hibiscus

August is almost here! It’s time to start making the transition into an exciting new Fall planting season. Here are our top must-do’s for this coming month.

Check out our August 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. Choose Plants that Provide for Wildlife

Important fact: birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Plants attract and provide food for them to keep the cycle going. For example – plant Zinnia and sunflower seeds now, and they’ll be ready to feed migrating birds this Fall. Take it a step further and plant Texas natives! They provide for pollinators and require less water once established.

2. Pick Out Your Seeds

Watching your plants grow from a tiny seed is exciting and rewarding! Our Fall Vegetable Planting Guide provides the specific seed-planting dates to help plan your Fall garden. Most new seeds are already here! Look out for some of the rare and heirloom seeds we’re bringing in over the next couple weeks! We’ve been researching how to use liquid seaweed to improve seed germination. Worth a try! Another tip: use peat pots or seed starting trays to start seeds indoors, then move to a covered patio once they sprout. This will protect the seedlings and slowly acclimate them to the outdoor heat.

3. Prepare Your Garden Beds

August is the time to start preparing for Fall vegetables. Clean out beds and pull weeds. To get your soil ready, we recommend mixing Nature’s Blend Compost or Cotton Burr Compost into your soil to replenish nutrients and loosen the soil before planting. About 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. is good. Once prepped, add a thick layer of pine straw mulch, which will help retain moisture, keep weeds from sprouting, and keep the soil cooler until you’re ready to plant. As you plan your space, think crop rotation – don’t plant the same veggies in the exact same place you planted them last season, or you encourage pests and diseases.

4. Water Sufficiently AND Efficiently

With our temps and lack of rain, it’s vital to water your plants and lawn sufficiently AND efficiently. The goal with summer watering (with or without watering restrictions) should be to create depth moisture. For lawns and established plants and trees, this means watering less frequently, but watering deeply when you water. New plantings will require water every day to get the roots established. Use a water wand with a cut-off valve to make it easy on you and conserve water. Pro tip: Conserve water by watering at ground level, not spraying from above. This way, water soaks down to the roots rather than evaporating off the leaves.

5. Mulch for Moisture Retention

We know fresh mulch is the quickest way to refresh the look of your landscape. Proper mulching has other big benefits, especially during dry and hot weather. A good 2-3” deep layer of mulch will keep your plants and the soil moist and cool for longer after you water. Give the main trunks or stems of your plants a little space – mulch 2-3” deep throughout the bed, but no more than 1” deep against the main trunks/stems of plants.

6. Beware of Bad Bugs

White cottony clumps on tips, stems, and undersides of leaves in summer are most likely mealy bugs! People often think these are a fungus because of their appearance but one squish with your fingers will tell you they’re insects feeding on your plants. They especially love Hibiscus, Jatropha and some Salvias. We’ve been seeing a lot of spider mites too. You’ll notice a fine webbing and small sandy speckles (see photo). The mites themselves are usually on the underside of leaves. Both can be treated organically with Spinosad soap, Bee Safe 3-in-1 spray, or Neem Oil during cooler evening hours.

No Need To Wait… Plant Hardy Trees And Shrubs Now!

The roots of hardy plants grow during our cool months even though their leaves may be changing color or falling from their branches. This provides a better root system so they thrive in spring and can survive the long, hot summer. Live oaks, magnolia, cedar elm, hawthorns, holly, sage, junipers, roses, just to name a few, are winter hardy and would be appropriate to plant now. Perennials like lantana, turks cap, and ornamental grasses also benefit from planting during the winter months.

Are Your Tropicals Looking Winter Worn?

Hot weather tropicals such as hibiscus, bougainvilleas, esperanza, plumbago and many more suffer from the sudden temperature drops in the winter. Even though we have not had a freeze, the last really good cold snap made our plants look pretty bad. The leaves turn yellow and brown and most plants also suffer lots of leaf drop. This is normal so don’t be alarmed. In late February to early March you should cut all these plants back one third to half their size and fertilize. They will flush out with new spring growth and you will never know they looked so bad over the winter. The beauty of spring!!

Our Thoughts On Winter Watering

Since the temperatures are no longer in the 90’s and plants are not actively growing they require less water. This includes the lawn. Change your watering schedule on the lawn and established shrubs to every 2 weeks slow and deep instead of once a week. Potted plants no longer need to be watered everyday. Most could go every 2-3 days. Night-time dampness and fog helps to keep moisture in the soil. By changing your watering habits you help to reduce fungal problems which are prevalent with these conditions.

We’re all plant geeks here at Gill’s. We spend time around plants all day, then go home and garden some more! We get excited to talk to each other about the plants we’re growing at home, so we thought it’d be fun to share with you too.

Debbie’s Fiesta Hibiscus

I’ve always loved hibiscus and this Fiesta variety is at the top of my list. BIG non-stop flowers, deep green foliage, and loves this spot in my courtyard! Some sun, some shade….Perfect!!! Hibiscus add tropical beauty and they love our climate.

