houseplants

Gill’s is here to be your holiday stress antidote! Come take a stroll and pick out a few gifts for the green thumbs on your list. We’ll help you find the right plants, useful tools, nature gifts for kids, holiday cards, and all kinds of other unique and fun gifts to help connect your loved ones to the outdoors. Here’s 12 of our favs.

1. Gifts that Grow

Now is a great time to plant winter flowers like petunias, geraniums, and snapdragons, and they’re quick and easy to plant! Easy for Santa to sneak in and secretly plant a few flowers.

Roses, herbs, and onions are all great to plant right now too. Or if you want to make it a truly memorable holiday, plant a tree! Remember that trees benefit greatly from being planted in fall and winter, including citrus trees! And if you don’t want to do any digging, we’ll plant it for you.

2. Poinsettias and Other Holiday Classics

Poinsettias are THE classic holiday décor and centerpiece for holiday meals. They make great gifts for teachers, bosses, coworkers, and friendly acquaintances – they just make people happy!

A blooming Christmas Cactus or Kalanchoe is great too, or a small living holiday tree like a juniper, Norfolk pine, or rosemary. We can gift wrap these for you. Easy wow!

3. Custom-Planted Pottery

Let us help you put together something totally unique! Choose the pots and plants and we can pot it all up for you. Houseplants, flowers, herbs, native plants for pollinators, and lots more can stand alone or be combined in the right pot.

4. Quality Garden Tools

We don’t carry a huge selection of tools, just nice tools that are made to last. Pruners, loppers, kitchen/herb shears, or even a quality sharp-shooter shovel make great gifts. Working with quality tools makes gardening a lot more fun.

5. Soothing Wind Chimes

Lots of different tones and styles for relaxing in the garden, including our favorite chimes of all time, Music of the Spheres. Hand-made and hand-tuned here in TX.

6. “Gordo” Birdhouses + Bird Baths

These Gordo birdhouses have been a huge hit this fall. People seem to love them and birds too! Pair these with a nice stone bird bath and some bird-attracting plants and you’ll make the birders on your list very happy.

7. Cyanotype Print Kits

Cyanotype photography or printing is a technique that involves laying an object, like a leaf, on paper coated with a solution of iron salts before exposing it to light to create stunning white and blue images. The kit comes with everything you need to make your own prints! Just find the leaves and flowers you want to capture – no darkroom or other tools required!

8. Silverware Herb Markers

These might be our fav garden markers we’ve ever seen. Herb markers etched into old silverware!

9. Rain Chains

Rain chains are THE gift for nature lovers who enjoy the soothing sound of rain. They’re a beautiful alternative to gutter downspouts, guiding rainwater gently into planting beds.

10. Houseplant Cutting Jars

Our cutting jars make great gifts for houseplant lovers. We collect interesting glass jars and use LECA (lightweight expanded clay aggregate) + water as the growing medium for cuttings. We have some ready to go, or all the supplies for you to make your own.

11. Nature-Themed Children’s Books and Holiday Cards

This year, we’re featuring new children’s books and holiday cards by author and illustrator Phoebe Wahl. Her first book, Sonya’s Chickens, was the recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, and her most recent book, Little Witch Hazel is an Indie Bestseller. Perfect gifts for a young gardener!

12. When in Doubt – Gift Cards!

Can’t go wrong with a Gill’s gift card! Good for plants or services too. You could give the gift of landscape design, a food garden next Spring, a planted tree, or anything else we provide. We can help you with ideas too!

2024 is almost here! Will you be eating your black-eyed peas and cabbage for good luck on New Year’s Day? Did you know that many different houseplants are also said to bring good fortune and harmony? Here are a few of our favorites.

Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Golden Pothos is an important plant in Feng Shui that is believed to exude positive energy and bring good luck and money. It’s also said to help harmonize human existence with our surroundings.

Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)

Chinese money plant aka UFO plant aka coin plant is a classic lucky plant. It’s round leaves represent coins and it creates offshoots which represent more paths to financial success.

Sansevieria aka Snake Plant

Sansevieria comes in tons of different varieties like the Whale’s Fin pictured here. They are said to exude strong protective energy and shield the home from negative chi. And we know that sansevieria are one of the best air-purifying plants for the home.

Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)

The rubber plant is one of many ficus varieties that do well indoors. They’re easy and tough houseplants and they’re believed to foster abundance and good fortune in the home.

Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)

In Feng Shui, money trees are placed in the “wealth corner”, which is typically the southeast corner of the home. They’re said to attract good fortune and they’re often given as gifts for people starting a business.

