Gardening This Weekend: January 8, 2026
With cooler weather forecast for the next several days, it’s still going to be a prime time for gardening, and these are the main things you’ll want to get done.
PLANT
• Fruit trees and vines. Stick with those types that are most highly recommended by Texas A&M for your county or immediate region. That information is available online or in my book Lone Star Gardening.
• Onion sets. Early planting is important if you want top quality bulbs at harvest. If planting in North Texas have frost cloth available in case of extreme cold over the next several weeks.
• Cool-season annual color. In South Texas many types can be planted into the ground. In North Texas, pansies, violas, and pinks will be most cold hardy. They and other types can be planted into pots so they can be moved into protection in case of extreme cold.
• Transplanting of established trees and shrubs must be done during winter dormant season.
PRUNE
• Peach and plum trees to maintain open, spreading habit and to remove strongly vertical shoots. Little pruning will be needed for pears and figs except to remove dead or damaged branches. Grapes to remove 80-85 percent of cane growth each winter. Do not prune blackberries in winter. Fruit will be borne on last year’s canes. Cut them completely to the ground after they finish producing this spring – they will never bear fruit again.
• Evergreen shrubs as needed to reshape. As much as possible, try to avoid shearing into unnatural cubes and globes.
FERTILIZE
• Pansies, pinks, and other cool-season annuals with high-nitrogen, water-soluble food each time you water them. Keep them properly watered all winter, especially prior to cold spells.
• High-phosphate liquid root stimulator monthly for newly planted trees and shrubs. Repeat monthly for first year if they were dug and transplanted.
• Houseplants monthly with diluted water-soluble high-nitrogen plant food.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Junipers for spider mites turning their branches’ needles yellow, then brown and dry. It generally will begin with lowest branches. Thump suspect twig over a sheet of white paper. Examine the paper closely for tiny rust-colored specks that start to move. Those would be the mites. They’re so small you could fit 20 of them shoulder to shoulder on the head of a pin. Control with general-purpose insecticide that lists mites. Repeat spray after 1-2 weeks and test again a few days later.
• Watch trees for signs of broken or dead limbs that could be getting ready to fall. If they’re higher than you can reach from the ground hire a certified arborist to do the removal for you.
• Aphids clustering on tender new growth, especially in South Texas because of recent warm weather. They will multiply rapidly, and they’ll come in many colors, always with pear-shaped bodies. You can usually blast them off with a hard stream of water.