Brown, dry looking lawn? Check for Chinch bugs.
Bugs
“I can’t possibly water enough. This summer must be hotter than last summer.” I don’t think our summers have gotten hotter, but as I age, I do not handle the heat as well. Most plants that grow in South Texas, on the other hand, love our heat and humidity. Crape Myrtles, Esperanza, Bougainvillea and Firebush are just a few that love the heat and thrive in it.
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The key is to water properly and give the plants what they need when they need it. Once your plants are established (on average after 2 years in the ground) they only require once a week watering. Water plants slow and deep early in the day so they are well hydrated. It may be easier to water when you get home in the evening, but that is not the best time for plants.
When a plant becomes stressed from heat, lack of food, high winds or other environmental conditions it becomes weakened and susceptible to bugs and disease attack. So try to keep your plants watered, fed and happy so they can resist insect attack and develop a stronger root system to handle our climate. Having the right plant in the right place and given proper care makes for a happy landscape and a happy gardener!
We’re here to help you identify the best care for your plants. We have automatic shut off timers, soaker hoses, sprinklers, fan sprays and more to help make your watering easier. As well as thinking about the health of your plants, remember to think about yourself. Try to garden early in the day or later in the evening. Seek out shade when possible and always drink plenty of water.
-DeAnna
It’s a wonder to watch crape myrtles go from ordinary to extraordinary in what seems a matter of days. Look down most neighborhood streets to find a multitude of white, pinks, reds, and purples high above homes. Crapes are a beautiful long lived addition to your landscape. They are cold hardy, great color for summer; provide fall colored foliage, interesting bark, and drought tolerant once they’re established.
Crape myrtles come in groups of sizes; the tallest reaching 30’ or so, the smallest barely 2’. Something to consider when adding them to your landscape! All need lots of sun and room to grow to their potential. Now’s the best time to pick your favorite color; plan to water every day. They are thirsty the first summer.
There are a few things to help with your crape myrtle success. Please do not commit crape murder trimming your trees like hedges each winter. No tree should ever be topped like a crew cut.
Aphids and lace bugs can leave black sooty mold on the leaves. We recommend using the Bayer Tree & Shrub drench to keep your plants clean and pest free. Apply in the spring when your tree first starts to put on new growth. It lasts a season so 1 treatment will take care of the time when bugs are their worst. If you’re planting now, keep an eye for these critters, and treat with a topical control like Cyonara.
Consider a crape myrtle for some wow in your summer landscape, they will give you years of enjoyment!
-Debbie
We all know how hard you’ve worked to have a beautiful landscape. Now how do you keep it thriving and surviving the summer heat? Here are some of our top tips for keeping everyone happy and healthy:
- Water….we need it and so do your plants. Water in the morning or evening before 10am or after 6pm. Keep the water on the plants, lawn, flowerbeds, not in the gutter, sidewalk, or street. Sprinkler systems are great for established lawns and landscapes. Water established lawns once a week. New plantings really need to be hand watered to insure the water is getting to the root system. Check new plantings daily for water needs.
- Fertilize the lawn, shrubs, trees, and tropicals with Milorganite, Medina Growin Green, or Gill Lawn & Garden Fertilizer. Be sure to apply early morning or evening and water in. Milorganite won’t burn but needs water to start working.
- Feed your veggies and herbs Espoma Plant Tone. Citrus and fruit trees with Espoma Citrus Tone.
- Treat the lawn with Bayer Season Long Grub Control if you see brown areas in the lawn that are easily pulled up, usually a sign of grubs eating the roots of your grass.
- Chinch bugs love hot dry areas in lawns. They make the lawn look dried out along sidewalks and pavement. Treat with Cyonara, or Triazicide in easy ready to spray bottles. For organic control, use Spinosad or Diatomaceous Earth.
- Revamp your old spring annuals with some die-hard summer color. Flowers like purslane, zinnias, moss rose, periwinkles and sweet potato vine will need water but thrive in our summer heat. If you are so inclined, try adding spineless prickly pear, Texas sage, and other desert beauties that add color and form to landscapes.
- Prune the old spent blooms and seed heads from your crape myrtles. It’ll help them to repeat their summer show of color.
- Nothing wrong with playing in the water hose or sprinkler with your kids. My dogs and I have a grand time in the evening playing, cooling off and watering the lawn all at the same time.
- Treat for fungus if needed. Roses, crape myrtles, and gerbera daisies are prone to powdery mildew and plumeria develop rust. Good air circulation is important and if needed use Fertilome Systemic Fungicide, Serenade, or Actinovate.
