christmas

A beautiful holiday plant, the Christmas Cactus blooms at Christmas and also sometimes around Easter if cared for properly. A month prior to Christmas you will be able to watch the tips of the leaves beginning to grow. The tips grow darker as each day passes, until a bud forms. At Christmas time, as if by magic, the buds open to a beautiful flower that will add color and warmth to any holiday season. Keep the plant in a well lit location (like near a window) away from direct sunlight-too much heat and light can stunt the growth and burn the leaves. It should also be away from drafts, heat vents, or other sources of hot air. A Christmas Cactus is a tropical cactus, not a desert cactus. If the soil gets too dry, the flower buds will drop, and the plant will wilt. Feel the soil with your fingers; if it is dry, it’s time to water. When watering, thoroughly water the plant. Before watering again, check to see that the top inch of soil has dried thoroughly first. Using a moisture meter may help you determine if it is time to water again. Mist leaves as well as watering the soil. After the holiday season you can trim off any old blooms and move your plant to a shady patio once the weather warms up for Spring. Use a water soluble fertilizer every 2-4 weeks to maintain the health of your plant.

-DeAnna

Keep water in your tree reservoir at all times. Make a fresh cut on your tree if it’s out of water for more than 15 minutes. If you cannot put your tree in your home right away, keep it in a cool shady area outside in water. Place your tree away from the heater/ac vents and sunlight as these dry the tree more quickly. Use our tree preservative to keep your tree as fresh as possible. Unplug lights when not at home; this reduces dry conditions and protects from fire hazard.

If you are like me, then the day after Thanksgiving is when the Christmas decorations come down from the attic. Of course, at the bottom of the box are ornaments that for some reason or another don’t end up getting used. Instead of throwing them out or repacking them for another year, use them in your garden! Plastic ornaments glued or wired onto green bamboo stakes can be put into any container to spice up an evergreen plant, or you can use clusters of them in those empty pots you’ve been meaning to replant. It’s a quick and easy way to add some Christmas cheer!

-Marta

I spent much of last Saturday cleaning up the front yard, making plans to hang Christmas lights in another week or two. I had someone stop and ask me about my cutting back the Purple Showers ruellia along the sidewalk. It has taken over about half the sidewalk. I explained that this plant can take shearing back most any time of year and that by cutting it now, it has time to regrow some and be nice for the holidays. Most all plants can be trimmed to shape right now. Roses and most winter hardy shrubs can take a harder prune but no more than a ¼ of the plants’ size. Plants that are sensitive to cold, like ixora, hibiscus and bougainvilleas should not be pruned hard. They need their foliage to help stay warm. Plus new growth that appears after trimming is more sensitive to cold damage. If you’re not sure to prune or not to prune, check with us…we are always here to help!

-Debbie

Some of you remember Stuart as an infant in his baby carrier, plopped on the sales counter at our Airline store while I ran the cash register. Some of you remember his working in your garden or helping you select your Christmas tree or coming to your home with James on a house call. We laugh out loud when we recall Stuart, around 10 at the time, diagnosing chinch bugs in a customer’s yard. He clearly was paying attention to his dad. And then there was the time, at about the same age, when he suggested that we start staying open 24 hours a day, allowing inventory to be stocked while customers were asleep! We haven’t implemented his system, but we recognize it has merit. As a young boy, Stuart travelled with us on tours of plant growers around Texas. James, Stuart and I would jump in the grower’s vehicle and drive the fields, trying to find the best plants for our garden center. James and I devised a system for grading plants, A+ being the best to F being the worst, all recorded on paper, but never revealed to our salesperson. On one of these trips, Stuart announced to the group that he thought the dwarf pittosporum was a C grade. We covered up his comment as best we could, but laughed later. Bottom line, Stuart lived Gill Landscape Nursery from a very early age.

Stuart has always been adventurous. I’m embarrassed to say friends would report seeing him on his bike, all over Corpus Christi. He loved exploring. He loved seeing other neighborhoods. He loved seeing the way others lived. His earliest out-of-town adventures included fishing with his brother Trevor at his uncle Lanny’s “Baja Laguna”, kayaking on Texas rivers, exploring around my parents’ cabin in Colorado, camping with his dad, brother and grandmother on Matagorda Island, exploring South Texas brush in Ingleside, and many, many trips to the beach with his dad. As he got older, he worked to travel, often alone. Between school and jobs he travelled to countries in Europe, Central and South America. On one of his surf trips with his dad to Ecuador, he met two women from Seattle. After getting to know Stuart, they recommended he move to Seattle. They thought he would like it. He had finished his degree at the University of Texas and was working in Napa, California.

Stuart packed his bags and moved to Seattle. He started working in the landscape industry, and then moved into carpentry. Stuart has always had a great appreciation for fine craftsmanship. He found good people to work with, he started from the bottom learning the trade, and eventually began purchasing his own tools, the best he could find. He now works with Ambrose Construction, managing beautiful residential remodels and additions.

