VOLUME 14, ISSUE 2 • January 11, 2018

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Gardening This Weekend

Cold weather is laying over us once again, so the tasks I'll outline may need to wait until early next week. However, they're still very timely. Click through to see them.

Photo: To produce well in summer, grapes require heavy pruning in winter.

Let it snow, let it snow

Diane Sitton’s garden in Southeast Texas was recently blanketed with snow. She describes all of its beautiful glory.

Photo: Snow intensifies color, including blooms from a late season rose.

Plant Asparagus Now, Harvest for Years

You open the presents. You celebrate New Years. You plant the asparagus. That's the sequence. Yet it can be somewhat frustrating. I'll tell you more than I know about growing asparagus.

Photo: Asparagus is planted now. (Photo courtesy Univ. of Minnesota)

Question of the Week: January 11, 2018

"Neil, when and how can I trim my Asian jasmine to even it up and to remove browned leaves from winter's cold?"

Click through to see my suggestions.

Photo: Asian jasmine is most popular groundcover.

Critical Factors in Tree Selection

January is a great time to plant new shade trees. Planted now they'll have five months to get established before summer. I have the things you'll want to consider before you nail down your choice.

Photo: Chinquapin oak is fine tree for Texas.

And, in closing…

That's another exciting episode of e-gardens presented for your reading enjoyment. We'll be back at this same time next week with another installment.

In the meantime, tune me in M-F on my statewide Plant Talk Texas radio program, Saturday mornings on the Texas Lawn and Garden Hour, Sunday morning on WBAP (details on all on my website). I may pop up in your local newspaper, and I have an active Facebook page and website. Somewhere in there we can find one another. And if all else fails, my family's in church every Sunday. We'll look for you there.

Until next week, thanks for reading!

And happy gardening!