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Are you looking for a conversation plant? Something out of the ordinary? Well check out these weird and wild plants to spark a conversation with all your plant friends!

Dwarf Lobster Claw Heliconia (Heliconia Stricta). This beautiful Heliconia is a dwarf variety. It does great in the shade and produces a small orange bloom that resembles the claw of a lobster. It is a unique tropical that would be a great addition to any shady spot in your landscape.

Elephant’s Foot (Dioscorea Elephantipes) is a succulent that you don’t see every day! This South African native will form a caudex (root stock) that resembles an elephant’s foot that vigorously grows a vine of heart shaped leaves with yellow blooms. They grow best in a pot in well-drained soil and tolerate the heat like a champ!

Kapok tree (Ceiba Pentandra) is a large-growing tropical tree that develops large thorns around the trunk. They remind us of something from Jurassic Park! They can grow up to 200 feet tall in their native habitat, will still reach upwards of 30 feet here in South Texas. Large pink, yellow, or white blooms attract migrating birds.

Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus Deglupta) is a tropical jewel native to Southeast Asia. They are fast-growing with fragrant foliage, but the most fascinating feature is their exfoliating bark. When it peels it reveals a rainbow of colors in shades of reds, greens, yellows, and greys. They are quite tropical and will need protection from freezing temps.

-Wyatt and Debbie

South Texas Summer is here, officially! Stay cool and garden on! Some plants need more love during the Summer, but lots of others don’t even start thriving and looking their best until temps stay above 90. Here are a few standouts to plant right now.

Firebush (Hamelia patens)

Blooms all summer, top hummingbird plant, easily pruned/shaped, and grows 6-8’ tall – perfect for a fence line. Loves heat and can handle cold too.

Esperanza (Tecoma stans) – all varieties

Loves summer temps and blazing sun. Classic yellow-blooming varieties that grow 6-8’ tall, or the pictured Sparklette variety that stays 3-4’ tall with golden-yellow trumpet flowers with red throats. Blooms all Summer and into the Fall, and the lightly fragrant blooms attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.

Duranta (Duranta erecta)

Starting to bloom all over town with consistent summer temps. Can be treated as a shrub or pruned up into a beautiful small tree. Hummingbirds and bees love it.

Firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis)

Lives up to its name with big sprays of bright red blooms. Prefers high temps and works well in rock beds or spilling over raised planters.

Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) aka Dwarf Poinciana

Thrives in the hottest parts of summer, requires little water, feeds pollinators, and pairs well in the landscape with other tropicals and desert plants too. People in the Caribbean and South America have used the leaves of the plant to treat kidney stones, Malaria, and bronchitis.

Fertilizing lawns now (before November 15th!) helps develop strong roots for healthy growth next Spring and Summer. And, if you’re concerned about weeds, now’s the time to take care of them. Here’s how!

Step 1: Fertilize Now!

Fertilizing while it is still warm is best because lawns are still in their active growing season and taking up the nutrients provided. Once the weather starts cooling down, plants begin going into dormancy and therefore are not as likely to take up nutrients. Remember to water in your fertilizer with at least a half inch of irrigation. We recommend organic Medina Growin’ Green for lawns. We can lend you a fertilizer spreader as well – makes life a lot easier!

Step 2: Apply Weed Control

Applying Crabgrass & Weed Preventer will prevent broadleaf weeds (including sticker burrs on the island!) from sprouting. Be sure to water it in with ¼” of irrigation after applying. Crabgrass & Weed Preventer can be used to control weeds in flower beds too. To take care of existing weeds in the lawn, use Weed-B-Gone hose end spray. Keep Weed-B-Gone out of flower beds, and do not water it in.

Step 3: Slow Down Your Watering!

Watering once a week was appropriate in warmer temperatures, but we should 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.

December is here! These last few weeks of 2022 are sure to fly by. Our advice: make sure you spend some time in the garden to balance out the hectic holiday season. Here are our top to-do’s this month: what to plant, gift ideas, holiday plant care, and more.

Check out our December 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. Plant These in December

There’s always the BEST time to get plants growing and here’s a few that LOVE this season as much as we do!

Strawberries…who could resist picking these sweet jewels in the Spring?

Onions…we grow short-day onion varieties here in South Texas. Lucky for us the 1015 Texas Supersweet is one of those along with tasty Texas Early White & Southern Belle Red.

Roses…our mild winters are perfect for big, beautiful roses & the cooler temps will only make them prettier and the flower color richer.

Trees…shade, flowering, small, big, they all benefit from planting now. Good root development during the cooler months of winter gives them better growth in spring and a deeper, stronger root system to withstand the summer heat.

