Q&A – Ask Neil: December 18, 2025
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QUESTION 1
WHAT TREES GIVE GOOD FALL COLOR NORTH OF DFW?
Question: I’m interested in planting a few trees for fall color into my landscape. What are the best types for both sun and part shade? Kim S., Argyle.
Answer: I always begin this answer with a caution: Fall color is transitory. It can last for a few days to a few weeks. Choose trees that look good at other seasons, too. I also choose types that will give me a sequence of fall color from early fall until Christmas. And rule out trees with serious known problems like Bradford and other ornamental pears (brittle in storms and invasive) and Chinese tallow (invasive).
The best large trees for full sun would be Chinese pistachio and Shumard red oaks. It would be nice if we could find the grafted male (fruitless) pistachios Keith Davey, but they’re uncommon in the nursery industry.
If you like golden yellow fall color, go with ‘Autumn Gold’ ginkgoes, another grafted male selection. You do not want a female ginkgo because the fruit has a very bad odor.
I have loved our chalk maple. I found it in an Austin nursery 40 years ago. It’s growing in a thicket of Nellie R. Stevens hollies where it turns a blush of golden yellow and rust each December. It’s very uncommon in the nursery trade unfortunately.
Shantung maples were named a Texas Superstar® tree by Texas A&M, and an improved selection from them, ‘Fire Dragon’ is brilliantly red. It’s hard to find, but worth the hunt.
In your total shade areas consider Japanese maples. I’m especially fond of the variety ‘Bloodgood.’ With its burgundy red new growth in spring and on into the summer, then gorgeous red in late fall (now), it’s stunning. It really brightens up the drab parts of our landscapes. Japanese maples are best suited to Northeast, East, and Southeast Texas.
QUESTION 2
SHOULD I TRY TO RELOCATE A COUPLE OF VOLUNTEER HACKBERRY TREES?
Question: I have two hackberry trees that came up volunteer beneath power lines. Each is now about 8 ft. tall. Should I try to save them? Are they easy to transplant? Robert R., Corsicana.
Answer: I would not bother. You can buy yourself a high-quality shade tree for $40 – one that will be with you without issues for 50 years. Or you can spend time and effort by digging each of these and you’ll only have hackberries to show for the work. All the conventional hackberry problems (weak wood, mistletoe, insects, and diseases) will come along with them. I’ve never seen a nursery offering hackberries for sale. That speaks volumes as to their merits (or lack thereof).
QUESTION 3
WHEN SHOULD I PLAN ON PLANTING TOMATO SEEDS TO HAVE TRANSPLANTS READY?
Question: I want to try several tomato varieties that I never see for sale in nurseries. When should I plant the seeds in order to have transplants ready at the appropriate time? Velma R., Temple.
Answer: Ideally, you’ll grow your tomato transplants in full sun all day long in a cool greenhouse-like setting (65F nights). Under those conditions you should have transplants in 4-in. pots ready to set out in 8 weeks. It looks like the average date of the last killing frost in your area is around March 21, so figure back from that date. That suggests sowing the seeds in your pots or seed packets on a bright windowsill indoors around the last week of January.
QUESTION 4
WHY DO THE TIPS OF MY JANET CRAIG DRACAENA LEAVES KEEP TURNING BROWN?
Question: I have a very nice Janet Craig dracaena that I’ve had for years. For the past year its leaves have kept turning brown at their tips. Is that a disease? Amy G., Austin.
Answer: That’s some form of moisture stress. The edges and tips of leaves are the points farthest from the roots, so when the plant begins to dry out, that’s where we’ll see the impact first and worst. It can be because we let the plant get too dry between waterings. That’s the logical cause. But it can also be because we never flushed out accumulating mineral salts in the soil. Our tap water contains salt, so when that’s what we use for watering, we introduce a fresh supply each time we irrigate. Unless we water heavily and leach it through the drain hole, it just gets more and more concentrated.
If the plant is totally root bound, that can also lead to that kind of problem. If we have it in a hot air draft, that can also cause the browning, as can applying too much fertilizer (again, excessive mineral salts).
I’m not sure which of those causes might be involved, but in the 50 years that I’ve been growing Janet Craig, it’s usually been because I’ve let it get too dry between waterings.
QUESTION 5
WILL MY SHRUBS SURVIVE BEING PRUNED BY ONE-THIRD?
Question: I need to cut my shrubs back by about one-third (to fence level). Will they survive such a trim? Some of them are boxwoods. I’m not sure about the rest. Gary E., Benbrook.
Images clickable for larger views.
Answer: Most shrubs (except junipers) would survive that amount of a trim very well, especially if you waited until late January to do it. Use lopping shears to get rid of as much of the stubble as possible.
I can’t tell if I’m looking at privet or glossy abelia. I can’t zoom in enough. I did not see boxwoods. Small purple berries would nail down the privet, while small, bell-shaped white flowers would confirm abelias. If you have privet, you should consider removing them entirely. They are extremely invasive from their seeds. If you have abelias, they may have been pruned a couple of times too many. They may be worn out. This might be the best time to get a fresh start for both the plants and the fence. Just a thought.