Have you set your 2024 new year’s gardening resolution?! January is time to get moving and set yourself up for big success this spring and beyond. Beds need prepping, veggie seeds need starting, citrus trees need feeding, and YES you can get a head start on planting too! Here are our top must-do’s (and don’t do’s!) this month.

Check out our January 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. Plan and Prep Beds for Spring Planting

January is our month to plan and prep for spring. Clean up, remove weeds, and most importantly, prep your garden beds by adding some compost! We love Nature’s Blend Compost for veggie and landscape beds, including raised beds. A good ratio is 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. of bed space. If you make your own compost, that approximate ratio works well. It doesn’t have to be exact. If working out is part of your new year’s resolution, get outside, grab your garden forks or a shovel, and turn some compost into the first few inches of soil!

2. Feed Your Citrus Trees

Fertilize your citrus trees in January for more blooms, again in May/June for better fruit set, and again in September/October for nutrients. We recommend fertilizing with Espoma Citrus-Tone – all organic and highly effective. Remember to fertilize trees, including citrus, at the drip line. That means spread fertilizer in a circle where the rain naturally drips down from the leaves, not right up against the trunk.

3. Wait to Prune!

Remember – wait to do any major pruning of most plants until February! We can be tempted to want to do too much pruning in January, but you don’t want plants to think its time to start putting on new growth since we still may have another cold snap. Even if we do get a cold snap that damages some foliage, wait to prune because that damaged foliage will help insulate against more possible cold weather.

Ornamental grasses, like Pink Muhly or Purple Fountain grass, are a January exception. They should be cut back this month. Trim them straight across (no cupcakes) 3”-4“ from the ground. Use a bungee cord or piece of rope to gather them up, then cut straight across with your shears.

4. Start Veggie Seeds!

January is time to start tomatoes, kale, chard, onions, carrots, beets, parsley and more from seed. We carry seed-starting trays, peat pots, and Espoma Organic Seed Starter soil for starting seeds indoors or on a protected/covered patio. A good rule of thumb is that once the seedlings have made their first true set of leaves, they are ready to be transplanted into a larger container outside or directly into the garden bed.

Check out our full Spring planting guide here. And stay tuned because we’re planning all kinds of cool events for 2024, including a seed starting workshop this month!

5. Grow Potatoes and Onions!

January is prime time to plant potatoes and onions! We carry Red La Soda and Yukon Gold potatoes because they are better suited for South Texas growing conditions than larger varieties. Watch Matt’s video guide to planting potatoes here!

Plant onions in a row every 3-4″ then thin them by plucking every other green top as they grow. This will allow the onions to grow to full size. Keep in mind that both potatoes and onions need well-drained soil. Great for raised beds!

6. Adjust Lighting and Water for Houseplants

Generally, most houseplants will need more light and less water this month. A moisture meter will come in handy to be sure you’re not overwatering. Experiment with moving houseplants to sunnier windows, and take them outside for a sunny day or 2. Keep their leaves clean to help them take up sunlight and prevent bad bugs. We like using a very light solution of Neem oil + water to wipe down leaves here at Gill’s.

7. Yes, You Can Plant It in January!

Why wait?? Trees, shrubs, and blooming perennials planted now will build healthy root systems during their winter dormancy making for stronger, healthier plants in spring and summer. Not to mention all kinds of cool season flowers and veggies that love our January weather. Keep an eye on the forecast, but remember that new plants are easy to cover with frost blankets if we get a cold spell.

Here’s to summer garden fun! We’re making the transition to warmer weather with some intermittent rainfall and lots of good energy in the garden. Here are our top priorities this month, including what to plant, how to adjust watering, what to watch out for, and how to keep plant roots insulated and happy.

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. Plant Summer-Tough Stuff!

So many of our favorite plants for South Texas don’t just tolerate warm weather, they only begin to thrive and look their best in the summer. Think of blooming perennials like Firebush, Esperanza, and Pride of Barbados for awesome summer impact. Think of big purslane hanging baskets, Gomphrena, and Periwinkles for bursts of bright color. And browse our Texas native plant section for plants and trees that have thrived through hundreds and even thousands of Texas summers. If you’re still wanting to plant food, you can do that too – okra, basil, thyme, watermelon, peppers, black-eyed peas and more can be planted in June.