Ornamental Cabbage…these winter classics need to be planted early this month and enjoyed through the season! Easy care, vibrant colors, and unique texture in the garden.

Alyssum…gorgeous white blooms all winter long. Did you know Alyssum flowers and leaves are edible? They have a pungent horseradish-y flavor.

2. Tips for Holiday Plants

Fresh-cut Christmas Trees…we give all of our trees a fresh cut and get them in water immediately to preserve their freshness. Many customers ask us for another fresh cut before they take the tree home. If you decide to have us do another fresh cut, or if you do it yourself, keep in mind that you have 10 minutes to get the tree in water before that cut seals over! Check water in your tree stand daily and keep it full. If you have pets who like to drink or splash the water, try covering with a piece of foil.

Poinsettias…Think of poinsettias as succulents – because they are! They are a type of euphorbia. That means give them a good drink, but let them dry out between waterings. Also, the leaves bruise and break easily, so avoid touching them as much as possible. So tempting to touch!

Christmas Cactus…Probably the easiest of all holiday plants, and they can last a LONG time! There are stories of Christmas Cacti that have been gifted and passed down through families for 100+ years. They like well-lit areas, but not direct sunlight. Let dry between waterings, then mist the leaves as well as water the soil when its time to water.

Living Holiday Trees…Junipers, Norfolk Pines, Loblolly Pines, Magnolias and Ficus trees all make great Christmas trees that can be planted outside after the holidays. If you bring these in for decorating, be sure they have good bright natural light. Keep watered but not too much, and as soon as the holidays are done…take them outdoors for a breath of fresh air and get them in the ground.

3. Think Gifts for Gardeners!

If you have gardeners on your list this year, we’ve got you covered! Quality tools like these classic French pruning sets, plant-able Christmas cards with wildflowers seeds embedded in them, self-watering ceramic mushrooms, and lots more unique garden gifts. And of course, plants!! If they’re picky, you can’t go wrong with a Gill’s gift card.

4. Plant, Feed, Water Winter Flowers

Winter flowers are AMAZING right now! Violas and Pansies are breathtaking and Geraniums are full of buds and blooms. All that blooming makes them hungry, so take a moment and fertilize your beauties. We love Plant Tone and or Hasta Gro. Both are organic and give you big results. Have that “one more empty pot” to fill?

5. Adjust Your Houseplant Care for Winter

Most houseplants will not experience a complete dormancy period during winter, but they will slow down growth and react to climatic changes like drier conditions inside the house. Give your houseplants more light and less water as temperatures and the amount of daylight hours drop. Dust/shine leaves regularly to ward off insects. Cooler temps = drier conditions and less of the humidity that houseplants love. Try grouping them together to create more humidity, or use a humidifier.

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.

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?!

Gill’s Landscape Designer, Kathy Hubner recently attended a webinar presented by Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories in which they shared amazing results from a mulch study in San Antonio. Soil temperatures were measured at 6″ deep (where plant roots live) on a 105 F summer day. Bare soil, 6″ down was 102 F. Soil under grass was 92 F. Soil beneath a 3″ layer of mulch was only 76 F!! Mulch for the win!

Keeping plant roots cool helps them take up water and nutrients and prevents heat stress on the plant. Cooling powers alone are a great motivation to maintain a 3″ mulch layer, but there are lots of other key benefits. Mulch helps you water: it helps retain depth moisture in the soil when you water slow and deep.

A 3″ mulch layer also helps suppress weeds. It allows good water, oxygen, and nutrient transfer, but blocks light that weed seeds need in order to sprout. And speaking of nutrients, natural hardwood mulch or pine straw mulch breaks down over time and helps build healthier soil.

To achieve a 3″ layer of mulch takes about 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. Be sure you spread the mulch evenly and avoid creating the dreaded “mulch volcano” around the trunks or main stems of plants and trees. Mounding mulch up against the trunk can invite disease. Best to mulch around trees and plants then pull mulch away from the trunk to create some space.

Pro tip: As your veggies finish their growth cycles this summer, pull them up and use a nice layer of pine straw mulch over your garden beds to keep weeds down and help keep your soil alive and ready for the next season.

KEEP COOL AND MULCH ON!

Summer is here for sure! Stay cool, stay hydrated, and get started gardening early! Some plants need more love during the Summer, but lots of others don’t even start thriving and looking their best until temps stay above 90. Here are a few standouts to plant right now.

