Gardening This Weekend: January 29, 2026
We’re on to the remainder of winter. Hopefully things will go better from last weekend’s cold forward. Here are the assignments as I see them.
One note before we begin: If you have tender woody plants still covered after last week’s cold, if you used frost cloth you can leave it in place for several weeks without damage. If you used burlap, old sheets, or any other material, hopefully you removed it earlier this week.
PLANT
• If you lost early plantings of onions or snap-type English peas, get another round in the ground as quickly as possible. If it’s normal time where you are (North Texas), get with the planting as soon as this weekend’s temperatures moderate and soils dry out enough to allow you back in.
• Cole crops from transplants, including cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower in South Texas now. Wait a couple of weeks in North Texas.
• Late-winter annual color to replace any damaged by the extreme cold last weekend. Let a Texas Certified Nursery Professional advise you as to the best types for your locale.
• Fruit trees, grapes, and bramble berries of varieties recommended for your part of Texas. Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Service has information on their website (https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/).
• Transplant established trees and shrubs that need to be moved. If you have a native woody plant you want to move to your landscape, this is the time to do so. (Get permission from the landowner first.)
PRUNE
• Wait a couple of weeks to determine extent of freeze damage, if any before pruning shrubs and groundcovers back.
• Peaches and plums to maintain open, spreading habit.
• Apples and pears to remove branches that were killed by fire blight disease. Disinfect pruning tools between each branch that you remove.
• Grapes by 80 to 85 percent to maintain vines on strong trellises. By removing this much cane growth you’ll ensure fewer clusters of much higher quality grapes.
• Roses by 50 percent, always above buds facing out from centers of plants. Before pruning, determine that plants are free of the deadly rose rosette virus. See information on this page on my website.
• Evergreens as needed to shape and reduce height and width (no more than 30-35 percent). Try to avoid formal shapes as much as possible.
• Never “top” crape myrtles for any alleged reason. It ruins them permanently. If you have a plant that is too tall or wide, either move it or remove it entirely. Topping merely puts off the inevitable.
FERTILIZE
• Apply water-soluble, high-nitrogen food to revitalize winter annuals now that cold has passed.
• Diluted water-soluble, high-nitrogen food to indoor plants monthly to maintain good color and vigor.
• Liquid, high-phosphate root-stimulator food to newly transplanted trees and shrubs monthly for first year.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Any dead or damaged branches, especially those killed by prior years’ freezes. These may have been damaged further by last weekend’s ice. Have a certified arborist check trees of any size that could cause injury or damage.
• Early spring insects, notably aphids, will begin to show up in South Texas gardens as new growth appears. They can often be washed away with a blast of water.
• Watch houseplants for pests that show up in low humidity, predator-free conditions indoors. Prime possibilities: spider mites, scales, mealy bugs. Your Texas Certified Nursery Professional will have appropriate controls.