- Trim to shape plants to keep good form but avoid heavy pruning during the summer heat. This is good for the plants and you.
- Mulch everything including your potted plants to help hold moisture and reduce weeds.
- Most important…enjoy some time in your outdoors!
-DeAnna & Debbie
When you begin seeing June bugs flying around the porch light, you wait 5-6 weeks and then treat with Bayer Season Long Grub Control Granules. If you have not fertilized the lawn yet, you can spread Gill Lawn and Garden Fertilizer, then the Bayer Grub Granules and water them both in at the same time. Season long for this product means maximum 3 months, so a follow-up application may be necessary by mid July. Also note, these granules do not bother earthworms!
-DeAnna
Summertime is here! We’ve been fortunate to have rainfall that’s created some depth moisture in the soil which makes our transition into the warm summer season smoother. Here are our top priorities this month, including how to adjust watering, what to watch out for, and what to keep planting!
Check out our June 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. Adjust Your Watering… don’t go by the calendar!
With recent rains AND warmer weather, we need to be extra mindful of watering properly. That means we can’t rely on the calendar to tell us when to water. We need to pay closer attention to plants and check to be sure they need water. Pro tip: Use a moisture meter! We carry them and can show you how easy they are to use. They’ve saved many plants! When it’s time to water, do it in the morning before 10am. Keep the water on the plants, soil, lawn, flowerbeds, not in the gutter, sidewalk, or street. Sprinkler systems are great for established lawns and landscapes but turn them off when we get rain, so you don’t over water and encourage fungal issues. Summer lawns need about 1 inch of water about once a week. Remember – it’s much easier to maintain depth moisture than it is to create it!
2. Watch for Summer Lawn Bugs!
Yes, bad bugs will be around more during the Summer, but don’t treat unless there’s significant damage. We can help identify the pest and if/how to treat. You don’t want to kill too many good bugs while trying to take care of the bad bugs! If you see brown areas in the lawn that are easily pulled up, it’s usually a sign of grubs eating the roots of your grass. You can control grubs with Bonide Insect and Grub Control. Chinch bugs love hot dry areas in lawns. They make the lawn look dried out along sidewalks and pavement. Spot-treat those areas with Cyonara in easy ready-to-spray bottles. For organic control, use Spinosad or Diatomaceous Earth. Remember that healthy lawns are less susceptible to damage from bugs, heat stress, and common lawn disease like Take All Root Rot. Water lawns deeply (a good 1”) once a week this Summer and fertilize every 3 months. If you fertilized in April, wait to feed again in July.
3. Crape Myrtles – Choose While Blooming!
Crape Myrtle trees are just starting their Summer bloom cycle. Best to choose your color now while they’re in bloom, then plant and enjoy them for years to come. You must plan to water them or check them every day during this Summer. Crape Myrtles are water-needy when first planted.
4. Plant Native Milkweed for Monarchs!
We are thrilled to be able to offer a Texas native milkweed variety (Asclepias tuberosa) for Monarchs! Not only is this native milkweed a great host plant for Monarch butterflies, it’s also tough and great for summer! Our supplier gave us this advice: plant it in your hottest and sunniest spot, and don’t water it!! Of course that’s an exaggeration – it will need some water, but very little!
5. Succulent and Cacti Workshop at Gill’s June 10th!
We had so much fun at our May garden talks and events that we decided to add one more! Join us here at Gill’s on Saturday, June 10th at 10am for our Succulent and Cacti Workshop! We will have stations set up with new and unusual bare-root cacti and succulents + pots to choose from. For a fee, you’ll be able to choose your plants, choose your pot, and we’ll demonstrate and provide tips on how to pot them up. Come make a mess with us and leave with your own cool succulent or cacti creation! Stay tuned for more details.
Yay for May! Everything’s growing and blooming and we hope you are too! May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which is a good time to think about the peace of mind that gardening brings us. Gardeners know that all the research is true – gardening is good for you! Here are our Top 7 Must Do’s this May to keep you and your garden feelin’ good.
1. Join Us for Garden Talks and Events!
We’ve got a big May planned here at Gill’s, and we’re kicking it off this Saturday, May 3rd with a fun cyanotype printing event with the TAMUCC Student Art Association. Stop by and create your own cyanotype prints using leaves and flowers! Then next weekend we’re inviting kids to come pot up a flower for Mom for Mother’s Day. Sure to be lots of fun and lots to learn and discuss! Click here for more info and tickets!
