Gardening This Weekend: August 13, 2026
Scroll your eyeballs down through this list. These are things that must be done in the next week for most of the state.
PLANT
• Fall color from zinnias, marigolds and celosias. Buy potted transplants that are in bud but not yet in bloom whenever possible.
• Central and North Texans, set out transplants of Cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts).
• South Texas gardeners, finish planting beans, squash, cucumbers from seed.
• Spider lilies, Sternbergias (lilies of the field), oxblood lilies, and other fall-flowering bulbs as you find them available in nurseries or online.
PRUNE
• Rose bushes by one-third immediately to reshape the plants and increase vigor for fall bloom. Each cut should be made just above a bud that faces out from the center of the plant. If you detect Rose Rosette Virus remove plants (roots and all) and send them to the landfill in sealed black plastic trash bags.
• Flowers from coleus, basil, mint, and other plants where flower buds and flowers stop production of new foliage.
• Erratic spring and summer growth from shrubs but save major pruning for mid-winter.
FERTILIZE
• Bermuda turf with all-nitrogen lawn food in which half or more of the nitrogen is in slow-release form. Do not fertilize St. Augustine for another 3-4 weeks.
• Iron/sulfur additive to correct chlorosis in iron-deficient plants. Look for yellowed leaves with dark green veins, most prominent on newest growth first. Keep iron products off masonry and painted surfaces that could be stained.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• If you have nutsedge (“nutgrass”) in your lawn, this is your last call to apply Image (the original formulation that is labeled for control of nutsedge) or Sedgehammer to eliminate it. Both products need several weeks of warm weather to complete their work. (See related story last issue.)
• Locate supply of Dimension or Halts for pre-emergent control of winter grassy weeds. These are same materials you used in spring to prevent germination of crabgrass and grassburs, but we apply either of them in early September to prevent germination of cool-season grassy weeds including rescuegrass, annual ryegrass, and annual bluegrass (Poa annua.)
• Pre-emergents are more difficult to find at this time, so ask your local independent retail garden center or feed store if they can get a supply in for you. Timing for most of Texas would be Sept. 5-15. One week earlier in the Panhandle. One week later in South Texas. Results with annual bluegrass may not be perfect as it is building up resistance to the herbicides, but it is still worth applying either of them.