Kelsie’s Monstera Minima

I brought this tiny 4” Monstera Minima home about a year ago and it’s grown to over 6 feet! I love it because it’s the easiest plant I’ve ever grown – super forgiving of low water and low light. Since it grows so fast, I’m training it to grow up around my window.

Josh’s Porterweed

This is my purple Porterweed. I chose this plant for its big leaves and small blooms. The small blooms compliment the deep red trim and door on my front porch!

Sally’s Turk’s Cap

I love plants that give back to nature. Hummingbirds love Turk’s Cap, it’s native to our area, and it has NO bug or fungus issues. It thrives in the part sun/part shade spot under our Texas Sabal Palms in the front yard.

Wyatt’s Crystal Ruby Grass

Crystal Ruby Grass is a beautiful low-growing grass with a max height of about 14-16” and about the same width, with light pink to white blooms in the Summer and Early Fall. Great for borders and creating small grassy areas in your pollinator garden.

We’re talking with customers everyday who are concerned that they have a fungus on their plants. My first thought is that it would be rare to have fungus this time of year since its so warm, windy, and dry. It’s much more likely to be a bug. Here’s how to identify and control.

Is it white and cottony on the stems and flower buds? If so, you have Mealybugs! They show up in the Summer on Hibiscus, Jatropha, Purslane, Salvia and many more of our plants. You can treat with organic Spinosad soap or Bee Safe 3-in1 Garden Spray – be sure to spray in the evening due to our high temperatures. We recommend spraying the plant once a week for 3 weeks.

Do your leaves look brown and speckled? Sounds and looks like a fungus, but this time of year, its most likely lace bugs on the underside of leaves. They are notorious for attacking Lantana. We’ve even seen some lace bugs on Zinnias and Persimmon trees this Summer. We recommend you cut your plants back one third to half, fertilize and then spray with organic Spinosad soap.

*Scale and sooty mold on a Eucalyptus tree*

Do your Crape Myrtles look black and sooty? This is a tricky one: black sooty mold is a fungus, but it’s caused by insects. Aphids, scale insects, and whitefly leave behind a sticky residue (called “honeydew”) that black sooty mold grows on. If you kill the bug, then the soot goes away. Each of these can be controlled with organic Spinosad soap or Bee Safe 3-in-1 Garden Spray.

-DeAnna

It was nice having some cold weather for Christmas, but some of our plants might disagree.

Covering plants (and keeping them covered) was a big challenge with such high winds. Chances are, we’ve all got some plants that suffered damage. But it’s too early to give up and too soon to prune! Here are a few do’s and don’t do’s right now.

The good news is our forecast looks warm and sunny! Our best advice right now is to get everything uncovered, water well, and let everything enjoy the sunshine. The cold, dry wind dried everything out, so most plants will need water. But use a moisture meter and be sure not to water too much. Some plants wilt and look thirsty just because they’re cold and will perk up as temps rise.

Tender tropical plants like Philodendrons, Gingers, Cannas, and Bananas probably look pretty defeated right now unless you were able to cover them really well. Give tender tropicals at least a week before deciding to cut them back. Woodier tropicals like Bougainvillea and Hibiscus may have some damaged foliage, and will likely be fine, but time will tell. Don’t prune them yet.

Many perennials (such as Salvias, Duranta, Turk’s Cap, Mexican Bush Sage) that were left uncovered should survive. They look bad and they lost a lot of foliage, but they are mostly dormant right now anyway. Our first instinct may be to cut them back now, but it’s too early! You don’t want to prune now and make the plant think it’s time to start coming out of dormancy and putting on new growth. That new growth would be more cold-sensitive. Also, the ugly burned foliage will act as insulation if we get another freeze. If you can tolerate the unsightliness, leave them alone. If not, remove the damaged leaves, but don’t prune. Wait to prune until February when it’s time for plants to start putting on new Spring growth.

Keep in mind, it’s still Winter! Keep your frost cloth and plant covering supplies handy in case we get another cold snap. As always, get in touch if you have questions about specific plants. You can send us pictures to info@gillnursery.com, Facebook, or Instagram. Or give us a call or stop by!

Are you as ready as we are to get outside and garden?! If the Mesquite trees are right, Spring is just around the corner. Here’s our top 6 to focus on in February to kickstart an amazing Spring season.

Check out our February 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. Be Ready for Cool Weather and Start Planting!

Keep your eye on the forecast for cold snaps like we’ve had this week, but don’t delay your planting projects. We are already seeing Mesquite trees start to bud up, which almost always means no more hard freezes! As James Gill shared with us at his garden talk last weekend, he’s only seen 2 years out of almost 70 where the Mesquites were wrong on this. That’s a lot more accurate than the weather man!

