Jesse Jenkins

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve talked to lots of customers about adjusting watering for winter. Most are still watering too much. Plants and lawns need less water, but it’s been tricky to gauge lately with warmer weather and intermittent rain. Here are a few winter watering do’s and don’ts.

DO: Slow Down Watering for Established Lawns and Plants

Slowing down watering will slow metabolism in your trees, shrubs, groundcovers, lawns, and potted plants, and this makes them more tolerant of a freeze. Also, excessive frequency of lawn watering in winter makes grass more susceptible to Take All Root Rot fungus.

DON’T: Run Sprinklers More than Once Every 2 Weeks

At this point (mid-December through the end of January), most sprinkler systems should be turned off and only used as needed, and no more than once every 2 weeks. If freezing temperatures are in the forecast, run the sprinklers the previous afternoon to add heat to the soil and fill air spaces in the soil with water to exclude the cold air.

DO: Continue to Water Winter Flowers and Veggies

Newly planted trees and shrubs, newly potted plants, and winter annual flowers and vegetables in active growth will need more regular watering, and may be particularly sensitive to a cold, low-humidity dry north wind. If there are zero clouds in the sky, and you are licking your lips, and there is a stiff breeze blowing, that dry breeze can necessitate watering despite the cool/cold temperatures.

DON’T: Be Fooled by Light Rainfall

We typically don’t get much significant rainfall in December and January, we get periodic misty drizzle. Keep in mind that even if it drizzles all day, very little moisture penetrates our heavy clay soil. This fascinating article from Texas A&M explains that it takes a whopping 2.5″ of rain to fully penetrate and soak clay soil down to 12″ deep. So, even if we get a little rain, it’s important to continue to water new plants, winter flowers and veggies. When in doubt, use a moisture meter!

Wishing everyone a happy & healthy holiday with family & friends! We’ll be closing at 2 on Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day, then back open regular hours 12/26. Same thing the following week!

2024 is almost here! Will you be eating your black-eyed peas and cabbage for good luck on New Year’s Day? Did you know that many different houseplants are also said to bring good fortune and harmony? Here are a few of our favorites.

Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Golden Pothos is an important plant in Feng Shui that is believed to exude positive energy and bring good luck and money. It’s also said to help harmonize human existence with our surroundings.

Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)

Chinese money plant aka UFO plant aka coin plant is a classic lucky plant. It’s round leaves represent coins and it creates offshoots which represent more paths to financial success.

Sansevieria aka Snake Plant

Sansevieria comes in tons of different varieties like the Whale’s Fin pictured here. They are said to exude strong protective energy and shield the home from negative chi. And we know that sansevieria are one of the best air-purifying plants for the home.

Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)

The rubber plant is one of many ficus varieties that do well indoors. They’re easy and tough houseplants and they’re believed to foster abundance and good fortune in the home.

Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)

In Feng Shui, money trees are placed in the “wealth corner”, which is typically the southeast corner of the home. They’re said to attract good fortune and they’re often given as gifts for people starting a business.

Have you set your 2024 new year’s gardening resolution?! January is time to get moving and set yourself up for big success this spring and beyond. Beds need prepping, veggie seeds need starting, citrus trees need feeding, and YES you can get a head start on planting too! Here are our top must-do’s (and don’t do’s!) this month.

Check out our January Garden Guide for more tips and remember that trees, shrubs, and perennials can be planted 12 months out of the year! The only difference is the amount of water they need depending on temperatures and wind!

1. Plan and Prep Beds for Spring Planting

January is our month to plan and prep for spring. Clean up, remove weeds, and most importantly, prep your garden beds by adding some compost! We love Nature’s Blend Compost for veggie and landscape beds, including raised beds. A good ratio is 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. of bed space. If you make your own compost, that approximate ratio works well. It doesn’t have to be exact. If working out is part of your new year’s resolution, get outside, grab your garden forks or a shovel, and turn some compost into the first few inches of soil!

