Watering

Join us this Saturday, 5/14 at 10:00 am for our first May talk – Houseplant Care Tips! Ori Roldan, houseplant collector/researcher here at Gill’s, will share and demonstrate her best indoor jungle care tips. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card AND all houseplants are 15% off! Here’s a preview from Ori of some topics she’ll cover.

Different Plants/Different Light

Classic houseplants like Monsteras, Fiddle Leaf Figs, and Money Trees require bright indirect light to thrive. “Bright indirect” typically means near a window but not directly receiving sun. Think ‘bright overall’ in the room.

Other plants like Dracaenas, Prayer Plants, and African Violets prefer medium light. Think dappled sunlight, a little farther from the window. A sheer curtain can help control brightness.

Pothos ivy varieties, Peace Lilies, most Hoyas, and Sansevieria can thrive in low light. Low light does not mean no light! Place them several feet away from the light source/window, but where it’s still bright enough to read small print and cast a fuzzy shadow.

More Roots = More Water

Potted plants that have more roots than soil in the pot will require more water (a heavy soaking at each watering). Let plants dry between waterings, for the most part. Some plants will prefer to be watered when they are still lightly moist (ferns, Peace Lilies) while others would like to dry out completely between waterings (Sansevieria, Cordyline glauca).

Repot When Your Plant is Ready

Plants will usually tell us when they need to go into a larger pot. If you notice that you’re needing to water daily (or a lot more than usual), your plant might be getting root-bound in its pot. Roots may start to grow out of the drainage holes and eventually create a tight “root basket” at the bottom of the pot.

Its time to repot into a slightly larger container, 2 to 4 inches wider in diameter than previous pot. And loosen/unwind any bound roots when you repot.

Houseplants Need Food Too!

Fertilize your houseplants when they are actively growing. This usually means when they are putting on new leaves or growing noticeably. We love liquid organic Hasta Gro for houseplants – all the nutrients without the fertilizer smell. You can use Hasta Gro as often as every 2 weeks while you’re noticing growth.

Why does Mark Scott, community leader and eight-term city councilman, grow zinnias? So he can keep fresh flowers on his wife Carol’s bathroom counter for a big portion of the year!

They were college sweethearts and have been married for 38 years. I think there’s a lesson for us all!

Mark and Carol welcomed me into their home a few weeks back. I wanted to see his zinnia garden in person. I’d seen it on social media and could tell from the photos he was serious about growing them. Come to find out, he purchases exotic zinnia seeds from all over the world; this year they came from Washington, California, Maine, England, Latvia, and Japan.

Zinnias grow native primarily in Mexico, as far south as Guatemala, and as far north as Colorado.

They are members of the Aster family and are closely related to the daisy. Zinnias were available by seed as early as the late 1700s, but it wasn’t until the mid-1800s when the French developed the double form of the plant that they became wildly popular in the United States.

Zinnias are one of the most giving summer bloomers in South Texas and they come in a wonderful range of colors from pinks, corals, and whites to yellows, purples, and oranges. You can buy one package of mixed California Giant Zinnias, plant them in your garden with full sun and regular watering and be sure to have flowers on your dining room table all summer long. My mother grew zinnias when I was a young girl because she loved the bright colors. And because they were easy!

Mark dedicates about 10’ x 40’ of a sunny portion of his backyard to his zinnias. He works his soil each year in February with compost to enrich it and builds raised beds for planting his seed. He plants rows 24” apart with weed mat between each row. In March, Mark digs a small trench, drops seed in, and once seedlings are 2” tall (within about a week) he pulls excess seedlings to give plants room to grow. Zinnias are prone to getting a bit of fungus on leaves if they stay wet so Mark uses soaker hoses to water from below. That keeps the soil moist and leaves dry!

Mark loves sharing his zinnias. Beyond gifting his flowers to Carol – especially the purple blossoms – her favorite, Mark delivers them to his friends and family. People know when they open their front door and see a mason jar with zinnias on the front porch, Mark has been there. What a great way to make a person’s day better!!

Mark begins every morning outside. After a bike ride, he sits in his beautiful courtyard, shaded by pecans and oak, and plays fetch with his dogs. Carol and Mark spend time most evenings in their courtyard, drinking a bit of wine, picking and pruning on their plants, and reflecting on the day. Their love of nature and family and friends is beautifully reflected in their garden; thank you for sharing your gift with us, Mark and Carol!

– Sally Gill

Are you interested in houseplants, but worried about keeping them looking their best? Or maybe you’d love to give a houseplant as a gift, but you’re concerned about the recipient’s not-so-green thumb? We’ve got you covered. Here are 3 groups of houseplants (with lots of different varieties) that don’t need much TLC to be happy.

Sansevieria (aka Snake Plant)

Excellent 1^st plant for new indoor gardeners. They can thrive in a variety of light conditions including low indoor light. Dislikes too much water, so only water once the soil is dry. There are about 70 species of Sansevieria, including this variegated Whale’s Fin.

Aglaonema (aka Chinese Evergreen)

Most tropical houseplants like humidity (think jungle), but Aglaonema can handle dry indoor conditions well. They do great in medium indirect light but can tolerate low light too. And if you occasionally forget to water, Aglaonema will forgive you.