Firebush (Hamelia patens)

Blooms all summer, top hummingbird plant, easily pruned/shaped, and grows 6-8’ tall – perfect for a fence line. Loves heat and can handle cold too.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

If you’re looking for tough summer color in hanging baskets or beds, Purslane is for you. Loves full sun and can handle a variety of soil conditions. And Purslane is edible! High in omega-3s and minerals.

Esperanza (Tecoma stans) – all varieties

Mangave (Agave macroacantha)

A succulent hybrid of Agave and Manfreda that love summer temps. More sun = more cool color variations. Great for containers or as a statement plant in the landscape.

Duranta (Duranta erecta)

Starting to bloom all over town with consistent summer temps. Can be treated as a shrub or pruned up into a beautiful small tree. Hummingbirds and bees love it.

Basil (Omicum basilicum)

Every gardener needs to have some basil growing for summertime salads! For bigger, bushier plants, pluck off the blooms. Or leave them if you want to attract more bees and butterflies!

Firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis)

Lives up to its name with big sprays of bright red blooms. Prefers high temps and works well in rock beds or spilling over raised planters.

Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) aka Dwarf Poinciana

Say hello to our BEST gardening season here in the Coastal Bend! September is the time to plant almost everything! And the recent rain is FANTASTIC news for getting started! Here are our top must-do’s this month as we head into our favorite planting season.

Check out our September 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. Ready, Set, PLANT Veggies, Herbs, Citrus, and Fruits!

It’s time! Tomatoes, peppers, & warm weather edibles should be planted by now, or at least early this month. Plant cool weather veggies & herbs anytime this month and remember to shelter them from still-intense sun and keep watered. When planting, you can’t go wrong with organic BioTone starter fertilizer + a good handful of Earthworm Castings. Neither of these require precise measurement, and they make an incredible combo for building stronger, deeper roots, preventing pests, and creating the perfect soil environment for plants to thrive.

Here’s our Fall veggie planting schedule. And save space for citrus trees, figs, and other fruits to round off your garden grocery store! Revisit Josh’s guide to planting citrus trees.

2. Plant Trees and Shrubs for the BEST Start

Plants that are cold hardy (trees and woody shrubs) will benefit greatly by planting during our fall season. They’re under less heat stress, and they grow more roots through the fall and winter, making them stronger and ready to take off next spring. More roots, stronger plants, better success! Oak trees, Crape Myrtles, Hawthorns, Lantana, Plumbago, Boxwoods and a host of other trees and shrubs should be planted starting this month.

3. Plant to Support Pollinators!

We’re bringing in lots of new plants this month with our pollinator friends in mind! While you’re choosing what to plant, consider adding Texas Natives like Turk’s Cap and Lantana that birds and bees love. If you want to attract and support butterflies, try native butterfly weed, Gregg’s mist flower, and lots of different blooming salvias. So many gorgeous options!

4. Set the Table for the Fall Hummingbird Migration!

Ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon make their way through for the fall migration! These tiny birds are BIG eaters. They stop here in the Coastal Bend to fuel up before their non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Host them in your yard by planting some of their favorite foods! Hummingbirds find plants using their excellent vision and are attracted to bright colored blooms, which indicate a high-sugar food source. Some of our favs for South Texas are Flame Acanthus (aka hummingbird bush), Salvias (like native Salvia greggii and Salvia leucantha), Cape Honeysuckle, Firecracker plant, Coral bean – the list goes on! Plant a few of these and hummingbirds will find them. And don’t forget to visit the Rockport-Fulton HummerBird Celebration September 14-17!

5. Make Way for New Growth with Light Pruning and Clean-up

Chances are you have established plants that could benefit from a clean-up after working so hard all summer. Wait until about September 15th and give them a light pruning to make way for new growth this fall. A good rule of thumb for most plants is to prune up to 1/3 (not more) in the fall, then wait until January to do a heavy pruning/cutback. If you have questions about how to prune specific plants, you know who to call!

6. Trap and Prevent Mosquitos

Setting simple traps with organic Mosquito Dunks or Mosquito Bits is perhaps the most effective method for controlling mosquitos. It couldn’t be easier – grab a 5-gallon bucket, fill it with water and add a few handfuls of straw, leaves, weeds, food waste, etc. This will start to stagnate and attract female mosquitos to lay their eggs. After a day or 2, toss in a Mosquito dunk or a spoonful of mosquito bits which will kill the mosquito larvae. Try a few traps plus some repellant granules and incense!

7. You’re Invited! Gill Garden Talks and Events in September!

Gill Garden Talks and Events are back! We’re kicking it off with a kids seed starting workshop on September 9th. Stay tuned here and on Instagram and Facebook for details of each event. Can’t wait!