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During current drought conditions, it is critical that you water your established, mature trees. Of course, we want to make sure we take care of plants and lawns too, but be sure your trees are getting enough water. Here’s how.

Trees, especially mature shade trees, provide huge benefits for our environment and they’re difficult and expensive to replace. How could you even put a price tag on a 30-year-old mature Oak tree?

With summer temps and a lack of depth moisture in the ground due to drought conditions, mature trees need a slow, deep watering every 2 to 4 weeks. If your trees are showing signs of stress, (looking dull, dropping leaves), water them deeply once a week to rehydrate. You can accomplish proper, deep watering by placing a sprinkler between the trunk of the tree and the drip line (edge of the tree canopy) and running it for 45 mins. Then, move the sprinkler 1/3 of the way around the tree and repeat until you’ve watered all the way around. Check your sprinkler placement to be sure you’re not watering the street, the sidewalk, etc. Here’s a simple top-view illustration.

It’s critical to water trees sufficiently and create depth moisture now in case the drought is prolonged. The more stressed trees get, the more difficult it is to bring them back to good health.

–DeAnna

May means Mom’s Day, graduations, and more BBQs and family holidays outside! May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. As gardeners, we know growing plants and being outdoors are necessary for our wellbeing…and so much fun! Here are our Top 5 Must Do’s this May to help you and your garden make the transition to warmer weather.

Check out our May 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 Blooming Perennials

It’s still time to plant lots of different blooming perennials. Get them established now so they are better adapted to withstand warmer temps this Summer. Staples like Esperanza, many varieties of Salvia, Jatropha, Lantana, and more are all blooming beautifully right now. We’re excited about Cape Town Honeysuckle this month (see pic above). It grows to about 4-5’ tall and wide, whereas its relative, Cape Honeysuckle, grows to 8’ or more. Lots of blooms and lots more options for placement. Added bonus: these blooming perennials attract pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds!

2. Plant and Harvest Veggies

Warm weather veggie time! Plant peppers, zucchini, squash, and okra this month for continued harvesting into the Summer months. If you planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and other early Spring veggies, you’ll be harvesting now or soon. Be sure to harvest often! It keeps birds & insects from finding them first. If you do have insect issues in your veggie garden, our go-to organic control is Spinosad – safe for food but takes care of bugs. And remember to keep watering as the weather warms up. Soaker hoses are great to snake around your plants keeping water close to the ground and root systems.

3. Tend Your Lawn

It’s vital to water your lawn once a week unless we have rain. Invest in a sprinkler that’ll do the work – we have them. Hand watering the lawn may feel therapeutic, but you won’t get good coverage and depth.

When mowing, the proper height for St. Augustine lawns is around 3 inches. For Bermuda lawns keep mowed to around 2-2.5 inches.

Feed with Natural Fertilizers: Medina Growin Green or Milorganite. These feed the lawn and the soil with great results. Water in to get them started.
Watch for lawn insects & treat when needed. Grub worms & chinch bugs are easy to control when caught early but there’s no need to treat unless you have them. Bayer Season-long Grub Control will do the trick for grubs. Cyonara takes care of chinch bugs.

4. Look for Thirsty Plants

Watch your plants and they will show you when they need a drink. Most show signs of wilting (see photo). That’s a sign they need water soon. Once you give them a drink, they perk up quickly. But some will not tell you until it is too late, like a live oak tree. Invest in a moisture meter. They help to read the moisture with a poke into the soil around the roots. We have them and they’re very easy to use.

5. Gifts for Moms and Grads

Let us help you find something pretty, useful, or both for the gardening moms and grads in your life. Pottery, birdbaths, wind chimes, garden tools, hats, gloves – lots of options. Or the gift that gardeners love most – plants!

Check out our May Garden Guide for more tips! Happy gardening!

Years ago, my mother-in-law, Ruth Bayne Gill, aka “Bayne”, bought a parcel of land on Mill Creek, between Vanderpool and Medina, Texas. It’s a beautiful piece of Texas Hill Country, with creek bottom habitat including Bald Cypress and other water loving plants and a nice size hill rising toward the rear of the property covered with juniper, Texas mountain laurel, red oak, and blue oak. The hill is tall enough to hike up and look out over the valley to the opposing ridges and hills and is itself capped with huge and magnificent boulders painted with colorful yellow, white, and rust orange lichens and green Hill Country ferns. Bayne spent a lot of time visiting her land, dreaming how she would put a small Texas “Dog Run” cabin on it. In the meantime, she thinned the cedar just a little and explored her acreage from bottom to top.