2. Water Low & Slow

We’re not talking about BBQ, although that sounds good too… We’re talking about watering low, as in as in low to the ground to avoid evaporation, and slow as in not with your hose open full-blast to decrease runoff and get more water down to the roots. Consider setting up your own automatic drip irrigation system – they’re easy to DIY and they operate on the low & slow principle. For spray irrigation sprinkler systems, be sure to follow current watering rules.

Pro tip: Use a moisture meter in your landscape beds and pots! We carry them for around $10 and can show you how easy they are to use. They’ve saved many plants!

3. Watch for Summer Bugs and Disease

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 and fertilize every 3 months. If you fertilized in April, wait to feed again in July.

4. Hang Out with Your Houseplants

We just restocked the greenhouse with all kinds of unique and classic houseplants looking for their forever homes! Time to work on your collection! We can help you determine the best houseplants for different areas and different lighting in your home. Once again – invest in a moisture meter for your houseplants, too. In our experience, the main cause of houseplant death is too much love aka too much water. Keep in mind that houseplants can also be sensitive to tap water. We use as much A/C condensate, rainwater, and water from our dehumidifier as we can to water houseplants and keep them looking their best here at Gill’s.

5. Keep Roots Cool with Mulch

A good mulch layer (2-3″ deep) has so many benefits. It looks amazing, keeps weeds down, helps retain moisture, adds organic matter to the soil, AND keeps plant roots nice and cool in the summer. Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories shared amazing results with us from a mulch study they conducted 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!

How is it almost JULY already?! We hope you’re having lots of fun this Summer – holidays, BBQs, weekend trips, and garden projects! Here are our top must-do’s to keep your plants healthy and happy this month, including tips for water conservation and speaking to local officials about your water.

1. Speak Up About Your Water

As you may have heard, the City of Corpus Christi anticipates moving to Stage 3 watering restrictions in August unless we get more rain in the watershed. We have asked the Mayor, City Manager, City Council members, and the City Water Department to postpone this decision until after hurricane season at the least. One tropical rain system that moves north and sits over the watershed could fill up Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon to 50% or beyond – this is what’s happened in the past.

We have also asked the City to revise the Drought Contingency Plan to include water from Lake Texana, our 3^rd source of water. This water, which we are already paying for, is not included in the calculation which triggers the different stages of watering restrictions.

We have also expressed our concern that the Stage 3 ban on outdoor watering for residential water users is excessive. Since we know that residences account for less than half of city water use, and we know that only some of those users water their landscapes, Stage 3 restrictions on watering plants would impact only a small portion of overall water use.

We encourage you to speak up about your water, too! There are 3 City Council meetings in July: 7/16, 7/23, and 7/30. The meetings are held at City Hall at 1201 Leopard St. at 11:30 a.m. You can sign up to speak at the meeting or submit your comments in writing – here’s how. You can also follow these links to contact City leaders directly: Mayor, Water Department, City Manager, and City Council.

2. Watering: Think Depth, Not Frequency

Proper hydration happens when you get water down to the roots of the plant. This means watering deeply, not more frequently. Run irrigation systems or sprinklers every other week before 10am or after 6pm per current city watering rules – if there were no restrictions, we’d recommend once a week, but once every other week will keep lawns, most plants, and trees alive through the summer. The key is long, slow, deep drinks! Encourage those roots to dive deeper for water. Even when we get a summer rain, continue to watch your watering and maintain that depth moisture.

3. Mulch to Keep Cool

Studies show that a good 3″ layer of mulch will keep your plant roots more than 20 degrees cooler in summer! Not only that, a good mulch layer also helps retain moisture AND keeps weeds at bay. Healthy plants, less watering, and fewer weeds – that’s a win/win/win! It’s important to use natural wood or pine straw mulch that breaks down over time. As it breaks down, it adds nutrients and makes your soil more workable.

4. Watch for More Bugs in Summer

Not all bugs are bad, so it’s important to know your bugs before you spray anything, even organics. A few bugs here and there is most likely not cause for alarm. If you do get an infestation, cut the plant back first, give it some fertilizer, then treat for bugs. By pruning first, you won’t have to treat every leaf on the whole plant. We see plants come back better than ever using this method. If you’re not sure about bugs or pruning, we’re here to help.

5. Train Your Plant Sitter

Be sure to have a trusted plant-sitter come water your plants while you’re away on summer excursions! It’s a good idea to spend a little time showing them how you water. Make them a list, draw them a map, and walk them through it. You know your plants and which ones get tired and thirsty the fastest.

