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Are your mature trees struggling this summer? We’ve noticed a lot of stressed and thirsty trees around town, and we’ve been encouraging everyone to give them long, deep waterings, which is a commitment! Now there’s an easy way…

Enter the Treehugger sprinkler! Since trees need to be watered at the drip line (the outer edge of the tree canopy), we’ve often recommended starting a sprinkler in 1 position, then repositioning it around the tree until you’ve watered all the way around. Now it’s as simple as setting up the Treehugger and turning on the water! The Treehugger sprinkler sprays 360 degrees outward from the tree trunk. By adjusting water pressure at the sprinkler or at the faucet, you can target water right at the drip line. Great design!!

With summer temps and a lack of depth moisture in the ground, 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.

Several varieties of palm trees likely suffered damage in the Big Freeze of ‘21. Some may recover, and some may not. Here are some things you can look for and steps you can take right now.

Our first reaction to make it all better is to water our grass and plants. Do not water unless the ground is close to dry. Watering damaged plants will encourage fungal and bacterial growth, which we want to avoid. Stick your finger in the soil and check for moisture. If it is moist, do not water yet.

You can mow your grass if it is taller and needs to be mowed. Place your mower setting one setting lower; do not cut too short. Cutting too short will add stress to grass that’s already stressed from the freeze.

Do not fertilize your lawn until it is greened up and actively growing. That is when the grass can best absorb the fertilizer in its roots and benefit from the nutrients.

Start removing the dead/damaged portion on your plants. Some examples below are:

If the plant is mushy (tropicals like ginger, Moses in the boat, bird of paradise) trim back to firm stem or to ground. Watch video: “Freeze Remedy: Initial Assessments”
Plants like salvia, plumbago, firecracker plant, and flax lily, trim down to within 4” from ground.
Plants like ixora, duranta, schefflera, hibiscus, and bougainvillea: scratch trunk and trim back to where you see green in the cambium layer of the trunk (maybe to ground).
Philodendron – Watch video: “Freeze Remedy: How To Save Philodendrons”
Palms – Watch video: “Freeze Remedy: Palm Trees”
Citrus– if you scratch a branch and there is no green underneath you can remove it, but no hurry. Keep any suckers that arise from below the graft cut off, they will grow fast but produce sour fruit. If your tree is frozen all the way to the graft, fertilize with Citrus Tone now, May 1st, and September 15th to promote plenty of healthy regrowth from freeze damage.

We know it looks bad but we are here to help you get your landscape back as best we can. We are bringing in new, healthy plants from California, Florida and all over Texas. Our Texas growers learned from the 80’s freezes how to protect plants.

Thank you for your questions on our website, Facebook, Instagram, on the phone, and in person! We will continue creating videos as we see the need and as always, we’re open 7 days a week to help you with your garden!

Many citrus trees around the Coastal Bend appear damaged after Winter Storm Uri. For citrus trees you want to try and save, the best thing to do right now is wait and see. Some may be goners, some may bounce back, and others may have delayed effects from the freeze. It may still be weeks or months before we know for sure. If you want to go ahead and replace or plant new citrus trees, now’s the best time – check out Josh’s how-to video below.

We are happy to present this video in collaboration with Grow Local South Texas!

Since the freeze, we’ve all been busy cleaning up, waiting for some plants to recover, AND lots of new planting. We thought it would be helpful to go over some basic planting tips to be sure your plants get off to a strong start.

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.

B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Container) Party

Do you have an empty pot begging to be planted? Or an interesting container you’d like to repurpose as a planter?? Bring it to Gill’s this Saturday for our B.Y.O.C. party! Bring your container, choose your plants, and plant it up! Use our potting shed and potting stations – we’ll provide the potting soil + potting tips, and we’ll clean up the mess. Here are a few ideas and things to consider.

Think Drainage!

All container gardens need drainage holes. This is a must. Either find something that already has holes, like this partially rusted-out iron kettle, or find something that you can easily cut or drill some holes in, like an old cooler!

Similar Watering Needs = Compatible Combinations

Combine plants in your container gardens that have similar watering needs. For example, you wouldn’t want to pair a cactus with a tropical houseplant in the same container. But you could do a desert bowl with different cacti + succulents or a jungle container with different houseplants. We also love combining flowers with veggies and herbs – similar watering needs and they look great together.

Think Contrasting Sizes + Textures + Colors

This is where you can really make things pop. Find something low-growing that spills and hangs to pair with plants that stand taller as a backdrop. Color, size, and texture combinations are endless.

*Houseplant combo: Crocodile fern, pilea, calathea, and Airplane plant*

Re-watch James’ Container Gardening Video for more tips and inspiration:

See you this Saturday! We’ll be potting all day 9 am to 5:30 pm – come by anytime.

If you know you are watering well, but still see edges of lawn near the sidewalk and driveway that look dry and wilted, you might have chinch bugs. Here’s a quick video on how to identify.

[watch now – sound on!]

Once you determine that chinch bugs are present, you can treat with hose-end Cyonara or Diatomaceaus Earth for an organic control.

Keep in mind: Chinch bugs are more likely to attack a dry stressed lawn before a healthy, well-hydrated lawn. Give lawns a deep drink (a good 1” of water) once a week, in the morning. Deep drinks encourage roots to grow deeper, which makes lawns more resilient to dry conditions and to pests.