VOLUME 22, ISSUE 29 • July 16, 2026

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Gardening This Weekend

Temperatures are climbing back up after rains swept across parts of the state earlier this week. That gives us a fresh list of things to accomplish over the next several days. Take a look.

Photo: Plant pentas to perk up your plantings now through the fall.

Holly ferns star in the shade

Here's a plant that's been around for decades, yet it's not as commonly used as it should be. Holly ferns deserve more attention, especially near or south of I-20. Let's lists its facts. You might want to consider it.

Photo: Holly fern makes a dramatic statement to its part of the landscape.

Chinch bugs warning for St. Augustine

If it's summer, it's time to worry about chinch bugs. That's if you have St. Augustine turf here in Texas. These pesky pests do a great deal of damage to our lawns and we need to learn the early signs of their arrival. Read on.

Photo: Chinch bugs love the hottest, sunniest parts of your St. Augustine lawn.

Prune with a purpose

I do a lot of looking while my wife is driving, and I'm disturbed by what I see people doing to crape myrtles I love. These are brief comments, but I hope they'll be taken seriously. Click to let me explain.

Photo: This has always been one of my favorite plantings of Lipan crape myrtles.

Q&A – Ask Neil

A Japanese maple that's going downhill. A surplus of Texas mountain laurels (a rare problem). Looking for a pre-emergent schedule. A curious web in a holly, and a strange suggestion for a bothersome bur oak. Finally, a balding bald cypress. See how I've answered them.

And, in closing…

This week's rains in Southwest Texas take me back to my teen years. My dad and I were working on his TAMU research between Uvalde and Camp Wood in June 1958 when Tropical Storm Alma dropped 21 in. on the Shawcross Ranch where we were working in 24 hours. (My job was emptying the rain gauge, so I remember the amount quite well.) We had no communication with the outside world for 5 days. Dry streambeds became rushing torrents. I can only imagine what my mom was wondering back in College Station. To all our friends in that part of our state, please be safe and know we have you in our prayers.

New control for dallisgrass…

Lynn and I had been running errands in town this week. We went through a drive-through and sat in a bank parking lot eating our chicken sandwiches when a little bunny came ambling by. I noticed it was singling out one type of grass for its evening meal. By George, it was eating the dallisgrass. That's what we need - more rabbits!

I hope you have a good week. Tune me in on the radio this weekend and let's talk gardening live. And I'll see you back here same time and same e-mailbox next week.

Until then, thanks for reading. And…

Happy gardening!