Gardening This Weekend – November 21, 2024

We have a few days left before Thanksgiving. That means a little while to tidy things up. It’s not all that challenging. Here are some starters.

PLANT
• Winter color from pansies, violas, pinks, snapdragons, ornamental cabbage and kale and, in warmer and more protected spots, sweet alyssum, Iceland poppies, ornamental chard, and calendulas, among others.
• Berry-producing plants including the many types of hollies. Ask your Texas Certified Nursery Professional for recommendations of the best-adapted female hollies for your locale. (Male plants produce only pollen.)
• Paperwhile narcissus, hyacinths, and other bulbs for “forcing” in shallow pots (called “pans”).
• Hybrid amaryllis in pots. When they have finished flowering trim the spent stalks off and let the plants grow all summer. They can be planted outdoors in South Texas or grown in pots in colder areas. (Details on how to bring them back into bloom next year will be given here later.)
• Landscape plants can still be planted very successfully now. Nurseries that sell to landscape contractors will have good supplies. The only types to avoid are those known to be tender to the cold in your area.
• Living Christmas tree but choose the species carefully. Many types that are not adapted are sold at this time of year. Again, let your Certified Nursery Professional guide you. If you plan to have the tree indoors, limit the time to 7-10 days to prevent it from becoming acclimated to the warm conditions.

PRUNE
• Trees to remove damaged branches before winter storms.
• Shrubs to remove limbs killed by last winter’s cold, also to eliminate erratic growth from this season.
• Mow lawn to tidy grass, also to remove many winter weeds. Mowing also lets you pick up fallen leaves so they can be put into the compost or used as mulch beneath shrubs.

FERTILIZE
• Winter color plants with high-nitrogen, water-soluble food each time that you water them.
• Ryegrass and fescue with high-nitrogen or all-nitrogen lawn food to promote vigorous growth before winter. Unlike warm-season grasses St. Augustine and bermuda, this is their prime growing season.
• Houseplants sparingly during dark days of winter. Apply high-nitrogen, water-soluble fertilizer no more often than monthly in diluted form. Resume more frequent feedings when you take them back outdoors next spring.

ON THE LOOKOUT
• Fire ant mounds pop up almost overnight following rains. Apply one of the area-wide baits for long-term control.
• Houseplant insects will show up quickly after plants are brought indoors and natural predators are left behind outdoors. Let your nursery professional show you the options and explain how to use them.
• Clover, dandelions, and other non-grassy (“broadleafed”) weeds are making their show now. Apply a 2,4-D spray to their leaves and give it 10 to 12 days to kill them. If you delay much longer in the northern half of the state, you’ll have to wait until February’s first warm weather to spray.