VOLUME 22, ISSUE 19 • May 7, 2026

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

It's been raining in Texas. It's not going to freeze. Nurseries are well stocked. What more could a gardener wish for. Let's look into e-gardens!

In this issue…
• Easier landscapes!
• This weekend's main goals;
• Protection for your crape myrtles;
• Steve Huddleston brings oakleaf hydrangeas; and
• I bring answers to your gardening questions.

NEIL SPERRY'S LONE STAR GARDENING
How many books pay for themselves?

Still sale priced - only $34.95

Chapter 2 (48 pages) is a "forever" calendar in text form. I tell you what needs to be planted, pruned, and fertilized that month, also what insects and diseases are likely to show up. I've never put that in a book before. It's written for the entire state.

All that, plus chapters covering Trees, Shrubs, Vines, Groundcovers, Annuals, Perennials, Lawns, Fruit, and Vegetables. And Chapter 1 deals with the basics of soils, fertilizers, and climate.

344 pages (hardback). 840 photos. More than 25 multi-page charts.

I sign every copy and I guarantee your satisfaction.

Order from my website
Or call my office weekday afternoons (800) 752-4769
Also available at Calloway's and Cornelius Nurseries

Photo: Landscape becomes a living puzzle where the parts keep changing shapes.

Gardening This Weekend

What a great time to wrap up the spring activities and make ready for summer before the really hot weather steams into town. It's also Mother's Day weekend - time to do something nice for her landscape or garden. Let's make a list.

Photo: It's a great time to pot up a few tropical hibiscus for late spring and summer color.

It's Oakleaf Hydrangea time across Texas

Mark the calendar for late April into mid-May as prime blooming time for one of our showiest spring-flowering shrubs. Oakleaf hydrangeas are a great addition to any shade or part-shade garden. Steve Huddleston gives us details.

Photo: Oakleaf hydrangeas are so much easier than mophead hydrangeas for most Texas gardeners.

Easier Landscapes

Time is one of the most precious commodities in our lives today. It seems like I can never get everything done. As much as I love landscaping, I'm all in for things that will make it quicker and easier. See the ideas I've brought to our meeting today.

Photo: Lentz Landscape Lighting gives accent to many elements of the Sperry backyard plan.

Protect crape myrtles now

If you have crape myrtles in your landscape, you may have been become familiar with an unwelcome pest over the past 5-15 years. Crape myrtle bark scale has moved in from China, and we're learning how to deal with it. Click through and I'll share the important details.

Photo: Bad outbreak of crape myrtle bark scale. Photo credit to Jim Robbins, Univ. of Ark., Bugwood.org

Q&A – Ask Neil

You outdid yourselves. Questions on Mexican petunias, a lethargic red oak, a flame-proof Japanese maple, and patchy post oaks. (Lots about trees.) See how I answered.

And, in closing…

Thanks for checking out this week's e-gardens. I hope you've found it to be entertaining and enlightening.

Tomorrow, for the 19th year, our Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney gives a 1-gal. crape myrtle to each 5th grade student in McKinney ISD to give to their mothers for Mother's Day. This year it will be almost 2,000 plants. Happy kids. Happy moms.

This weekend please tune me in on the radio. The times and stations are listed on my website. Many of the stations also live stream if that works better for you.

I'll also hope to see you in church or at a nursery near you.

Until next week, if it's appropriate - Happy Mother's Day…

And Happy Gardening!

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