*(Clockwise from top left) The Hill, Mill Creek, Boulders at The Top of The Hill, Lichen and Fern on a Rock*

Bayne’s love for nature was infectious. In the summer of 2000, our oldest son, Stuart, took a job with the Texas Nature Conservancy in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, clearing fire breaks. Towards the end of the summer, James and I, along with our younger son Trevor, and Bayne, drove out to the Davis Mountains for a visit. On our visit, we hiked and hiked and hiked. As usual, Bayne marveled at the plants, the bugs, the sky… anything and everything Mother Nature. She could name all the birds, insects, and other animals, the plants, and understood the complexity of their interactions. We often paused so she could collect a few seeds of notable plants.

Bayne passed away in the spring of 2013, surrounded by her family, in her country cottage in the woods outside of Goliad, Texas.

Fast forward to March of 2019. James and I drove up to Mill Creek to camp for the night. Visiting the Mill Creek land she passed to her children always makes us feel closer to Bayne. We can almost hear her voice ringing with joy while telling us some delightful natural history tidbit or Native lore.

Early the next morning, James got up to hike across the creek and up the hill. I stayed back, enjoying the quiet morning air. Later in the morning, I started hiking around the property, checking on some bigtooth maple trees (of Lost Maples fame) that James’ older brother William had planted some years back. As I was walking, I spied a small glass jar with a rusted lid on the ground near a clump of old cedar trees. I picked it up; there was paper inside. I’ve always dreamed of finding a message in a bottle. Doesn’t everybody? I knew immediately it was Bayne’s handwriting. And some seed. I very carefully opened the bottle. The paper was yellowed and cracking, but I was able to read, “Alligator Juniper – Aug 2000.” She had collected that seed with us on our Davis Mountains family trip almost 20 years ago!

I felt like I had won the lottery a thousand times over. Actually, I already had. Bayne was the best mother-in-law I could dream of; I loved her dearly. I knew at that moment, her spirit was with me and always will be.

Growing up, I was always happiest outdoors. Joining the Gill family took me to a whole new level of love for the miracles of nature. James and I, along with our amazing Gill team, are thankful and humbled by your support in allowing us to share our love of plants and the outdoors with you.

Thank you for being a part of Gill’s and Happy Mother’s Day to you!

-Sally

What a joy to see green everywhere! You can feel the big sigh of relief from plants and people too. All this rain is FANTASTIC news for fall gardens! Here are our top must-do’s this month as we head into our best 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. Choose Plants for Birds, Butterflies, and Bees

Fall is our best planting season here in the Coastal Bend. We are bringing in lots of new plants 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 butterfly weed, Gregg’s mist flower, and lots of different blooming salvias.

2. 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 scorching sun and keep watered. Seeds of cool weather crops like turnips, beets, and radish should be started now. Carrots and greens should be planted later in September and into October. Here is our Fall veggie planting schedule. And save space for citrus trees, figs & other fruits to round off your garden grocery store! Revisit Josh’s guide to planting citrus trees.

3. Pull Weeds While the Ground is Soft

Pulling weeds – part of the gardening full-body workout plan! And a great stress reliever too. With the ground saturated from recent rains, most weeds are so easy to pull. Make sure to get the root, then add mulch to the area 2-3” deep to prevent new weeds from sprouting.

4. 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, 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 others should be planted starting this month.

5. 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!

6. Sow Wildflower Seeds!

September is the best time to plant wildflower seeds. Fall rains help wildflowers like Bluebonnets grow strong and have beautiful blooms next Spring. Choose an area with good sunlight and cleared of weeds or unwanted plants. Rake clean, sow seeds, cover with soil, water, and wait for the transformation!

Fall is OUR ABSOLUTE BEST TIME for planting veggies, trees, and just about everything else! It just feels good! Here are our top to-do’s in the garden this month. PLUS – to kick off October, James Gill is giving a Garden Talk this Saturday, October 1!

Check out our October 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. Don’t Miss James Gill’s Garden Talk!

Join us this Saturday, 10/1/22 at 10am for James’ fall gardening Q&A. James is mostly retired these days, which means he has more time to surf and share gardening wisdom with all of us! Bring your plant questions, or just come listen and learn. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card 🙂

2. Plant Food

Some of the best… Broccoli, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Cabbage, Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Cilantro, Nasturtiums, and the list goes on. Remember – veggies are heavy feeders. We recommend feeding with organic Plant Tone on the 1^st of each month, and again with liquid Hasta Gro on the 15^th.

Watch: Coastal Bend Veggie Gardening Guide

3. Plant Fall Flowers

Take advantage of the weather while the days are still long. It’s the perfect time to start cool weather Impatiens, Marigolds, Snapdragons, Violas, Petunias, Calendula, Begonias – the flowers and colors that say, “FALL!”. Warm days help flowers develop roots so they can look their best during the cooler months ahead.

4. Feed Your Lawn + Prevent Weeds

Fertilizing this month helps develop strong roots for healthy growth next Spring and Summer. We recommend organic Medina Growin’ Green or our Gill Lawn & Garden Fertilizer. Both can be used in all areas of your landscape. Prevent weeds in your lawn by applying Weed Beater Complete or Crabgrass & Weed Preventer.

