BV/S neighbor and Travis County Master Gardener Reeve Hobbie is glad to be able to offer pertinent gardening subjects in articles throughout the year. His past month-to-month gardening tips may be found in the “Around the Yard” archives.
Around the Yard January-February 2019
by Reeve Hobbie
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Proper Rose Bush Pruning (see February notes below) |
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Start 2019 off right by taking time every warm winter day we have to tend to your gardens and landscaping in preparation for the spring and summer to follow. Here are my month-to-month gardening tips that are applicable to Austin.
If you have gardening questions beyond what I cover each month, and I hope you do, please contact the Travis County Master Gardener Help Desk. The number is posted at the end of this article and you should find the TCMG volunteer’s answers most helpful.
January
Tools
Take advantage of this slow time of year to get your yard equipment (lawn mower, lawn trimmer, hedge trimmer, rototiller, chain saw, power washer and other equipment) tuned up and sharpened. If you wait until spring, it may take many weeks before you get your equipment back from the shop. Also take a look at all your other gardening tools (shovels, hoes, trowels, clippers, loppers, saws). It’s a great time to sharpen them and oil the blades of each. Consider replacing old worn out or worn down tools.
Soil
If you are planning new landscaping, new flower beds or gardens, or wish to rejuvenate old beds, now is the time to prepare your soil. You can add nutrients to our otherwise poor, rocky soil by adding rich compost. What nutrients do you need to add? Pick up a free soil test kit from a local nursery, follow the soil collection directions, and mail it in. At this time of year, results should come back to you in a few days and then you will know exactly what nutrients to add and work in. Getting soil fortified with the right nutrients and loosened up will make late winter and early spring planting a whole lot easier.
Trees & Shrubs
The best time to plant new trees and shrubs, or to transplant existing trees and shrubs, is in the winter. Yes, winter! Any new holes dug should be two to three times wider than the root ball or plastic container, but not an inch deeper than the soil depth in the ball or container. Stretch out the roots before refilling the hole with existing soil. Do not fertilize. Don’t let the bark of the tree or shrub sink below grade level. If anything, plant trees and shrubs on the high side. Then create a saucer of dirt and mulch around each and water in. Water sensibly, not too much and not too little.
Prune trees if necessary while they are dormant. If you hire someone, be certain that they are certified arborists. A list of these professionals may be obtained by calling the TCMG Help Desk. Regardless of whom you bring in, don’t let anyone trim your oak trees after January 31. The next chance to prune oaks won’t come up until July 1. If you are wondering about these time restrictions, read about the dreaded oak wilt in the Around the Yard Archives.
Hold off pruning shrubs, including crape myrtles, lantana, rose bushes, evergreens, until next month when they are just about ready to push out new growth. If pruned too early, it may stimulate fresh growth only to have that new growth frozen off. It could possibly lead to the death of those pruned plants. It’s simply better to wait until spring comes to Austin.
Lawn
Remove fallen leaves from your grass so your lawn doesn’t get diseased or stressed. Continue with an occasional watering if nature doesn’t provide. Plagued by spring weeds? Apply a pre-emergent weed killer to your lawn this month. Do not even consider applying fertilizer to your lawn until mid April (Tax Day). Definitely do not combine pre-emergent weed killing and lawn fertilizing into one application.
Winter Annuals & Spring Bulbs
Consider a light application of fertilizer around those annuals you planted this fall. Spring-flowering bulbs pushing up their green leaves now could use a fertilizer boost too. Scratch the 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer you apply into the soil around each plant or bulb and water in.
February
Now that you have dealt with your mower and other gardening tool maintenance, tree pruning and planting, and garden bed soil fortification, you are ready for the early spring that usually comes to us in late February. There are several things that you need to get on top of during the course of this month.