2. Plant Blooming Perennials and Trees
It’s time to plant lots of different blooming perennials and blooming trees. Get them established in May so they are rooted and acclimated to withstand warmer temps this Summer. Staples like Esperanza, many varieties of Salvia, Lantana, and tons more are all blooming beautifully right now. And blooming trees like Vitex, Retama, and Wild Olive are looking great right now. Crape Myrtles will start blooming soon too. Added bonus: blooming perennials and trees attract lots of butterflies and hummingbirds!
3. Plant and Harvest Veggies
Warm weather veggie time! Plant all kinds of peppers, zucchini, squash, melons, and okra this month for continued harvesting into the Summer months. If you planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and other early Spring veggies, you’ll be harvesting now or very soon. Be sure to harvest often! It keeps birds & insects from finding them first. If you do have insect issues in your veggie garden, our go-to organic control is Spinosad – safe for food but takes care of bugs. Remember to keep watering your veggies as the weather warms up to maintain depth moisture.
4. Mulch for Many Reasons!
We all know that fresh mulch is like a fresh coat of paint for your garden – instant makeover! But did you know that applying a proper 3” layer of natural mulch keeps underlying soil temps more than 20 degrees cooler?! A good mulch layer keeps weeds at bay, and as it breaks down over time, it add nutrients to your soil. And perhaps most importantly right now, a good mulch layer retains moisture, which means big water savings.
5. Transition Your Lawn to Summer
Feed with Natural Fertilizers: Medina Growin Green or Milorganite. Yes, you can still fertilize your lawn, even though our lawn watering is limited. Using a good organic lawn food, like our go-to Medina Growin Green, promotes root growth and long-term health, which makes lawns more tolerant of less water. Ideally you’d want to water the fertilizer in, but you don’t have to. Medina Growin Green is gentle and won’t burn your lawn. You can apply it now and water it in slowly over a few weeks. If you have trees in your yard, keep in mind that fertilizer and water need to be applied at the drip line, aka where rainwater naturally drips off the outer edge of the canopy. Therefore, if you apply fertilizer to your lawn and water it in for the trees, your lawn will get the benefit too. You can also try to time your lawn fertilizing with a light rain. We typically don’t recommend waiting for rain to fertilize since a heavy rain would wash most of the fertilizer granules away. But, given the watering limitations, taking advantage of a light rain is a good solution.
Watering: Homeowners can collect free effluent water at the Oso Wastewater Treatment Plant to use to water lawns, which is a great option. Apply for a quick and easy residential permit from the City of Corpus Christi here. If you do so, keep in mind that 1,000 gallons can water 1,621 sq ft of lawn at a nice 1” depth or 3,225 sq ft of lawn at ½” depth.
When mowing, the proper height for St. Augustine lawns is around 3 inches. For Bermuda lawns, keep mowed to around 2-2.5 inches. Buzzing lawns shorter than that will cause lawn stress, and stressed lawns are more susceptible to pests, weeds, and disease.
Watch for lawn insects & treat when needed. Grub worms & chinch bugs are easy to control when caught early but there’s no need to treat unless you have them. BioAdvanced 24-Hour Grub Killer or Season-Long Bonide Insect and Grub Control will do the trick for grubs. Diatomaceous Earth, Spinosad, or Cyonara takes care of chinch bugs. Reminder, you can bring us a grass sample any time you suspect a lawn disease or pest. We’ll diagnose (using our microscope if needed) and get you what you need to knock it out.
Consider reducing your lawn space! Does all this lawn stuff sound like a lot of work? It can be! Many of us are reconsidering whether we really even want all that green lawn space. Why not start converting small portions of lawn to planting beds filled with blooming perennials that benefit the environment and use far less water? One way to start would simply be to deepen existing landscape beds to reduce some lawn.
6. Set Your Mosquito Traps!
We are big fans of the simple bucket mosquito trap. Just fill a bucket 3/4 with water, add a good handful of lawn or plant clippings, and toss in a Mosquito Dunk or Mosquito Bits. These dissolve in the water and release bacteria that target mosquito larvae and kill them before they hatch. And they’re organic and not harmful to birds, bees, pets or humans! Set a few of these traps, sprinkle some organic Mosquito Beater granules around walkways and patios, spray organic Cedar Repel on your lawn, and use Skeeter Screen incense sticks near where you’re working or hanging out outside. Remember that using chemical mosquito foggers kills all the good bugs too, some of which also help control mosquitos and other bad bugs.