6. Collect Cool New Houseplants

Now’s a great time of year to work on your houseplant jungle. The greenhouse is restocked with all kinds of interesting houseplant choices, including lots of new Bromeliad varieties! Keep in mind that constant A/C indoors will dry out plants. Keep an eye on watering (use a moisture meter) and don’t place houseplants near an A/C vent. You might also try experimenting with a humidifier near your plants to help regulate moisture.

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!

It sure feels like summer outside, but in order for fall tomatoes and peppers to have time to produce lots of fruit, we gotta plant em now! Here are a few tips for growing the most and the tastiest tomatoes and peppers.

1. Count Your Days to Maturity

The average tomato, like our beloved Celebrity slicing tomato, needs about 70-80 days to mature and produce fruit. That means they’ll be ready around the beginning of November if we plant today. Similarly, Jalepenos and bell peppers need 60-80 days to maturity. Be sure to get them planted now or very soon so you can get a good harvest before we have chances of cold weather which tomatoes and peppers can’t handle.

2. Adequate Spacing + Cages for Support

When planting, keep in mind that tomatoes should be planted a good 4 feet apart, and peppers should be 2.5-3 feet apart. This gives them room to grow to their full potential, ensures good airflow around the plants, and helps prevent pest outbreaks. Remember – tomato cages are your friends! It’s important to cage the tomato right when you plant so you don’t risk breaking branches if you try to add a cage later. A tomato cage works great for supporting pepper plants too. And be sure to have some flexible green garden tie tape to help secure floppy branches, especially when they get heavy with fruit! The flexible tape is nice because it’s soft and won’t cut into the plant like string or wire would. Yes, we have some!

3. Follow DeAnna’s Tried & True Feeding Schedule

Remember that plants use lots of energy to produce fruit, so they need plenty of good food! Use compost and Biotone Starter Plus you plant to promote good soil microbes and bigger roots. Then take DeAnna’s advice on feeding: apply a quality granular fertilizer (Plant Tone or Medina Growin Green) on the 1st of the month, then supplement with liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Add these reminders to your calendar to make it easy. Follow this schedule and you’ll have tomatoes & peppers to share!

It’s almost that magical time of year again when ruby-throated hummingbirds make their way through the Coastal Bend on their way south for the winter! Expect to start seeing hummingbirds around town any day now, with peak numbers around mid-late September, right in time for the Rockport-Fulton Hummerbird Celebration. With our hungry guests arriving very soon, it’s time to set the table with all the right hummingbird plants! Here’s what and how to plant to make your yard a preferred stop on the migration path.

1. Plant Tubular Blooms in Shades of Orange and Red

If we think about our list of top-notch hummingbird-attracting plants like Firebush (pictured), Flame Acanthus, Firecracker (russelia), Salvia greggii, and Coral Honeysuckle, to name a few, they all have tubular blooms that are perfect for a hummingbird’s long, skinny beak. And their blooms are all shades of orange and red! Hummingbirds have a high concentration of cones in their retinas which filter color differently than what we see. To hummingbirds, the red spectrum appears more vividly while blues appear more muted. That said, scientists have run experiments with different color blooms and found that hummingbirds learn very fast which blooms have the most nectar, regardless of bloom color. As a local example, we know that hummingbirds also love Duranta‘s blooms which are purple and not tube-shaped. Lantanas are another plant that hummingbirds seem to love in all colors.

2. Plant in Groups, Not Just 1 or 2

When planting for hummingbirds and other pollinators, make your food sources easy to find. Instead of planting 1’s and 2’s of hummingbird plants spread out across the yard, plant a few or several of the same plant in a group. This helps mimic how most plants are found in nature, helps the hummingbirds spot them more easily, and provides a higher concentration of nectar. If you have limited space, go with 3 of the same plant rather than 1 of each. We had a customer call Gill’s this week to ask about hummingbird plants for her balcony…on the 13th floor! That may seem like a stretch, but hummingbirds can fly up to 500 feet – if they have a good reason to fly up to your balcony, they can and will!

3. Supplement with High Quality Organic Food and Shallow Water

The right plants will get you more hummingbirds, but it doesn’t hurt to supplement with some feeders too. They need all the energy they can get for their long journey. Place your feeders in easy to access spots since they need to be cleaned regularly. And don’t use the fake red dyed “nectar” that you might find at big box stores. Use a high-quality, nutritious food that’s truly made for hummingbirds. We’re big fans of organic Hummingbird Momma, which is the only nectar we carry. And don’t forget about water! No hummingbird haven is complete without a shallow bird bath or fountain. They can’t stand in deeper water, so look for something very shallow!