become intolerable. If the tree is small enough to spray, you can use spinosad. For larger hackberry trees, it may not be feasible to spray the leaves with an insecticide for control. It is possible to use a systemic insecticide such as Bayer Tree and Shrub Protect and Feed applied as a root drench around the base of the tree. Systemic chemicals take several weeks to move from the roots into the leaves. Systemic insecticides should be used in the spring shortly after the leaves emerge and again in late summer for longer control. I usually treat my neighbors tree in April since wooly aphids appear every year in June to July. That way I am sure the chemical is still at its optimal control strength.

Another option for control is to remove the host tree from the landscape. This will immediately eliminate the problem since these aphids only damage hackberry trees. The down side to systemic insecticides and tree removal is the hackberry is a wonderful tree for birds with its berries. It is also the host plant for the Snout butterfly. Most importantly, now you have the information needed to make the best decision for you, the tree and the environment.

-DeAnna

Crape Myrtles always hold a special place in my heart, not just because they’re outrageously pretty when they bloom in the early summer, but because of the memories I have of them. There were three things I loved to play with when I was a kid: Polly Pockets, Fairy Winkle dolls, and my “space ship”.

Now, this spaceship was in reality a 20 ft Natchez Crape Myrtle in the backyard. The trunk was about 30 inches in diameter, and flared out into sturdy branches about 2 feet off the ground, which was perfect for a 3 year old Marta. I would climb in the tree and use jump ropes to make seats in the branches and pretend to rocket to the moon using “controls” that were in fact knobs and crevices in the bark. However, this wasn’t the only Crape Myrtle that I played with.

Another of my favorites was in a public garden across the street at the Carnegie Library, downtown Bryan. Tucked away to the side was a bench, but unless you knew about it you would never have found it because it was sheltered by two huge Purple Crape Myrtles. Imagine a Crape Myrtle shaped like a Weeping Willow. I used to lie on that marble bench and look up and see nothing but lavender blossoms slowly snowing down as they drifted with the wind. It was magical!

Now, when I see kids picking up Crape Myrtle blossoms and using them as confetti or see them running amid our young Crape Myrtles here at the Nursery, it makes me smile to think that maybe one of these trees will grow up to be a space ship too.

-Marta

Be a garden artist and paint your own fun and colorful garden art!

Supplies:

Cement block, single hole, 7 1/2″ square (McCoy’s)
Drylock Masonry Waterproofer – color white (McCoy’s)
FolkArt Acrylic Paint, 2 oz. size, your favorite colors (Hobby Lobby)
Inexpensive nylon paint brushes various widths (Hobby Lobby)
Water in a container to clean brushes
Krylon Matte Finish Clear Spray (Hobby Lobby)

How To:

Very thoroughly mix water proofer. Apply two coats over the entire block. Allow to dry between coats.
Draw your design onto block with a pencil and fill in with paint or go freehand.
Spray two coats of Krylon spray over entire block. Allow to dry between coats.

Fun options for your blocks:

Plant herbs or small flowering plants in the hole
Use singly or stack for plant stands
Stack for garden bench legs or table base or birdbath stand

Please share your own garden art block creations on our Facebook page!

-Merlien

Now that the temperatures have soared and the rain has stopped, be on the lookout for Chinch bugs in the lawn. The areas of the lawn near the sidewalk and driveway will be the first to look dry and in need of water. Take a shovel width scoop of the lawn, (grass and soil in tact)and shake it over a piece of white paper to expose black bugs with a white stripe across their back. That would be chinch bugs. Chinch bugs are a hot weather insect and can continue to be a problem all summer long. I prefer to use a hose-end spray like Spinosad or powdered Diatomaceaous Earth which are both organic. You could also use Cyonara, Triazicide or any Permethrin product ex. Mosquito Beater Hose-end. Make sure when watering the lawn that you do reach those edges. Once a week, slow and deep with 1 inch of water is recommended. Place a cat food or tuna fish can in the sprinkler zone and when the can is full, you have watered long enough. Remember to water before 10:00 am and after 6:00 pm, and now you can pick your water day. The lawn will recover quickly, but be on the lookout since the pests can return.

Photo: k-state.edu