Roses
On or before February 14 (Valentine’s Day) each year, just about every kind of rose bush may be pruned – severely. To encourage new and better growth and blooms, be prepared to remove 1/3 to 1/2 the volume of the plant. Dead or damaged wood needs to come out, inward growing and crisscrossing canes need to be removed, suckers and weak branches need to be cut off. What you are seeking with each plant is a nicely shaped rose bush that gets plenty of light and a lot of air circulation. As an example, a 6-foot Knock Out® rose bush may be trimmed back to 3 feet leaving just 4 to 6 canes. Within a few weeks it will be a beautiful, airy, and shapely bush ready to produce strong blooms this year.
Plant new roses this month in the bed(s) you have already prepared. Roses need eight (8) or more hours of direct sun each day to be good bloomers. Morning sun is essential, but light afternoon shade is tolerated and even beneficial in our hot summer climate. Consider planting any of the dozens of Earth-Kind® roses available – cultivars that do well in Central Texas.
Groundcover
Whether you have Asian jasmine, vinca, ivy, ferns or some other kind of groundcover, it may be sheared back just before it is ready to push out new spring growth. Trimming it short may help to reduce your mosquito population later on. Ragged-looking liriope and cast iron plant foliage may also be cut back to the ground at this time. Fresh green leaves will begin appearing in no time.
Shrubs
Most all evergreen shrubs may be pruned back later this month. Here’s your opportunity to shape them before they begin to push out new growth. If your shrubs are overgrown and too large a scale for your house, replace them with new ones now so they can get established before the hot summer. (See my Landscaping article under Around the Yard Archives.)
Lawn
Early this month is your last opportunity to apply an organic or chemical pre-emergent weed killer (without fertilizer) to your lawn. If you miss this window, then hand-pulling weeds may be your only way recourse. Actually, a thick, strong carpet of grass is the very best method of preventing weeds, so improve the quality of your lawn this year by removing winter thatch and tree leaves, watering deeply each week, mowing at the proper level each week, and fertilizing (earliest application in April, but not before).
Crape Myrtles
If you feel it’s even necessary, crape myrtles may be pruned to remove last year’s seed heads just before they break dormancy. All you need are hand clippers to cut back the little branches the size of your pinky finger or smaller. Do not bring out your loppers or saw unless you intend on removing a major trunk at the base of the plant. We see far too much “crape murder” around Austin. Once improperly pruned, a crape will always show its knobby scars encouraging more annual “crape murder.”
Perennials & Annuals
Even though some stores and nurseries will be selling perennials and spring annuals, it is still too early to plant them. Our average last freeze is usually not until early March. Instead, keep preparing your garden beds. Fortify the soil and loosen it up as you work those nutrients in. Then you can buy your heartier varieties of plants starting next month.
If you have questions about your yard or garden, please call Travis County Master Gardeners at 512-854-9600. If they don’t have an immediate answer, they’ll research it and get back to you.
If you have gardening questions beyond what I cover each month, and I hope you do, please contact the Travis County Master Gardener Help Desk. The number is posted at the end of this article and you should find the TCMG volunteer’s answers most helpful.
January
Tools
Take advantage of this slow time of year to get your yard equipment (lawn mower, lawn trimmer, hedge trimmer, rototiller, chain saw, power washer and other equipment) tuned up and sharpened. If you wait until spring, it may take many weeks before you get your equipment back from the shop. Also take a look at all your other gardening tools (shovels, hoes, trowels, clippers, loppers, saws). It’s a great time to sharpen them and oil the blades of each. Consider replacing old worn out or worn down tools.
Soil
If you are planning new landscaping, new flower beds or gardens, or wish to rejuvenate old beds, now is the time to prepare your soil. You can add nutrients to our otherwise poor, rocky soil by adding rich compost. What nutrients do you need to add? Pick up a free soil test kit from a local nursery, follow the soil collection directions, and mail it in. At this time of year, results should come back to you in a few days and then you will know exactly what nutrients to add and work in. Getting soil fortified with the right nutrients and loosened up will make late winter and early spring planting a whole lot easier.