2. Feed Your Citrus Trees

Fertilize your citrus trees in January for more blooms, again in May/June for better fruit set, and again in September/October for nutrients. We recommend fertilizing with Espoma Citrus-Tone – all organic and highly effective. Remember to fertilize trees, including citrus, at the drip line. That means spread fertilizer in a circle where the rain naturally drips down from the leaves, not right up against the trunk.

3. Wait to Prune!

Remember – wait to do any major pruning of most plants until February! We can be tempted to want to do too much pruning in January, but you don’t want plants to think its time to start putting on new growth since we still may have another cold snap. Even if we do get a cold snap that damages some foliage, wait to prune because that damaged foliage will help insulate against more possible cold weather.

Ornamental grasses, like Pink Muhly or Purple Fountain grass, are a January exception. They should be cut back this month. Trim them straight across (no cupcakes) 3”-4“ from the ground. Use a bungee cord or piece of rope to gather them up, then cut straight across with your shears.

4. Start Veggie Seeds!

January is time to start tomatoes, kale, chard, onions, carrots, beets, parsley and more from seed. We carry seed-starting trays, peat pots, and Espoma Organic Seed Starter soil for starting seeds indoors or on a protected/covered patio. A good rule of thumb is that once the seedlings have made their first true set of leaves, they are ready to be transplanted into a larger container outside or directly into the garden bed.

Check out our full Spring planting guide here. And stay tuned because we’re planning all kinds of cool events for 2024, including a seed starting workshop this month!

5. Grow Potatoes and Onions!

January is prime time to plant potatoes and onions! We carry Red La Soda and Yukon Gold potatoes because they are better suited for South Texas growing conditions than larger varieties. Watch Matt’s video guide to planting potatoes here!

Plant onions in a row every 3-4″ then thin them by plucking every other green top as they grow. This will allow the onions to grow to full size. Keep in mind that both potatoes and onions need well-drained soil. Great for raised beds!

6. Adjust Lighting and Water for Houseplants

Generally, most houseplants will need more light and less water this month. A moisture meter will come in handy to be sure you’re not overwatering. Experiment with moving houseplants to sunnier windows, and take them outside for a sunny day or 2. Keep their leaves clean to help them take up sunlight and prevent bad bugs. We like using a very light solution of Neem oil + water to wipe down leaves here at Gill’s.

7. Yes, You Can Plant It in January!

Why wait?? Trees, shrubs, and blooming perennials planted now will build healthy root systems during their winter dormancy making for stronger, healthier plants in spring and summer. Not to mention all kinds of cool season flowers and veggies that love our January weather. Keep an eye on the forecast, but remember that new plants are easy to cover with frost blankets if we get a cold spell.

As of right now, NOAA (our preferred source for weather forecasts) shows cold weather starting Sunday night (1/14) through Wednesday morning (1/17), with temperatures dipping below freezing Monday and Tuesday nights. That means we’re busy preparing to protect plants here at Gill’s! We want you to be prepared too – here’s how.

1. Water all plants well. It sounds counterintuitive, but watering will help keep the ground temperature warmer by filling tiny air pockets in the soil.

2. Cover cold-sensitive/tropical plants (like Dracenas, Ti plants, Crown of Thorns, Schefflera, Ixora) and tender new plants. Cold-tolerant plants that were recently planted in the ground (like trees, Boxwoods, Hawthorns, etc.) do not need to be covered, just watered well.

Gather supplies now, but wait until Sunday afternoon/evening to cover your plants. Keep your eye on the weather – it could change!
We have pre-cut frost blankets and frost protection cloth that can be cut to your desired shape, or you can use quilts, bedsheets, towels, etc.
Make a tent to capture ground warmth. Wrapping plants like a lollipop will not be effective. Make your tent and use whatever you have to weigh down the edges, like anchor pins, bricks, firewood, garden hoses, rocks, etc. Remember – the most important thing is to capture ground warmth. The ground temperature will remain warmer than the air. Watch Wyatt’s demo video below!
Consider cutting back tall shrubs. If you have taller shrubs like Esperanza that would be difficult or impossible to cover, consider cutting it back to a few feet tall so you can cover it.

