Today I asked xeriscape expert, Jeff River Law how many times does he recommend watering newly installed plants this spring. I recommended once a week for 12 minutes until it gets in the high 70’s.

River suggests,
” AT most………….unless they are xeriscaped plants . No water once established, unless drought conditions.
When you water the top of the soil, you force the plant , no matter what type to send its roots upwards, the opposite of a healthy plant’s needs. It weakens the plant, which attracts bad bugs, and forces the plant, tree, shrub to become dependent on “artificial ” conditions. It won’t send it roots downwards . I imagine that it adds to that mulch “mold” issue too, where it gets that fungus.
It will keep the beds moister for annuals though, and the soil at the top few inches.”

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Here is a Spring Tip from my Matt Raney owner of All in One Discount Nursery in Houston.  Matt was just missing a picture. 

Garden tip for the day:

What is going on—with these weeds:

The weeds are supposed to be there, what they do is cover the land and protect the microbial animals in the soil from the ultra violet rays of the sun. This phenomenon takes place each year in March because your St. Augustine grass is still dormant from winter—it will not wake up and start to grow until April. Thus –you have weeds in March.

What can I do:

Nothing—don’t do anything, just mow the weeds with the lawn mower and go on with your life. In April the St. Augustine will wake up and begin growing and choke all the weeds out—by the end of April you won’t see weeds again until next year. Save your money and wait and the problem will fix itself. When you see the grass wake up and look like it is time to mow—-THAT is when you fertilize it and feed it. Use all organic “Root Vigor 8-2-3” we have plenty at the nursery come get some. Go organic this year and do something to improve the health of your family and pets.

Whatever you do, don’t’ use “weed and feed”:

Never, ever spread poison out on the land you live on. Not only do you kill all the life in the soil but the soil holds these toxins for years and years after you do this. The soil holds memory of what you do to it.

Studies have shown that just using everyday fertilizers like triple 13 (which was very popular for many years until it was shown to have toxic levels of lead) Not only built up lead but extreme levels of salt in the soil from every year use. This high salt content makes it impossible to have worms in the soil—they can’t stand the salt, it kills them. Without the worms the earth would harden up and become a giant rock.

BUT—-if you want strange tumors and weird health problems go ahead and spread poison all over the land where you are living.

Matt Raney / 713-895-9171

4305 Northfield Ln.

Houston, Texas 77092

(Key map page 451E)

allinoneplants@comcast.net

See our web page for directions

www.allinonediscountnursery.com

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This past Saturday Jeff  Law and myself  went to  Peckerwood Garden which is a Garden Conservancy garden located in Hempstead, Texas. Peckerwood garden is the setting for an expanding collection of rare plants native to many regions of United States, Mexico and Asian counterparts.first of twelve open garden days of the year.   Peckerwood Garden was founded in the early 1970’s by John G. Fairey, which we met and enjoyed visiting  along with his right hand Connie.   We also met Will Fleming ,one of the most knowledgeable people in the native plant community and the ‘Ilex vomitoria’ common name was named after him. This garden is on my top ten list of of most outstanding garden I have ever visited.  Thank you Chris for answering ALL of River’s questions.  I will call you soon to make sure we have the correct spellings. The next open garden day is March 27th and 28th, 2010.

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Hi Jen, These are my sick palms we talked about from the freeze.  See you in kickboxing class on Wed.

Bernadette

Hey Jen,

Hope all is good with you.

My buddy bought some fox tail palms last year (approx. 20 foot tall) and this winter has them brown.  Will they come back or are the toast?

Let me know please when you get some time to answer.

Tommy

Hi Bernadette and Tommy,

We recommend waiting until March to see if their is any new  “green” growth before you cut the brown frowns and do not cut into the green. 

 Jeff River Law, Houston Xeriscape expert,  says as long as your palms are not leaning over or mooshy they should be fine. 

Grant Stevenson, Houston Palm  and Tropical expert  says if you can pull the frowns out from the top then it is dead.  Horticultural Consultants, Inc. has become a leader in providing Palms, Cycads and Bamboo to professional clients nationwide. 

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Jen

My bird of paradise leaves are brown with green stalks from the snow last year. Should I cut them back to stimulate new growth? If so how far?

Is it time to prune my crepe myrtles?

Paul H., Bellaire, Texas

Hi Paul,

You can do either two things with your bird of paradise:

1. Cut back your bird of paradise halfway and new shoots should start sprouting with the warm temperatures we are having. Just hope that we do not get another freeze this season.  If it  freezes again this season make sure you cover it well.  

2.  Or you can wait until late February to cut them back when their is no chance of a freeze.

Winter is the best and easiest time to prune crepe myrtles because the tree has no leaves and all the energy is in the roots.  It is also the best time to see their branching structure, and the best time to identify and remove limbs that are damaged or that are beginning to rub against one another. However, you can actually prune crape myrtles to remove unwanted branches and basal sprouts year ’round. 

We recommend not topping the crepe myrtle like  I saw today at my daughter’s elementary school.   If you must to control the height it should be done every 7 years and fertilize with tree spikes when you do this.  Topping trees leaves large open wounds that can trigger problems and shorten the specimen’s life span. It results in fists or nubs from which multiple weak branches sprout in the spring. These are fast-growing, but they usually result in unnaturally long branches that are loosely attached and more susceptible to breakage

Please don't Murder

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, “The appearance of a properly pruned tree is like a good haircut: hardly noticeable at first glance.”
 