Trees & Shrubs
The best time to plant new trees and shrubs, or to transplant existing trees and shrubs, is in the winter. Yes, winter! Any new holes dug should be two to three times wider than the root ball or plastic container, but not an inch deeper than the soil depth in the ball or container. Stretch out the roots before refilling the hole with existing soil. Do not fertilize. Don’t let the bark of the tree or shrub sink below grade level. If anything, plant trees and shrubs on the high side. Then create a saucer of dirt and mulch around each and water in. Water sensibly, not too much and not too little.
Prune trees if necessary while they are dormant. If you hire someone, be certain that they are certified arborists. A list of these professionals may be obtained by calling the TCMG Help Desk. Regardless of whom you bring in, don’t let anyone trim your oak trees after January 31. The next chance to prune oaks won’t come up until July 1. If you are wondering about these time restrictions, read about the dreaded oak wilt in the Around the Yard Archives.
Hold off pruning shrubs, including crape myrtles, lantana, rose bushes, evergreens, until next month when they are just about ready to push out new growth. If pruned too early, it may stimulate fresh growth only to have that new growth frozen off. It could possibly lead to the death of those pruned plants. It’s simply better to wait until spring comes to Austin.
Lawn
Remove fallen leaves from your grass so your lawn doesn’t get diseased or stressed. Continue with an occasional watering if nature doesn’t provide. Plagued by spring weeds? Apply a pre-emergent weed killer to your lawn this month. Do not even consider applying fertilizer to your lawn until mid April (Tax Day). Definitely do not combine pre-emergent weed killing and lawn fertilizing into one application.
Winter Annuals & Spring Bulbs
Consider a light application of fertilizer around those annuals you planted this fall. Spring-flowering bulbs pushing up their green leaves now could use a fertilizer boost too. Scratch the 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer you apply into the soil around each plant or bulb and water in.
February
Now that you have dealt with your mower and other gardening tool maintenance, tree pruning and planting, and garden bed soil fortification, you are ready for the early spring that usually comes to us in late February. There are several things that you need to get on top of during the course of this month.
Roses
On or before February 14 (Valentine’s Day) each year, just about every kind of rose bush may be pruned – severely. To encourage new and better growth and blooms, be prepared to remove 1/3 to 1/2 the volume of the plant. Dead or damaged wood needs to come out, inward growing and crisscrossing canes need to be removed, suckers and weak branches need to be cut off. What you are seeking with each plant is a nicely shaped rose bush that gets plenty of light and a lot of air circulation. As an example, a 6-foot Knock Out® rose bush may be trimmed back to 3 feet leaving just 4 to 6 canes. Within a few weeks it will be a beautiful, airy, and shapely bush ready to produce strong blooms this year.
Plant new roses this month in the bed(s) you have already prepared. Roses need eight (8) or more hours of direct sun each day to be good bloomers. Morning sun is essential, but light afternoon shade is tolerated and even beneficial in our hot summer climate. Consider planting any of the dozens of Earth-Kind® roses available – cultivars that do well in Central Texas.
Groundcover
Whether you have Asian jasmine, vinca, ivy, ferns or some other kind of groundcover, it may be sheared back just before it is ready to push out new spring growth. Trimming it short may help to reduce your mosquito population later on. Ragged-looking liriope and cast iron plant foliage may also be cut back to the ground at this time. Fresh green leaves will begin appearing in no time.
Shrubs
Most all evergreen shrubs may be pruned back later this month. Here’s your opportunity to shape them before they begin to push out new growth. If your shrubs are overgrown and too large a scale for your house, replace them with new ones now so they can get established before the hot summer. (See my Landscaping article under Around the Yard Archives.)
Lawn
Early this month is your last opportunity to apply an organic or chemical pre-emergent weed killer (without fertilizer) to your lawn. If you miss this window, then hand-pulling weeds may be your only way recourse. Actually, a thick, strong carpet of grass is the very best method of preventing weeds, so improve the quality of your lawn this year by removing winter thatch and tree leaves, watering deeply each week, mowing at the proper level each week, and fertilizing (earliest application in April, but not before).