Read: Fall Lawn Care

5. Plant for Hummingbirds and Migratory Birds

Right now is a great time to plant all kinds of blooming plants that hummingbirds and other migratory birds need. Some of our favs for South Texas are native Flame Acanthus (aka hummingbird bush), Salvias (like native Salvia greggii and Salvia leucantha), Cape Honeysuckle, native Turk’s Cap, native Beautyberry, native Loquat, Firecracker plant, Coral bean – the list goes on!

6. Plant Trees for The Best Head Start

We’ll say it again… it’s all about growing roots. Trees planted in Fall grow more next Spring & Summer. Live Oak, Burr Oak, Magnolia, Anacua, Cedar Elms, & Wild Olive are some of our South Texas fav’s.

Read: The Advantages of Fall Planting

The Burr Oak is one of the fastest-growing and largest of all the Oaks in Texas. Aside from Cottonwoods, Burr Oaks are the only deciduous tree in Texas that can reach 100 feet tall with a canopy spread of up to 80 feet. With proper water and food, it is not uncommon to get 2 to 3 feet of growth out of your Burr Oak every year.

Burr Oaks are also highly adaptable and can handle our South Texas climate. One way they adapt is by developing a deep taproot that can find the underground moisture during periods of no rain.

Another benefit of deep roots is that they do not break slabs and push up through sidewalks. Burr Oaks are seldom affected by winds due to their thick trunks and heavy branches. And check out these giant golf ball size acorns!

Come check out our selection – we love to talk trees and Fall is prime time to plant them!

-Mike

Our son Trevor flew in this week from the Northwest for a week of family time. One of his favorite pastimes in Portland, Oregon is disc golf. Who knew, Ingleside, Texas has two good disc golf courses at Live Oak Park.

Early Sunday morning James, Trevor, our dog Callie, and I loaded up to spend the morning watching Trevor play the very challenging 18 holes.

Wow – what beauty! Winding trails, old windswept Oaks, Yaupon Holly bursting with berries, blooming grasses, American Beauty Berry loaded with purple berries, Redbays and Palmettos blanket the park. It was a sight to see for us and is a very important food source for our local & migrating birds and other wildlife that live in the area.

We have so many natural treasures around us – the Welder Wildlife Refuge, Goose Island State Park, Botanical Gardens of South Texas, Oso Bay Wetland Preserve, Mustang Island, National Seashore, and Live Oak Park! And no better time to visit than now, with crisp Fall air and cool temperatures! Happy Thanksgiving!

–Sally Gill

Right now is a very exciting time for us South Texas Gardeners. It doesn’t feel like it yet, but our Summer season is coming to a close, and our best growing season is right around the corner. That’s means it’s time to decide what you’re growing and get going! Here are our tips for getting started.

Plan Your Garden

It’s veggie time – start by thinking about what you like to eat! You can produce a surprising amount of food for you and food to share in a small backyard (or front yard) garden. If you have limited space, containers or small raised beds are great. Watch James’ guide to container gardening – Grow Food Everywhere! Consider mixing Fall flowers like Marigolds, Lobelia, or Violas with your herbs and veggies.

Start Your Seeds!

If you’re starting from scratch (seed), right now is the time to start cabbage, squash, beans, and lots of others. Here’s our schedule for popular Fall veggie seeds. Also, check out Wyatt’s video demo about starting seeds – it’s not the only way, but it really helps with germination. If you prefer transplanting, we’ll start getting all our Fall veggie plants in the next week or 2. Our Texas growers have been prepping for a big Fall.

Clear out Weeds and Tired Plants

As our Summer veggies and cover crops finish their life cycle, harvest what you can and clean out the rest. When you start prepping your soil for new plants, you’ll be encouraging new growth, including weeds. So, take your time pulling weeds and get as many of the roots as you can.

Prep Your Soil

If you’re planting in the ground, your soil needs a good turning before planting. This is a good time to add some compost as well. By turning about 1 bag of Nature’s Blend compost into every 12 sq. ft. of soil (or a similar amount if you make your own compost), you create a perfect environment for young plant roots to take hold. If you’re prepping raised beds, we love Gardener’s Magic soil. It’s specially formulated for raised beds; just dump the bags in and start planting.

Think Trees Too

Fall is THE best time to plant trees in our area. Cooler temps mean less watering for you and less stress on the young tree. Planting in Fall also gives the tree roots plenty of time to get established before temps warm up again next Spring/Summer. New citrus and fruit trees have arrived this week, and lots of our South Texas favs like Cedar Elm, Live Oak, and Crape Myrtles are here with more en route. Check out Josh’s citrus planting demo – lots of these planting tips are great for all kinds of trees.

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