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Jen,

Aren’t you big into native plants?  How do they fair in a Houston freeze? Jon

Yes, I love the  indigenous plants.  I think all natives did well. During this time of the year they are not blooming so they just look dead.    Interesting you asked Jon,  I was just in the car with my mentor and friend Jeff Law, owner of Indian Summer Lodge and he pulled out a list he has been working on of ”good” plants and  damaged plants from the freeze.    Of course I told him I have to have it so I can share it.

Most everything that was established will come back says Houston Xeriscape expert, Jeff Law.  Remember, most of the hybrids, semi tropicals and tropicals have done well the past 20 years.  Gardeners just have to know which ones will winter, which ones to cover, and which palms not to plant in Houston. Mexican, queen, date, and sabal palms all see fine. foxtail Palms look dead, but we won’t know until it warms up.    Jeff says, he planted some foxtail palms this year, even though he knew they do not like it below freezing much, yet everyone has been planting them the past 5-8 years quite a bit.  Even Queen palms don’t like it this cold, but most seem fine so far.

 The following lists are plants that Jeff has observed at his famous Indian Summer Lodge in the Heights and in other Houston gardens. 

List of  “GOOD” Plants

• silverado sage
• aztec grass
• pampas grass
• gulf Coast Muhly grass
• maiden grass
• cosmopolitan grass
• horsetail
• artemsia
• roses
• blue agaves
• cassias
• loropetalums
• oleanders (standard)
• loquats
• palo verde retama
• nandinas
• privets
• dianella
• sparkler sedge
• holly fern
• polygala
• dianthus
• virgina sweetspire
• cast iron
• bottlebrush tree
• guava
• allium
• plum yews
• white potato vine
• sweet autumn clematis
• confederate jasmine vine
• fig vine
• salvia gregii
• wimbii ligustrum
• Carolina Jasmine
• cestrum
• azaleas
• Mexican Palm
• windmill palms
• Palmettos
• queen palm
• date palm
• sabel palm
• cordylines made it if they had tough leaves
• Podocarpus
• mounding junipers
• chinese evergreen wisteria
• orange tree
• rosemary
• variegated ginger (dwarf)
• Lousianna Iris
• Butterfly Iris
• Bamboo Muhly
• Lady Slipper
• Brunsfelsia
• Agave (most) 
• Cacti   (most)
• Europhobia Trigonia
• Senecio
• Yucca
• Tapioca
• alfonso Karr bamboo

 Normal winter flowering plants that DID NOT do well that usually prefer winter

• skyflower vine
• mexican flame vine
• firespike
• cassias
• Van Houti and Indigo spires
• Bolivian Pink Powderpuff
• Hamelia

Some plants that did not like this cold at all. 

• ixora                                                                                                                                          
• heliconias
• persian shields
• plumerias
• birds of paradise
• coleus
• little john bottlebrush- looks burned, but leaves still on
• asparagus fern
• sword fern
• fire spike
• Kolanches look like wilted spinach
• banana
• jatropha
• basil
• sedum
• echeverias
• oleander (dwarf)
• pentas
• variegated ginger (standard)
• Cestrum
• Sweet Memory Duranta
• Almond Verbena
• wandering jews
• succulents
• australian violets
• croton

These plants look dead, but stems still alive so we won’t know until it warms up.  Tropicals can go into shock, or die, but we need 40s-70s this winter to keep them alive now.  Any more deep hard freezing will not be good for anything but for the plants on the first list and of course the “normal apartments“ such as  boxwood, Indian hawthorn, photinias, pittosporum, ilex….

As for bamboo some did great, and some we have to see when it warms up.  There are cold hearty one that can take less than 20 degrees and our heat.  Some of the new types do not take the cold that are sold in commercial nurseries the past few years. 

 Jeff says, he has gardens grow all winter, just depends on the freezes light or heavy, long or short and what time of the winter we get them.  It also depends on where they are planted, along walls or sides of homes to block wind, in the sunlight or in the shade, or what part of Houston.  There are 100 miles north to south to Houston and several different mini zones. Please email me if you can add to the list!  

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Hey Jen,
Hope all is well. Any suggestions for how to handle the cold?  I think we lost some ixoras
and lantana.  Also, how should we handle the sprinklers?

Thanks and best for 2010!

Jeff and Jamie

Bellaire, Texas

Hi Jeff and Jamie,

Cover your plants with a sheet or blanket and water in your favorite ones before covering them.  The ground is soggy so I don’t think much water is really needed and do not cover your plants with plastic because they will suffocate.   As for your plants that have damage from last freeze do not clip them back until Spring.  Heidi Sheesley from TreeSearch Farms , who I think very highly of told me a few weeks back that the damage will help protect the tree/plant if we get more freezes this winter.  

As for your spinkler system it should be off this time of the year. If you have new plant material, watering by hand is better. I spoke to my friend Jeff Law, one of the founders of Houston’s Green Movement and a specialist in xeroscaping and we discussed how watering should really not be used unless we have a fall/winter drought.  Wishing you a warm and cozy weekend.

Below is a picture of my parent’s backyard during a New Hampshire blizzard this winter.

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