7. Gifts for Mother’s Day and Graduations
Let us help you find something pretty, useful, or both for the gardening moms and grads in your life. Pottery, birdbaths, wind chimes, quality garden tools, hats, gloves, garden decor, plantable greeting cards, gardening books – lots of options. You can purchase Gill gift cards online here and we’ll gift wrap and mail them to your loved one. Or come find the gift that gardeners love most – plants 🙂
Now it’s safe so say…Spring has SPRUNG!! After a cold and cloudy February, sunshine and gorgeous weather feel so good! The birds are chirping, people are smiling, and plants are coming out of winter dormancy and starting to grow. Here are our top must-do’s in the garden this March – time to get planting!
Check out our March Garden Guide for more tips!
1. Get Your Veggies Going Now!
We must say…our veggie and herb section is looking mighty good right now! We’ve got tons of different tomatoes, jalapenos, super hot Carolina Reapers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, asparagus, lemongrass, lemon balm, and lots more ready for your garden. Be sure to get your tomatoes going early this month so they have time to produce before it gets too warm. The rest of these can be planted any time this month, but you don’t want to wait much longer. Take advantage of the perfect weather!
2. Fertilize Regularly Starting Now (except for lawns!)
The time to fertilize is when plants are actively growing. That’s when they take up nutrients and get the most benefit from a good feeding. Flowers and veggies are especially heavy feeders because they’re working to produce a bloom and fruit. And you will certainly notice a difference with your landscape plants as well. Apply a good all-purpose organic food like Plant Tone, Medina Growin Green, or Rose Glo once a month for great results. Don’t sprinkle your granular fertilizer right up against the trunk of the plant. Instead, sprinkle at the drip line, aka where rainwater would drip off the outermost leaves. That’s the zone where plants take up the most nutrients. After you’ve applied your granular food, circle back every 2 weeks to supplement with liquid Hasta Gro. Almost everything should be fed starting now, except lawns! Wait to fertilize lawns until late March/early April.
Added bonus: When planting, add a little Bio Tone starter fertilizer to the soil when you backfill. It contains all sorts of beneficial organic matter, including mycorrhizal fungi which help stimulate better root growth. Amazing stuff!
3. Whatever You’re Planting – Add Compost!
Whether you’re starting a veggie garden, planting trees or shrubs, annual flowers, or blooming perennials, add some compost to improve the quality of your native soil. We love our Nature’s Blend or Cotton Burr Compost, and we’ve added a new one to the lineup: Expanded Shale and Leaf Mold Compost from Heirloom Soils. The addition of expanded shale helps even more to aerate our heavy clay soil. Whichever you choose, 1 bag improves about 12 sq ft of clay or sandy soil and gets it ready for planting. That’s a good approximate ratio if you make your own compost too. Adding compost not only improves the consistency of your soil, it adds LIFE! All those beneficial microorganisms help turn your soil into the perfect environment for plant roots.
4. Plant Level – Not Too Deep!
When planting this Spring, DON’T PLANT TOO DEEP! Plant level with the surrounding soil (or even slightly higher) and don’t cover the top of the root ball with soil. Plants have tiny feeder roots on the surface of the root ball that are critical for taking up nutrients and for oxygen exchange. If you bury these surface feeder roots, the plant will suffocate and decline. After you plant, use a moisture meter to be sure you’re getting moisture down into the ground when you water.
5. Invite Pollinator Helpers to Your Garden
Now is an important time to incorporate plants into your garden that attract & feed the birds, bees, butterflies, moths, and other pollinators. They need your help finding food and shelter, and you need their help pollinating your blooming plants, increasing your veggie production, and eating bad bugs. Bees are drawn to most anything with a bloom but some fav’s are native Gregg’s Mist Flower, Esperanza, & Lantana. Butterflies love Salvias and Mexican Flame Vine too. Native plants like Turks Cap and Yaupon Holly produce berries for birds, and Hummingbirds love Duranta, Mexican Honeysuckle, & lots more! Keep in mind that pollinators need help locating these food sources. Think about planting several of the same plant together to help make them more visible to our pollinator friends.
p.s. If you want to learn more about bees, join us here at Gill’s this Saturday, 3/1 at 10am for Support the Bees with the Coastal Bend Beekeepers Association!
6. Looking for Drought-Tolerant Color for Your Landscape?
Q: Can I use far less water and still have a gorgeous landscape bursting with color? A: Absolutely, you can! Given our drought situation, we’re sourcing even more of the tried and true, top-performing plants that don’t require much water once established. Think about a rainbow of Coreopsis (pictured), native Blackfoot Daisy, Mexican Heather, Bulbine, and all the different color Salvias and Lantanas – all very tough and water wise perennials that will carry you through the seasons. Think about creating some areas of interest in the ground or in pots with Gomphrena, Bluebonnets, and Pentas, all of which thrive with little water. Speaking of pots, even bright sweet potato vine is a low-water winner.