Crape Myrtles
If you feel it’s even necessary, crape myrtles may be pruned to remove last year’s seed heads just before they break dormancy. All you need are hand clippers to cut back the little branches the size of your pinky finger or smaller. Do not bring out your loppers or saw unless you intend on removing a major trunk at the base of the plant. We see far too much “crape murder” around Austin. Once improperly pruned, a crape will always show its knobby scars encouraging more annual “crape murder.”
Perennials & Annuals
Even though some stores and nurseries will be selling perennials and spring annuals, it is still too early to plant them. Our average last freeze is usually not until early March. Instead, keep preparing your garden beds. Fortify the soil and loosen it up as you work those nutrients in. Then you can buy your heartier varieties of plants starting next month.
If you have questions about your yard or garden, please call Travis County Master Gardeners at 512-854-9600. If they don’t have an immediate answer, they’ll research it and get back to you.
Around the Yard in November and December ...
I’m being lazy about authoring a new article, so I have revived one I written during the fall of 2015. Everything in it is still applicable. I added a paragraph about mistletoe and ball moss that I failed to include in the “Ps of Trees” article which may now be found in Around the Yard Archives.
Don’t let these cooler days of fall and early winter keep you from working outside. There are so many things one can be doing around the yard so you and your gardens will be better prepared for spring.
November
Lawn Care
Keep mowing your St. Augustine lawn on the high side, Bermuda grass on the short side, as long as it keeps growing. Perhaps mowing every other week is sufficient. It’s too late to fertilize. Now you have to wait until April around the time your income tax is due.
Roses
Prepare beds now if you plan on growing new roses. December through February are the ideal rose planting months in Central Texas. There is much less shock to the plants if they go in the ground during this dormant time of year.
Indoor Gardening
If you want to enjoy home-grown flowers in the winter, this is a great time to purchase the bulbs of paperwhites, amaryllis, tulips and daffodils in the stores or nurseries. Simply put the bulbs into pots or vases, suspended off the bottom, and start watering. No need for soil. No need to chill the bulbs beforehand. Enjoy ‘forced’ blooms to brighten your winter days. Kids love to watch the daily growth of the leaves, stems and finally the blooms.
For your regular house plants, like African violets, philodendrons and ferns, ease off on the fertilizer you give them until mid-March.
Winter Annuals
Continue to set outside cool-season bedding plants, such as pansies, violas, stock, snapdragons and dianthus. Plant where you can enjoy the color while at the same time animals, like deer and rabbits, are not tempted to eat them.
Prune Woody Plants
Don’t get over anxious to prune crape myrtles, lantanas and other woody shrubs just because they’ve dropped their leaves and it feels cool outside. Not until after two hard freezes or late January do you want to get out there with loppers and clippers. Let the plants go into a bit of dormancy or you’ll be cutting sap-filled twigs and branches if you prune too early.
Spring Flowering Bulbs
It’s not too late to plant bulbs outdoors. Some should be pre-chilled in the refrigerator for at least six weeks or more. Be sure to plant them to the recommended depth usually found on the bulb packaging.
First Frost Protection
The average date range for a first frost or freeze in our area of town is between November 21 and 31. When temperatures are predicted to fall below 32°F, covering delicate plants with blankets or sheets will trap the heat rising up from the ground. Do not use plastic. If you haven’t applied a new layer of mulch, consider adding a few inches around plants to help insulate their roots from a possible freeze.
Tomatoes
Large, almost mature tomatoes may be picked just ahead of the first frost. Store them in a cool dark area until ripe. When you want one or two to ripen for use, place the tomatoes in a paper bag. One source I read even suggests a ripe apple be placed in the same bag to speed up the tomato ripening process.
December
Last Bulb Planting
Hyacinths or tulips may now be taken from the refrigerator, where hopefully you have been chilling them for the past 8 to 10 weeks. They may finally be planted in the garden. All other spring-flowering bulbs should have been planted in October or November.
Prepare Soil
Spring will be just around the corner, so any nice day in December would be a good time to get outside to prepare garden beds for spring planting. Clean out dead and spent plants, leaves, and mix in compost to enrich the organic content of the soil.