3. Bring in potted plants. Since potted plants don’t have the advantage of retaining ground warmth, they are more susceptible to cold temps. Bring them into the house or garage if you can. If they are too big or heavy, water them well, lay them over on the ground, and cover the whole plant (pot and all) with the tent method.

We can’t cover all of the information about freeze protection here, but you can give us a call or stop by if you have questions. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we’ll continue to post how-to’s and updates.

Click to Watch – How to Cover Plants for the Freeze!

Spring is around the corner and Gill garden talks are back!! We are so excited about this February lineup! As always, the talks are free and open to everyone of all ages and gardening skill levels. We’ll hold the talks outside if the weather’s nice, or indoors if not. Mark your calendars for Saturday mornings at 10am all February. Here’s a preview!

February 3rd – Tomato Time with DeAnna Baumgartner

Early February is prime tomato planting time for us. We’ll be bringing in all kinds of prize-winning and heirloom tomato plants and everything you need to get an awesome spring harvest. Join Gill’s manager and tomato expert, DeAnna to learn about different varieties and how to grow the tastiest tomatoes.

February 10th – Low-Water Landscape Design with Harry Villarreal

If you know Harry, Landscape Designer here at Gill’s, you know he loves pokey plants! Yuccas, different Agaves, Mangave, and cacti can all serve as features and focal points in the landscape AND help you conserve water. Or maybe you’re interested in incorporating Texas native plants and reducing lawn spaces. Harry will cover all this and more – conserve water and look great doing it!

February 17th – Spring Kickoff with James Gill

We’re so happy to have Gill’s founder and Master Naturalist, James Gill back for his annual Spring Kickoff talk! He’ll cover proper pruning, fertilizing, planting, design, and lots more to help you have the most successful spring gardening season. This is an awesome opportunity to bring your questions and share ideas with James. If you haven’t heard him speak before, you’re guaranteed to be entertained and leave with some new plant knowledge.

February 24th – Perennial Color: Tricks of the Trade with grower Zach Halfin, Green Lake Nursery

We have a close working relationship with all of the growers we purchase plants from. Green Lake Nursery in San Marcos has quickly become one of our go-to growers of gorgeous perennial color like salvias, native Turk’s Cap, Lantana, ornamental grasses and many more. Their plants are consistently stunning thanks to grower, Zach Halfin. Zach will share tricks of the trade from an expert grower’s perspective on how to grow showroom-quality plants in your landscape. Not to be missed!

We can’t wait to see everyone! Stay tuned here and follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we’ll continue to post updates about talks and events. We have lots more to come throughout the year!

The freeze certainly damaged some plants, but chances are a lot of them are still alive and will be just fine, even though they look rough right now. Here are a few tips for assessing damage and moving forward into spring!

The Scratch Test

Use the scratch test for most blooming perennials (like Turk’s Cap, different salvias, and Lantana) and woody plants (like Bougainvillea, Esperanza, and Hibiscus). Using your thumbnail, a dime, or pruners, start at the tips of branches and lightly scratch through just the outer layer of bark. If the cambium layer underneath is brown, keep working your way down the branch. Once you see bright green cambium under the bark, you know the plant is still alive! This also tells you where to prune when the time comes (not yet!). See Harry’s video below for a demonstration.

Don’t Prune Just Yet

Since we still have a chance for more cold weather, your best bet is to wait until mid February to cut back the freeze damaged parts of most plants. The ugly freeze-damaged foliage helps insulate the plant against any additional cold snaps. Plus, pruning signals to the plant that it’s time to start putting on new growth. Since that new growth is the most susceptible to cold damage, you want to wait.

Freeze-damaged Turk’s Cap – still very much alive!!

What About “Mushy” Plants?