Stuart met Anne in February of 2013. She hadn’t been in Seattle long. They found they had a lot in common. They both love good food and literature; they both love the outdoors and adventure. Plus she’s very pretty with beautiful blue eyes. Anne also has travelled to many foreign destinations with her parents and lived in Indonesia. Anne works in a public relations firm, representing independent restaurants in Seattle. She is a skier, runner & yoga instructor. She is kind, gentle and smart, she loves Stuart, and she’s about to become our daughter-in-law!

So…that’s an update on our son, Stuart. You know, the day he was born, James’ and my lives changed forever. He has truly been a joy for us, someone who is always on our minds, someone with whom we look forward to spending time with. Even though Stuart doesn’t live in Corpus Christi anymore, he is still a part of Gill’s. He knows and loves our Gill family. He continues to help us think through work challenges. He is always there to celebrate our successes.

One more thing… Anne and Stuart are doing a bike tour of Indonesia for their honeymoon. Happy, Happy!

-Sally

Our Thoughts On Living Christmas Trees:

There are some great alternatives to cut Christmas trees. Norfolk Island Pines are one of the most popular because of their look. They are layered like many fir trees and resemble a Christmas tree. Hollywood Junipers and Blue Point Junipers are another alternative with the look of a true Christmas tree. They grow well in our area and can be planted in the ground after the holidays or kept as a container plant and used for years to come. Yaupon holly trees are also great with their red berries this time of year. Magnolia and Ficus Trees can also be used. All of these can be strung with lights and used indoors for a couple of weeks before needing to be put back outside in their normal environment. Be creative. Look around the patio and see what you have to decorate. It’s always fun to decorate a non-traditional tree and surprise your family and guests!

Bugs On Your Garden Greens?

Thanksgiving morning James noticed inch worms and flea beetles on his coveted greens he is growing in pots. He grabbed his trusty Natural GuardNeem Ready To Use and with a couple of pumps of the spray bottle, problem solved! The Neem acts as a repellent for beetles and caterpillars and kills soft bodied insects like aphids. It also helps to control powdery mildew.

Some Cedar elms have gold leaves, some just starting to turn!

This photo was taken at our Airline store this past Monday. This is a great example of how like plants, growing right next to each other, behave differently. One has turned gold, the other is still very green. Both are very healthy, just on a little different time schedule! And…please note, it’s the same in spring – there’s always one to leaf out later that causes concern but more often than not, it just decided to sleep a little longer!

Plant

September is vegetable and seed month.

There are numerous selections of vegetables to be started in the garden or in containers. Come in and pick up our fall vegetable guide.

Tomatoes & Peppers

Tomatoes and peppers can be planted through the middle of the month.

Planting Guide: Our Tomato Varieties
Read: New! Grape Tomato ‘Ruby Crush’
Read: Fall Tomatoes

Herbs

A large selection of herbs will be ready to add spice to your garden.
Garden Guide: Herbs

Bluebonnets & Other Wildflowers, Nasturtiums & Fall Marigolds

Plant by seed or transplants.

Read: Fall is Wildflower Time!, Benefits of Marigolds in Your Veggie Garden, Nasturtiums – Super Pretty & Easy (Yummy Too!)

Don’t plant pansies or snapdragons until temperatures have cooled down!

There is still time to add quick summer color such as zinnias, coleus, purslane, moss rose and periwinkles.
Read: Success with Fall Flowers, Best Tips of Planting Trees This Fall, Organic Gardening, Fuel For Your Hungry Hummers

Fertilize

Tropicals

We recommend organic Maestro Rose Glo, or conventional Hibiscus Food

Vegetables

We recommend organic Medina Growin’ Green, Hasta Gro, Maestro Rose Glo or Plant Tone, or conventional Hi Yield Ammonium Sulphate.

Roses

We recommend organic Maestro Rose Glo.

Poinsettias

We recommend organic Maestro Rose Glo or Hasta Gro.

Blooming Annuals and Perennials

We recommend Organic: Medina Growin Green, Hasta Gro or Maestro Rose Glo, or conventional Hibiscus Food.

All plants that are especially stressed, or recently transplated

We recommend organic Hasta Gro Organic Fertilizer or Super Thrive

Christmas Cactus

We recommend organic Hasta Gro.

Read: How to Get Your Christmas Cactus to Bloom!
Read: It's Time to Fertilize For Fall!

Prune

Continue removing faded flowers from annuals and perennials to encourage new blooms.
Faded blooms and seedpods from crape myrtles to promote additional blooming.
Rule of thumb for fall pruning is no more than 1/3. Wait until January for heavy cutbacks.

Read: Sharp Tools for Fall Pruning!

Lawns

Apply organic Nature's Blend or Peat Moss for lawns, or conventional F-Stop granules as a preventative to brown patch fungus, which shows up as temperatures drop during fall and winter months.

