annual

Dull Mower Blades Damage Lawns

Take the time now to sharpen mower blades, pruners, hedge shears and loppers.In the next few weeks it will be time to prune and a sharp tool will make for a better trim. If your mower blades are dull the grass tips will appear shredded and have a threadlike appearance. Dull mowerblades rip and tear the grass blades leaving a brown look across the lawn. Look closely at a blade of grass. The top edge will show split ends. It means the blade is dull resulting in harm to grass. A sharp cut will leave the lawn looking healthy and green. Do not mow your lawn when the leaf blades are wet. The same is true for pruners. If your pruners are dull when you cut your plants, the tissue is shredded and torn which leads to fungal issues and an overall unhealthy appearance. The plant has a harder time leafing out with new growth as well. Take the time now to insure your tools are ready. We carry a Corona Sharpening Tool to sharpen all pruners, hedge shears and loppers.

Continue To Be Water Wise

The weather is still cool and with misty, wet days, plants don’t need additional watering. As days get longer and temperatures increase be careful not to water too much. All established plants will be happy with once every two weeks watering through February. Beginning in March to April as the temperatures warm up even more, once a week is sufficient. Remember to water slow and deep, but not very often to establish a deep healthy root system. Your plants will thank you, and so will your water bill. Of course annual color with smaller roots systems will need to be watered more often, but all established trees, shrubs, and tropicals will appreciate time between watering. Let’s all train our landscapes to be

water wise.

A Breath Of Spring!

With the last few days of sunshine and

warmer temps, we are all getting antsy to get outside. Fresh shipments of plants are arriving weekly to our stores so here’s a list of some here and some to come in soon.

Live oaks, cedar elms, Italian cypress, burr oaks, wild olives, mountain laurels are here.
Hardy shrubs like hawthorns, boxwoods, pittosporum, Japanese yew here now
Baskets and tubs of geraniums, double impatiens, Mona lavender, and stocks arrived this week with color.
Favorite perennials like lantana, Mexican heather, and salvias are here now with more coming!
Basil, cilantro, mint, thyme, chives, parsley here now with more varieties early February
More tomato plants and seed potatoes are here now
Peppers will be later in February as the cold night temps will stunt the plant to not produce peppers.
Fresh Floratam St. Augustine grass coming this week to Airline store.

We are beyond excited to host you all in person for our first Garden Talk of 2022! James’ ‘Get Ready for Spring’ talk is a long-standing tradition. If you’ve got questions or just want to learn more about how to prep your garden and landscape for big Spring growth, join us at 10am this Saturday. Here’s a preview from James of some of the topics he plans to cover.

Prune Old Growth to Make Way for New Growth

Clean, sharpen, and lubricate your pruning tools before starting, and before putting tools away. Remember that once you have cut it, you can’t put it back on, this applies to tree limbs, and to human digits, so proceed carefully! My feeling is, cut old growth before new growth has started, to avoid wasting carbohydrate reserves of the plant, and to minimize damage to tender new growth when dragging cut branches out of the plant.

Prepare Your Soil and Get Planting!

Before planting new shubs, vegetables, or annual or perennial flowers, we should prepare the soil with compost. My favorite is Natures Blend Compost, the closest thing to “magic in a bag”. It keeps clay soil lighter and looser, or in sand, helps hold moisture and nutrients available for roots, and provides slow release organic fertility and growth stimulants. Cold tolerant trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials benefit from being planted as far away from summer heat as possible, so NOW! And it’s time to get your spring veggie garden planted too. Follow up with a good organic mulch after planting, such as our hardwood mulch, that will suppress weeds, retain moisture, moderate soil temperatures as it gets hotter, and contribute to soil texture and fertility as it decomposes.

Early Spring Lawn Care

Do not apply lawn fertilizer on grass too early. When lawns are actively growing and need mowing once a week, that is the time to fertilize grass, usually around the first of March. Some weeds will be coming up in beds and lawns, and some of them can be controlled by hand pulling after a rain, some by mowing regularly so they don’t get tall enough to make seed. But some will be best controlled by applying Bonide Weed Beater Complete, LAWNS ONLY, to kill existing broadleaf weeds and prevent new weeds from sprouting. Or in beds, Bonide Crabgrass and Weed Preventer, which will not kill existing weeds, but prevents new weeds from sprouting. Always read and follow label directions for best results. I like Ortho GroundClear Weed & Grass Killer to help control emerged weeds in flower beds. It is organic, and safer to use around desirable shrubs.