Fallen Leaves
With the exception of the live oak tree leaves, most other deciduous trees will have dropped their leaves by now. It’s a good idea to get them up and off the lawn and either put into your compost pile or distributed into your garden beds as an added layer of mulch to protect your plants. Leaves left on the lawn all fall and winter may cause disease problems if a layer of them keeps the grass too dark and wet.
Planting & Transplanting
This month and next is truly the best time of year to plant new trees and shrubs. It’s also the best time to transplant roses, shrubs, trees, groundcover and vines so that they get established before warm weather arrives next spring. Be sure that any major landscape project is pre-approved by the BV/S Architectural Control Committee. (Contact Jacque Forrest)
Pruning Oaks
Because oak wilt is such a threat to our precious oak trees, pruning in the dead of winter (December and January only) or on the hottest days of summer is the best time if your trees truly need pruning at all.
Fungus-carrying sap beetles are active from early February through June and could infect your trees with this dreaded disease. That’s why we have warning signs posted around the neighborhood in the spring.
Even in the “safe” months, cover all oak tree cuts with pruning paint – and we’re talking within 10 minutes of making each cut! Please consider employing a professional arborist. Travis County Master Gardeners have a list of about 20 certified firms.
Mistletoe & Ball Moss
Oak trees, yaupons, crape myrtles and many other deciduous trees may be harboring mistletoe and/or ball moss. Mistletoe is a parasite that feeds on the nutrients and water of its host tree. It is also poisonous. It should be removed from your trees and that can be a challenge. I suggest you call in an arborist to help you eradicate the parasite.
Ball moss, on the other hand, is not a parasite, but can smother the tree’s foliage and possibly kill it. Trees with large amounts of ball moss should have the grey epiphyte removed. Calling in a certified arborist at this time of year could prove to be beneficial.
Tools & Equipment
In December, if you are no longer mowing your lawn, consider taking your mower into the shop for repairs (tune up, blade sharpening) and avoid the spring rush! Also, hand tools may be cleaned up, sharpened and oiled if you are retiring them for the rest of the year.
Prepare for a Hard Freeze
When our weather forecasters warn us of a deep or long freeze, it’s advisable to water everything well before the freeze actually hits. Water increases the heat-holding capacity of the soil by as much as 50 percent. Then cover delicate plants.
________________________________________
If you have questions about your yard or garden, please call Travis County Master Gardeners at 512-854-9600. If they don’t have an immediate answer, they’ll research it and get back to you.
Don’t let these cooler days of fall and early winter keep you from working outside. There are so many things one can be doing around the yard so you and your gardens will be better prepared for spring.
November
Lawn Care
Keep mowing your St. Augustine lawn on the high side, Bermuda grass on the short side, as long as it keeps growing. Perhaps mowing every other week is sufficient. It’s too late to fertilize. Now you have to wait until April around the time your income tax is due.
Roses
Prepare beds now if you plan on growing new roses. December through February are the ideal rose planting months in Central Texas. There is much less shock to the plants if they go in the ground during this dormant time of year.
Indoor Gardening
If you want to enjoy home-grown flowers in the winter, this is a great time to purchase the bulbs of paperwhites, amaryllis, tulips and daffodils in the stores or nurseries. Simply put the bulbs into pots or vases, suspended off the bottom, and start watering. No need for soil. No need to chill the bulbs beforehand. Enjoy ‘forced’ blooms to brighten your winter days. Kids love to watch the daily growth of the leaves, stems and finally the blooms.
For your regular house plants, like African violets, philodendrons and ferns, ease off on the fertilizer you give them until mid-March.
Winter Annuals
Continue to set outside cool-season bedding plants, such as pansies, violas, stock, snapdragons and dianthus. Plant where you can enjoy the color while at the same time animals, like deer and rabbits, are not tempted to eat them.