If you have succulents or plants like Purple Heart or Elephant Ears that turned to mush after the freeze, go ahead and cut away the mushy parts. Leaving those slimy, mushy parts can encourage fungus. When you cut the mush away, you can apply Dusting Sulphur to help seal the wound and prevent fungus. Even a lot of these plants are expected to come back! Time will tell.

Click to Watch – How to do the Scratch Test!

The weather this week is making us want to get outside and garden!! We’re stocking up on veggies, Texas native plants, trees, and lots of flowers and blooming perennials as we head into Spring! Here’s our top 7 gardening tasks to focus on this month to kickstart an amazing season.

1. Be Ready for Cool Weather and Start Planting!

Keep your eye on the forecast for cold snaps, but don’t delay your planting projects. Cool season flowers, trees, shrubs, veggies, and more need to be planted this month to take advantage of cool weather and get a head start on root growth. If we do get another freeze, new plants are easy to cover!

2. Start Your Veggies!

It’s time to start veggie favs like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, beans, lettuces/greens, & more! Prep those beds with Nature’s Blend compost and get going. If you’re short on space, use containers! Stop by and we’ll help you plan your veggie garden and get you everything you’ll need for a bountiful harvest.

3. Come Learn All About Growing Tomatoes with DeAnna This Saturday at 10!

Tomatoes need to be planted early this month. So….join us this Saturday, 2/3 at 10am for our garden talk, Tomato Time with DeAnna Baumgartner, Gill’s manager and tomato expert! DeAnna will share valuable tips for growing all kinds of tomatoes in the ground and in containers or raised veggie beds. This talk is great for beginners and experienced tomato growers alike. Bring your questions and share your plant knowledge as we hang out and talk about everything tomatoes. We’ll hold the talk outside if the weather’s nice, or inside the greenhouse if not. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card, and we’ll do some other giveaways too!

4. Keep Feeding Veggies & Flowers

Blooming plants need food! Veggies are especially heavy feeders – they need to be able to sustain blooming and producing fruit. We recommend mixing in a little Bio-Tone Starter when you plant, which contains mycorrhizal fungi that promotes root growth. Then feed with a good organic, granular plant food like Plant-Tone or Medina Growin Green once a month, and supplement with liquid organic Hasta Gro in between. An easy way to remember this is to set an alarm or calendar event for granular feeding on the 1st of the month, then Hasta Gro on the 15th. These will add nutrients to your plants and keep your soil alive and healthy too.

5. Mid February = Time to Prune!

February is the time to get plants cut back to make way for big spring growth! Since we just had a freeze, we recommend waiting another week or so until mid-February. Most perennials like Lantana, Turk’s Cap, and Salvias need a good pruning back to about 4-8″ – don’t be shy! For any plants with woody stems/branches (like Esperanza and Hibiscus) that look dead or damaged, do the scratch test before pruning. Start up high and scratch with your fingernail, a dime, or the back side of a knife. Don’t scratch too deep. If you see the bright green cambium layer (like the photo), that means it’s still alive! If you see brown/gray when you scratch, keep working your way down the plant until you see green. That will tell you where to cut. As always, contact Gill’s if you’re not sure or have questions about whether or how to prune specific plants.

6. Keep Watch for Winter Insects

Scale is a variety of hard bodied sucking insects that range in appearance from white oyster shells to brown boogers stuck to the leaves of plants. Some of their favorites are Burford Holly, Bird of Paradise, Flax Lily, & Irises. They are easily controlled with a spray of organic All Seasons Oil Spray, but it must be done now. The oil spray literally coats and suffocates the the eggs that are waiting for spring to hatch. It’s also good for treating indoor plants that may have scale or spider mites.

7. Got Weeds?

Right now, hand pulling the thistle while the ground is moist and keeping the clover mowed before it flowers are the best options to control 2 of our most common weeds. Weed killer sprays (like Weed B Gon) work with warm weather and sunshine with no rain or heavy night fog. We need to wait to spray until temperatures are consistently between 75-80 degrees. Be patient and wait a few more weeks since you should only spray one time or you risk damaging your lawn.

Check out our February Garden Guide for more tips!