Feed Your Fruit Trees

Now is time to fertilize fruit trees with Espoma Organic Citrus-tone, or Fertilome Fruit, Citrus, and Pecan Tree Food. The nitrogen in both is critical to production of healthy foliage, which is what provides necessary carbohydrates for fruit. You will repeat application later in spring, and again in fall. Also, citrus trees should have sprouts removed that come from below the graft, as they will produce only sour fruit.

When to Remove Stakes from Newly Planted Trees

If you have trees planted in the last year or two, with stakes still holding it upright, late winter/very early spring is a good time to check that staking. Loosen the ties, then try to rock the tree. If the rootball stays stable but the trunk bends, remove the staking and ties. If the rootball still moves, the staking should stay another season, but the loop around the trunk may need to be loosened so the new growth is not choked by the staking tie.

Check Your Sprinkler System and Hoses

If you have an automatic sprinkler system, hopefully it has been turned off most of the winter. It would make sense to do a run-through now, to take notes and make repairs on any plugged, sunken, or missing heads, line breaks, or non-functional valves. You may need to start watering once a week in March. If you use hoses and sprinklers, now is time to mend hoses and replace missing hose washers.

Fire Ants and Other Pests

If you are seeing fire ant activity, you can apply Come and Get It Fire Ant Bait now, but my favorite times are at the spring and fall daylight saving time changes. All Seasons Horticultural & Dormant Spray Oil is best applied before new leaves emerge to control scale, mealybug, and other problem insects that may be overwintering on your shrubs or ornamental trees, such as bicolor iris and bird of paradise.

-James

S l o w d o w n watering for established trees, shrubs, ground covers, lawns, and potted plants for Fall and Winter. Once a week was appropriate in warmer temperatures, but I would water on average once every two weeks through November, and then turn off the sprinkler for December and January.

If we go 3 weeks with no substantial rain, then water beds and lawns thoroughly one time. 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.

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 norther. 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.

Slowing down watering in Fall 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. So, use appropriate watering as a sound gardening tool.

-James Gill

This past week, one of our customers explained that her squash plant had great foliage and lots of blooms, but it was not producing any squash. This can often be attributed to a watering or fertilizer issue, but sometimes you might have a pollination problem. So, what’s the solution?

Bees! Bees are the best pollinators, and they are the reason many of your veggies are able to produce. Bees move pollen back and forth between male and female flowers on your plants. The transfer of pollen fertilizes the female flower allowing the plant to fruit.

The best way to attract these powerful pollinators to your garden is to plant pollinizer plants. Here are some of our favorite plants to bring home the bees:

Magic Mountain Basil or Thai Basil: excellent varieties for cooking and irresistible to bees!
Dwarf Calliandra (powder puff plant): popular landscape shrub that has beautiful “powder puff” blooms.

Mystic Spires Salvia: long purple spires that attract a variety of pollinators to the garden including bees and hummingbirds.
Alyssum: low- growing annual with purple or white blooms and a lovely fragrance that’s attractive to humans and bees.

Pro tip: On occasion, the bees can miss some plants. You can “false pollinate” your plants with a Q tip or a small paint brush. Lightly brush inside the male flower, then brush inside the female flower to help transfer pollen.

-Wyatt

Are you as anxious as I am to replace your summer annuals with lush Fall color? I bet yes!! Our guide below (click here for the printable version) shows the most popular flowers for our area and the optimum months to plant. Timing is everything! Many of these can be planted at any time during their season but waiting for the optimum month to plant will give you the best and longest show of color.

For now, trim your plants back a bit to improve their shape, lightly spade some Nature’s Blend compost into flower beds, mulch beds, and pull out tired Summer annuals and refresh pots with new potting soil…all in preparation for your Fall annuals. Get ready; it’s right around the corner!

-Sally Gill

Last week Keith shared with me his Swiss Chard success story. Years ago, he remembers (I don’t) James and I gave Sandy & Keith a pot of Swiss Chard for Christmas. Knowing that Keith is a gardener extraordinaire, we knew it was the perfect gift for them. Keith grows it all – Brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, greens, herbs, and on and on! The Swiss Chard was such a hit with their family; it’s now one of his annual plantings.