2. Start Your Veggies!

Beloved tomato growing is rewarding and can be challenging. Planting them early this month is important. Tomatoes need cooler nights to have good fruit set. When you plant tomatoes, be sure to install a tomato cage while they’re small. It can act as a frame for cold weather protection (a bag or blanket) if needed and a frame to support your plants as they grow. You can go ahead and start other favs like squash, cucumbers, beans, & lettuces/greens either by seed or transplants too. 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 and Share Houseplant Tips This Saturday!

This Saturday, 2/4/23, we’ll be inside greenhouse here at Gill’s, having an open and interactive discussion about how to care for your indoor plant friends. Join us for Houseplant Jungle with Ori Roldan, Gill’s houseplant connoisseur and assistant buyer. Ori will share lots of care tips and demonstrate easy ways to propagate. Bring your questions or share your plant knowledge as we hang out and talk about everything houseplants. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card, and we’ll do some other giveaways too!

4. Feed 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. February = Time to Prune!

February is the time to get plants cut back to make way for big spring growth! 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 hard bodied sucking insect that looks like a brown booger 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.

Check out our February Garden Guide for more tips!

We’ve been talking to lots of local gardeners who are totally rethinking their landscapes this year. After 2 cold winters in a row, you might be wanting more cold-tolerant plants. Understandable! We think that’s a great idea – start with some good bones, then add color and accents to suit your style. Here are some options to consider.

Small Trees Make Good Focal Points

Crops of blooming ornamental trees like Texas Mountain Laurel, Yaupon Holly, Vitex, and Redbud look fantastic this year. All of these will attract and support birds, as will other interesting native trees like Spiny Hackberry and Kidneywood. They can handle freezes and hot summer temps too. In nature, these are understory trees, so they can tolerate some shade. Look for a spot with good sun to partial shade where you’d like to create a focal point in your landscape. For example, plant a Yaupon Holly and add a birdbath where you can see it from your living room window and you’ll have live Mockingbird TV!

Add Structure with Cold-Hardy Shrubs

You can’t go wrong with cold-hardy, tried and true shrubs like Indian Hawthorn for creating structure in your landscape. Yes, they may still get a little browning on the tips after a freeze, but not severe damage. Shrubs frame the house and give you that classic evergreen look. Other classics like Wax Leaf Ligustrum, Viburnum, Pittosporum, and Dwarf Burford Holly are great for our area.

Bring the Butterflies with Cold-Tolerant Perennial Color

Lantana, Blue Daze, Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’, Salvia ‘Black and Bloom’, Gregg’s Mistflower,
Blackfoot Daisy

Once you’ve got some good structure, you can make your landscape sing with blooming perennials! If you already had plants like Lantana, Salvias, Blue Daze, you’ve probably saw them look rough this Winter, then start to grow back rapidly this Spring. If you cut them back in the wintertime, they’ll look even better in Spring and Summer. Expect most blooming perennials to look their best for 2-3 years, sometimes longer. Keep in mind, if you’re planting to attract pollinators like hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees, plant several of the same plant in a group. For example, plant 6-8 Gregg’s Mistflower together in 1 bed to help butterflies easily find it. Mass-planting like this tends to look really nice to humans too.

Accent with Tropical Plants and Annual Color

Jatropha, Bougainvillea, Mandevilla, Hibiscus

If you’re adventurous, creating an all-tropical landscape can be lush and beautiful. Just know that you’ll likely need to replace plants if we get too cold, or wait a while until they grow back from the roots. Instead, you might consider building the bones of your landscape with cold-tolerant trees, shrubs, and perennials, then accenting with tropical plants. A Bougainvillea splash against a background of evergreen shrubs, or a small area full of philodendrons and Jatropha can create a tropical feel with less risk. And don’t forget about annual flowers! Pots or beds exploding with Zinnias, Begonias, Celosia, and Sweet Potato Vine will look amazing this season, then you get to pull them up and plant something new.

Over the past week, we’ve talked to a lot of customers about brownish and speckled gunk that they’re noticing on their outdoor plants, and sometimes houseplants, all of a sudden. This time of year, it typically means several different types of 1 thing…scale insects! Luckily we’ve got an effective (and eco-friendly) solution.

The photo above is a leaf from a Cast Iron plant that a customer brought in. This one happens to be infested with 2 different types of scale insects. Notice the white specks and the brown gunky spots. There are many different types of scale that go after our common landscape plants like Cast Iron plant, Flax Lily, Hibiscus, Indian Hawthorn, and more.

Have no fear! All-Seasons Horticultural & Dormant Oil Spray is here! Horticultural oil is a mineral oil solution that works by coating the insects and suffocating them. It’s safe and harmless for humans, pets, birds, and other wildlife, but very effective against scale insects and other plant pests.

Scale insects tend to like houseplants too, especially if you’ve had them outside. As you plan to bring patio and houseplants inside for the winter, it’s a great idea to treat them with Horticultural Oil too. Just spray all over and wipe down the leaves. It’ll prevent scale and other pests from hitching a ride inside the house, and it’ll shine up your houseplants beautifully!