Thank you for trusting Gill’s with your gardening and landscaping needs this year. From all of us to you – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Holidays
November in South Texas is all about spending time outdoors and gathering with family & friends. Cool weather, crisp evenings, outdoor fires & a beautiful garden… a welcome invitation. Here are our top tips for this month.
Check out our November 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. Fill Pots and Spots with Fall Flowers
Here’s our list of Fall/Winter flowers – tons of choices for outdoor color to redo pots & inground plantings. Flowers take a little time to grow and bloom. Plant early this month so they can be WOW for the holidays! Once they’re all planted, give them a good meal of organic Plant Tone or Hasta Gro. To keep them growing and blooming through the Fall and Winter, they’ll need regular feedings about once a month.
2. Plant Trees and Shrubs Now for Better Growth Next Spring
Now is the best time to plant cold-hardy shrubs and trees. They focus energy this Fall and Winter on building a good root system, which allows them to explode with growth next Spring, and prepares them for hot weather next Summer. Other benefits to planting now – easier digging and not as much watering as during warmer seasons. Always fertilize when you plant and follow our watering instructions.
3. Last Chance Lawn Care
Fertilizing lawns this month (before November 15th!) helps develop strong roots for healthy growth next Spring and Summer. We recommend organic Medina Growin’ Green or our Gill Lawn & Garden Fertilizer. Prevent weeds in your lawn by applying Weed Beater Complete or Crabgrass & Weed Preventer.
Read: Fall Lawn Care
4. Feed Your Landscape Too!
Landscape plants, including trees, all tropicals, perennials, and hardy shrubs need food early this month while they are still actively growing. Just like lawns, the idea is to give them a boost before they head into dormancy this Winter. We love organic granular fertilizer Medina Growin’ Green for trees and shrubs, and Rose Glo or Plant Tone for tropicals and blooming perennials.
5. Plant Herbs to Share and Use for the Holidays
Cooking without herbs would be such a waste of thyme! Sage, Rosemary, Cilantro, Parsley, Fennel, Dill, (and Thyme) are just a few herbs that thrive in our Fall & Winter months. Limited space? A sunny spot, container & a few favorite herbs is all you need. We can even pot them up for you.
We’re happy to report that Christmas trees are here and they look amazing! This cool, damp weather is what they love! The garden center is stocked with fresh-cut trees ranging from 5ft to 11ft, 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 Christmas tree varieties this year plus a few important care tips.
Did You Know?
Real fresh-cut trees are the environmentally friendly option – they help support forests and don’t require the carbon emissions that it takes to produce plastic trees. For each fresh tree cut, 1-3 more saplings are planted. These sustainably managed forests consume several thousand pounds of carbon dioxide per year helping to clean our atmosphere and provide oxygen. After the season, 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
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!
Noble Fir in traditional form or the layered look. 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, which makes it a great choice for those with allergies. With excellent needle retention, they are very pretty with contrasting dark green and silver foliage.
We offer delivery + set-up as well as Xmas tree takeaway after the season.
2 Very Important Xmas Tree Care 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. We carry the Watering Elf which makes refilling super easy.
#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. Can’t wait to see it all lit up!
Plant
Vegetable Seeds
Beets, carrot, garlic, lettuce, mustard, onion, parsley, radish, Swiss chard, spinach, turnips, herbs
Read: Best Timing for Popular Fall Veggies
Flower Seeds
Alyssum, bluebonnets, dianthus, delphinium, hollyhocks, larkspur, nasturtium, pansies, petunias, phlox, snapdragons, stock, sweet peas, and violas
Read: Success with Fall Flowers
Flower Transplants
All cool season annuals Alyssum, begonias, bluebonnets, calendulas, dianthus, flowering cabbage and kale, geraniums, lobelia, pansies, petunias, phlox, shasta daisy, snapdragons, stock, violas and dusty miller
Garden Guide: Annuals for Fall and Winter
Fall Bulbs
Fall bulbs like paper whites and amaryllis, will make a spectacular show this winter and spring, and now is the time to buy them. Paper whites need to be chilled for 4 to 6 weeks in your refrigerator then planted in pots or in the ground. They can make beautiful gifts for the holidays. Be sure to get a free instruction sheet on their planting and care.
Read: Amaryllis and Paperwhite Narcissus
Herbs
If you’re cooking for the holidays, you can still plant herbs for that “fresh from the garden” flavor. Even if you’re not cooking, they’re still fun to grow.
Read: Tips for Preserving Herbs
All container grown trees and shrubs.
Garden Guide: Planting Trees, Shrubs, and Groundcovers
Read: Burr Oak – an Awesome South Texas Tree
Indoor Plants
- Add foliage plants to your indoors for a fresh look and to help keep air clean.
- Clean indoor plants by removing dust with a damp cloth.
- Check where plants are set so that heater vents will not blow on foliage.
- Stop fertilizing until February to let your indoor plants rest.
Fertilize
Lawns
Fertilize your lawn with organic Medina Growin’ Green or Milorganite
Read: Top Five Tips for Beautiful Fall Lawn, Protect Your Lawn: Recent Take All Root Rot Sightings (TARR)
Roses
We recommend: Organic Maestro Rose Glo
Blooming Annuals and Perennials
Use organic Medina Growin’ Green, Hasta Gro, Maestro Rose Glo, or Plant Tone
Vegetables
We recommend organic Hasta Gro, Maestro Rose Glo, or Plant Tone
Read: How to Keep Your Vegetable Garden Healthy This Fall
All plants that are especially stressed, or recently transplanted
We recommend organic Hasta Gro or Plant Tone
Water
Water your newly planted vegetables and bedding plants regularly, but take care not to overwater with cooler nighttime temperatures.
- Cut back on watering your established plants and lawn as temperatures cool down, since they use less water. If you are unsure when to water, use a moisture meter to take out the guesswork.
Prune
Woody Ornamentals
Your hardy woody ornamentals to shape, not severely, so as not to encourage new tender growth.
Read: To Prune or Not to Prune?
Fall Bloomers
Your fall blooming plants, like asters and mums, that have finished their bloom. Remove spent blooms from annuals, like petunias, snapdragons and dianthus to encourage more bloom.
Watch Out For
Read: What's Bugging You Now?
Watch: How to Collect a Grass Sample
Caterpillars
Caterpillars or their damage (chewed leaves). Spray with organic Thuricide, Dipel Dust, or Spinosad
Read: Oak Tree Caterpillars
Powdery Mildew on Crape Myrtles and Roses
Use organic Fungicide 5 or Neem Oil or conventional Fertilome Broad Spectrum or Fertilome Systemic Fungicide
Fleas and Ticks
Treat lawns with organic Spinosad, or conventional Cyonara
Mosquitoes
Use Mosquito Beater granules to repel and Mosquito Beater liquid to kill.
Note: Please, Please, don’t kill the bees!
They are one of the best sources we have to pollinate our fruits, vegetables, flowers and shrubs.
Read: Best for Bees
