Gardening This Weekend: November 20, 2025
Most of Texas has seen temperatures well above normal for almost all of this fall. That’s not necessarily good, as it’s kept our plants green and growing longer than we’d normally like. All we can do, though, is keep up with our normal tasks. Check through this week’s list.
PLANT
• Pansies and other winter annual color. Plant in raised beds of well-prepared, highly organic soil. They’re also outstanding in pots.
• Trees and shrubs can still be planted now. Your favorite nursery may have sold down on their supplies, but others maintain good inventories for their customers who landscape year ‘round.
• Absolutely last call to put tulips and Dutch hyacinths into the fridge to give them their required “pre-chilling” at 45F for 45 days so they can be planted between Christmas and New Years Day. Without it they will not bloom properly. Do not plant prior to December 15, even if they have already had their 45 days.
PRUNE
• Tree leaves fell by the bucketfull after last week’s cold. Keep them raked up or blown so you can pick them up with your mower and bagger. Use them in the compost or apply them as mulch beneath shrubs or around perennials. Do not send them to the landfill.
• Shrubs to remove dead and damaged branches, also to remove erratic new growth from this past summer.
• Trim to re-shape foliage plants you’ve brought in from the patio for winter.
FERTILIZE
• Pansies, pinks and other cool-season annuals with high-nitrogen, water-soluble plant food to keep them growing vigorously. Failure to feed adequately is a common cause of poor plant performance.
• Ryegrass and fescue (cool-season grasses) with high-nitrogen or all-nitrogen lawn food. Water immediately after feeding.
• Houseplants monthly with high-nitrogen, water-soluble plant food at half the recommended rate. Your goal for the winter is to maintain them status quo, not to encourage them to grow while they’re in the darker conditions indoors.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Inspect shade trees carefully for signs of weakened branches or trunks due to cold or insect injury or decay. Your concern will be that ice, snow, and windstorms could cause heavy branches to fall. If in doubt, have a certified arborist look in on your trees a couple of times per year.
• Broadleafed weedkiller spray on a sunny, warm and relatively still day to kill cool-season broadleafed weeds before winter settles in. Read and follow label directions.
• Watch houseplants closely for signs of scale insects, mealybugs, whiteflies and spider mites. These pests commonly come in from outdoors when we bring plants inside for the winter. If needed, take plants back into garage or out onto shaded patio to spray before weather turns really cold.