Zamioculcas zamiifolia (aka ZZ plant)

Planning a long vacation? You won’t need a plant-sitter for your ZZ plant. They can easily go a while between waterings. Water well, then be sure the soil is dry before watering again. You can use a soil probe (or a chopstick) to check soil moisture and to create aeration holes to help funnel water to the roots when it’s time to water.

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.

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

It may not feel like it yet, but Fall is coming! It’s already time to plant your tomatoes and peppers. We want to make sure you get a big harvest with plenty to share! Here are a few key tips.

Tips for Tomatoes

Start tomatoes in a bed enriched with Nature’s Blend Compost, about 1 bag per 12 square feet mixed into the existing soil. You can also plant them in pots, but make sure the pot is large enough; tomato plants get big! Use a good potting mix if planting in pots. As you plant, add a couple tablespoons of Bio-tone plant starter under the roots. This will help your plants get off to a rapid start and develop a strong root system. Tomatoes are one of the very few plants that can and should be planted deep. Plant deep and new roots will grow off the main stem. Key tip: add a tomato cage when you plant! If you try to add it later, you’ll end up breaking branches.

Feed tomatoes once a month with a good organic like Plant-tone or Medina Growin’ Green, and supplement every 2 weeks with liquid Hasta Gro to ensure good production. Set a calendar reminder for the 1^st (granular food) and the 15^th of the month (liquid food) to make this easy.

Be sure to rotate where you plant your tomatoes! This will help in the prevention of root knot nematodes as well as other problems that can occur. Learn more about crop rotation here.

Tips for Peppers

Peppers love warm weather and sunlight, so its important to get them going now to get good production before temps get too cool. Unlike tomatoes, peppers should be planted level with the surrounding soil or slightly higher. Like most plants, they have feeder roots on the surface of the root ball which should not be buried with soil. Otherwise, use the same procedure as tomatoes. Enrich the existing soil with Nature’s Blend Compost and add Bio-tone plant starter when you plant.

Peppers are heavy feeders too if you want good production. You can follow the same feeding schedule: 1st of the month with a granular organic food, then 15^th of the month with liquid Hasta Gro.

Tips for Watering!

Since it’s still very warm out, be sure you have a good plan for watering your garden. New veggie plants will need water every day, at least until they get established. It’s a good idea to position your veggie beds near a water source if you’re planning to water by hand. Soaker hoses are great for veggie beds too. Just snake a soaker hose around your plants in the bed and turn on the water as needed. Soaker hoses also help ensure proper watering – remember that plants should be watered at ground level, not sprayed from above. A good layer of mulch over your veggie beds will help retain moisture. And we’ll say it again…a moisture meter will come in handy and take out the guesswork.

Wow, that rain was an instant mood booster! Great news as we gear up for Fall gardening! Now that we’ve had some rain, it’s important to maintain that depth of moisture. Here are a few continued watering tips to be sure you make the most of it.

Remember: It’s easier to maintain depth moisture than it is to create depth moisture. It’s important to continue to water slow and deep to get water to the roots where it’s needed. For lawns, we recommend continuing to water deeply once a week. A long, deep soaking once a week is appropriate through mid-October.

This holds true for established landscape plants as well. Check them for water needs once a week and water accordingly. Keep in mind that new plantings (veggies, flowers, shrubs, trees) will need water daily for the first 2 weeks, then twice a week for another 2 weeks, then you should be able to taper down to once a week once their root systems are more established.

Pro tips:

Use a moisture meter – poke it down into the root ball to check for depth moisture.
Water at ground level, don’t spray from above. A long watering wand makes this a lot more fun.
Plants in pots/containers need watering from twice a day to once a week in these temperatures, depending on variety and location – check them more often!

Meet Frances, the Garden Coach here at Gill’s! Frances, along with Josh and Larry (the planting dream team), is ready to help you with small landscape projects like designing and planting a new bed or two, creating a butterfly garden, or planting new trees and shrubs. Here’s how the process works.

Frances is an avid gardener and plant lover who’s been working in the garden center world for 10 years. She knows how to choose the right plants for the right space, which is the most important part. She’ll take you through designing your garden area, choosing plants and materials, and scheduling the planting team to come to your home to do the work.

Getting Started

Bring your ideas! Be sure to bring pictures and rough measurements of your space. Pinterest boards, sketches, and other photos can help Frances get a feel for your project too. She’ll walk the garden center with you, show you plants, and create a simple drawing to help you visualize the area. No need to make an appointment, just visit Gill’s on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Saturday to work with Frances.

What to Expect the Day Of

Josh and Larry will arrive at your house with the plants, trees, fertilizer, soil amendments, supplies, and watering/care instructions for you. They can help with last-minute placement decisions and answer any questions you may have. You can decide whether to be there to watch the magic happen, or they can take care of everything while you’re out and about.

And, as always, Frances and the rest of the Gill’s team are here to help whenever you have questions going forward!

Keep in mind that Gill’s has a full-scale landscape design and construction department that tackles larger projects. If you’d like to explore a new landscape design, call or stop by any time.