Watch: Brown Patch Fungus

Apply organic Nature's Blend, Peat Moss or conventional Hi Yield Iron Plus to yellowing lawns.

Apply Nature’s Blend, Peat Moss, or Scotts Disease Ex to lawns prone to Take All Patch Fungus.

Continue to water deeply every 1 to 2 weeks if little rainfall.

Wait to apply fall fertilizer until October!

Watch: How to Collect a Grass Sample

Water

Check all newly planted material for water every day.
Check pots, containers and hanging baskets often as they dry out quickly and need more water.
Apply mulch as needed to help conserve moisture.
Make arrangements for someone to water if leaving for more than 2 days, especially with new plants.
Follow City Guidelines.

Read: Summer Watering 101

Weed Control

Spray only growing weeds with Captain Jacks Deadweed Brew or Horticultural Vinegar. These products kill all vegetation; so protect plants from drift or over spray.

Apply organic Corn Gluten meal, or Weed and Grass Stopper with Dimension in the fall and spring to prevent seeds from sprouting. It will not control already growing weeds.

Weed B Gon or Image can be applied once we cool down into the 80’s temps. An organic option is Captain Jack’s Lawn Weed Brew.

Watch For

Masses of worms eating your oak tree.

Treat with organic Spinosad or Thuricide, or conventional Cyonara. Read: Oak Tree Caterpillars

White Flies on tropicals and perennials, especially lantana and hibiscus.

Treat with organic Insecticidal Soap, Neem Oil, Spinosad Soap, Bee Safe 3-in-1 Spray, or conventional Cyonara or a long acting drench like Fertilome Tree & Shrub

Watch: Yucky Whitefly

Fleas and Ticks

Treat lawns with organic Spinosad, or Diatomaceous Earth Crawling Insect Killer, or conventional Cyonara

Mealy Bugs

Treat with organic Bee Safe 3-in-1 Spray or Insecticidal Soap or Spinosad Soap, or conventional Cyonara, or Bonide Systemic Liquid or Granule

Read: Mealy Bugs are Here!

Caterpillars or their damage (chewed leaves).

Spray organically with Spinosad or Thuricide.

Read: Not All Caterpillars are Bad!

Mosquitoes

Use Mosquito Beater Liquid for quick kill or Mosquito Beater Granules to repel.

Read: Mosquito Solutions

Note: Please, Please, Please, don’t kill the bees!

They are one of the best sources we have to pollinate our fruits, vegetables, flowers, and shrubs.

Planting Season!

Fall is Our Best Planting Season!

Trees, shrubs, and perennials get a great bonus when planted in fall. South Texas enjoys relatively warm soil temperatures through fall and winter, and cooler air temperatures direct the new plant to grow roots all through this time. So, a plant put into the ground in fall will grow twice as fast the following spring as one planted in spring due to having developed twice the root system, and it will also suffer much less stress in its first South Texas summer. We are lucky that we can garden year round here, but fall is our best season for planting!

Plant

Vegetable Seeds

Beet, carrot, cilantro, collards, lettuce, mustard, onion, parsley, radish, Swiss chard, spinach, and turnip.

Read: Best Timing for Popular Fall Veggies, Keith’s Swiss Chard Success Story

Flower Seeds

Bluebonnets and other wildflowers, larkspur, sweet peas, nasturtiums.

Read: Fall is Wildflower Planting Time!

Vegetable Transplants

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, strawberries, parsley, cilantro, and other herbs.

Read: How to Keep Your Vegetable Garden Healthy This Fall, Get Your Greens! Sally’s Kale Smoothie Recipe

Flower Transplants

Alyssum, begonias, bluebonnet, calendula, chrysanthemum, dianthus (pinks) dusty miller, flowering cabbage and kale, geraniums, gerbera daisy, impatiens, lobelia, marigolds, pansies, petunias, phlox, salvia, snapdragons, stock, verbenas, and viola.

Read: Success with Fall Flowers, Marigolds & Mums!

Flower Bulbs

Begin refrigerating bulbs that require chilling such as paperwhites. Amaryllis can be planted now.

Read: Amaryllis & Paperwhites

All container grown trees and shrubs

Read: Burr Oak – an Awesome South Texas Tree
Read: Best Tips of Planting Trees This Fall

Indoor Plants

Check the window lighting for your indoor plants. The sun is moving with the change of the season and may bring more or less light indoors.
Heater vents can cause blemished foliage and dry plants out more quickly. Watch your placement of any new plants coming indoors.
With cold fronts coming, plan to move your house plants indoors, if you have moved any outside during warmer weather. Provide adequate lighting & adjust watering.
Let this be your last feeding for your outdoor tropical plants that are becoming houseplants for the winter. They need to rest.
Keep watch for any tagalong critters or insects & move them back outdoors. Treat if needed.

Fertilize

Read: Organic Gardening