Planted in the Fall, Winter or early Spring (now!) you’re guaranteed a good crop of tasty greens. Sandy is the family’s cook extraordinaire! She often stir-fries Swiss Chard, including the stalks, olive oil, garlic, a little lemon and salt for something simple and quick. Or, one of her favorite recipes is Seared Scallops with Bacon Braised Chard – she does it all.

Sandy and Keith make a very great team; we love them and their garden successes!

-Sally Gill

James Gill had his annual Get Ready for Spring garden talk here at Gill’s last weekend. As always, it was a big hit – standing room only! In case you missed it, we decided to do a recap:

Pre-Spring Lawn Tips

Prevent and treat Take All Root Rot using Peat Moss: Rake out dead grass, spread Peat Moss, and water it in. Wait until dry to water again.
Know when to water your lawn – if a screwdriver is hard to push into the soil, its’ time to water. If it pushes into the soil easily, you’ve got enough moisture.
Wait to fertilize your lawn until it’s growing, and you need to mow it once a week – usually March
If you get Bermuda grass in your landscape beds, use Grass B Gone
There’s not a practical way to remove Bermuda grass in your St. Augustine lawn – the best way is to keep your St. Augustine healthy (watered and fed) and it will choke out the Bermuda

To Prune or Not to Prune?

Prune Now

Lantana
Esperanza
Plumbago
Hibiscus
Firebush
Jatropha
Grasses
Shrub Roses

Do Not Prune

Crape Myrtles
Citrus Trees
Bougainvillea
Fig Trees

Prune AFTER Spring Bloom

Azaleas
Mountain Laurel
Indian Hawthorn
Climbing Roses

Fertilize Citrus Trees Now

Use organic Citrus Tone
Spread inside and just outside the drip line (where water drips off the tree branches and leaves when you water it)

-James

We are so happy to report the Christmas trees are here and… BEAUTIFUL! The garden center is stocked with fresh-cut trees ranging from 5ft to 12ft, and the Gill’s crew has set up one very special Nordmann Fir measuring 22ft at The South Texas Botanical Gardens! Here’s some more info about our tree varieties this year plus a few important care tips.

FYI…

Real fresh-cut trees are sustainable and 100% recyclable. For each tree cut, 1-3 more saplings are planted. These man-made forests can consume several thousand pounds of carbon dioxide per year helping to clean our atmosphere and provide oxygen. Recycled trees can be used for building barrier sand dunes on Padre Island, creating artificial reefs in local bay waters, and chipped for garden mulch. No waste!

Tree Varieties at Gill’s

Noble Fir in traditional form plus a new look called “layered” that is super cool. Nobles are known for their long-cut life and stiff branches that hold ornaments well. Very fragrant foliage adds to their appeal for the holidays.

Nordmann Fir has a soft needle and little to no fragrance. It is a great choice for those with allergies. With excellent needle retention, they are very pretty with contrasting dark green and silver foliage.

Fraser Fir is one of the most popular trees. They are highly sought for their needle retention, tolerance to warmer climates, soft silvery foliage, and fragrance. We have seen Frasers in March look almost as good as they did in December!

We offer delivery + set-up as well as Xmas tree takeaway after the season.

2 Very Important Xmas Tree Tips:

#1 – Keep your tree in water! Our trees have had a fresh cut and have been immediately placed in water to maximize freshness. As soon as you get your tree home, get the base of the trunk in water. If you need to wait to put it on the stand, get it in a bucket of water. If you plan to give your tree a fresh cut when you get home, only cut ½” off the base, and you must get it in water within 10 mins, or the cut will seal over and not allow the tree to take up water. Keep monitoring your water level in the stand throughout the season.

#2 – Keep your tree away from heating and A/C vents (if a vent is nearby, close it). Heating and A/C will dry out the tree quickly – you don’t want that! You want to keep it as hydrated as possible.

Go See The Big Tree!

We are happy to be a part of the annual Botanical Gardens holiday light display. This year, the majestic 22ft Nordmann is about 20 to 25 years old, younger than most of the big trees the tree farm will harvest. Visit the Botanical Gardens website for more info about holiday hours.

-Debbie