Prune Woody Plants
Don’t get over anxious to prune crape myrtles, lantanas and other woody shrubs just because they’ve dropped their leaves and it feels cool outside. Not until after two hard freezes or late January do you want to get out there with loppers and clippers. Let the plants go into a bit of dormancy or you’ll be cutting sap-filled twigs and branches if you prune too early.
Spring Flowering Bulbs
It’s not too late to plant bulbs outdoors. Some should be pre-chilled in the refrigerator for at least six weeks or more. Be sure to plant them to the recommended depth usually found on the bulb packaging.
First Frost Protection
The average date range for a first frost or freeze in our area of town is between November 21 and 31. When temperatures are predicted to fall below 32°F, covering delicate plants with blankets or sheets will trap the heat rising up from the ground. Do not use plastic. If you haven’t applied a new layer of mulch, consider adding a few inches around plants to help insulate their roots from a possible freeze.
Tomatoes
Large, almost mature tomatoes may be picked just ahead of the first frost. Store them in a cool dark area until ripe. When you want one or two to ripen for use, place the tomatoes in a paper bag. One source I read even suggests a ripe apple be placed in the same bag to speed up the tomato ripening process.
December
Last Bulb Planting
Hyacinths or tulips may now be taken from the refrigerator, where hopefully you have been chilling them for the past 8 to 10 weeks. They may finally be planted in the garden. All other spring-flowering bulbs should have been planted in October or November.
Prepare Soil
Spring will be just around the corner, so any nice day in December would be a good time to get outside to prepare garden beds for spring planting. Clean out dead and spent plants, leaves, and mix in compost to enrich the organic content of the soil.
Fallen Leaves
With the exception of the live oak tree leaves, most other deciduous trees will have dropped their leaves by now. It’s a good idea to get them up and off the lawn and either put into your compost pile or distributed into your garden beds as an added layer of mulch to protect your plants. Leaves left on the lawn all fall and winter may cause disease problems if a layer of them keeps the grass too dark and wet.
Planting & Transplanting
This month and next is truly the best time of year to plant new trees and shrubs. It’s also the best time to transplant roses, shrubs, trees, groundcover and vines so that they get established before warm weather arrives next spring. Be sure that any major landscape project is pre-approved by the BV/S Architectural Control Committee. (Contact Jacque Forrest)
Pruning Oaks
Because oak wilt is such a threat to our precious oak trees, pruning in the dead of winter (December and January only) or on the hottest days of summer is the best time if your trees truly need pruning at all.
Fungus-carrying sap beetles are active from early February through June and could infect your trees with this dreaded disease. That’s why we have warning signs posted around the neighborhood in the spring.
Even in the “safe” months, cover all oak tree cuts with pruning paint – and we’re talking within 10 minutes of making each cut! Please consider employing a professional arborist. Travis County Master Gardeners have a list of about 20 certified firms.
Mistletoe & Ball Moss
Oak trees, yaupons, crape myrtles and many other deciduous trees may be harboring mistletoe and/or ball moss. Mistletoe is a parasite that feeds on the nutrients and water of its host tree. It is also poisonous. It should be removed from your trees and that can be a challenge. I suggest you call in an arborist to help you eradicate the parasite.
Ball moss, on the other hand, is not a parasite, but can smother the tree’s foliage and possibly kill it. Trees with large amounts of ball moss should have the grey epiphyte removed. Calling in a certified arborist at this time of year could prove to be beneficial.
Tools & Equipment
In December, if you are no longer mowing your lawn, consider taking your mower into the shop for repairs (tune up, blade sharpening) and avoid the spring rush! Also, hand tools may be cleaned up, sharpened and oiled if you are retiring them for the rest of the year.
Prepare for a Hard Freeze
When our weather forecasters warn us of a deep or long freeze, it’s advisable to water everything well before the freeze actually hits. Water increases the heat-holding capacity of the soil by as much as 50 percent. Then cover delicate plants.
________________________________________
If you have questions about your yard or garden, please call Travis County Master Gardeners at 512-854-9600. If they don’t have an immediate answer, they’ll research it and get back to you.
