VOLUME 22, ISSUE 32 • August 6, 2026

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Lynn and I married 59 years ago today. I'm the luckiest guy around and I think about that every day. I'll post two photos below in the closing - one of our wedding day and the other from a year ago tonight as we celebrated at Steve Fields Steakhouse in Plano.

But first, in this issue…
• Silver Satin Scindapsis;
• This weekend's main goals;
• The hardiest palm (Steve Huddleston);
• Last call to control nutsedge; and
• Your questions. My answers.

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Photo: Hopefully our Texas sage plants (cenizas) will have another round of blooms sometime soon.

Gardening This Weekend

It's back to school, and wise gardeners are heading back into the garden. I know it's uncomfortable out in the heat, but the work you do now will be repaid in triple come autumn. Click through to see my suggestions.

Photo: Grandson Alex several years back proudly shows off his fall wax bean harvest.

Perhaps the hardiest palm

Seeking a tropical look? If you're along the Gulf Coast that's not a huge challenge, but when you move inland several hundreds of miles, it becomes much more difficult. That's the time for needle palm, most cold hardy of them all.

Photo: Needle palm survives winters in most of our state.

Silver Satin is soft to the eyes

You don't have to look very far before you can find a new type of plants to collect. How about Silver Satin and the other plants in genus Scindapsus? I got more than I bargained for when I took on this story.

Photo: I'll just start with this beauty. 'Silver Satin' Scindapsus. If you don't know it, you should.

Your lawn's worst enemy

No weed that grows here in Texas is any more difficult to eliminate. Nutsedge in its several iterations is tenacious and aggressive. It takes special weedkillers, and you must be persistent. It starts with a proper ID. And, most critically, you're running out of time. I'll give you the details.

Photo: Nutsedge is crowding its way into St. Augustine turf.

Q&A – Ask Neil

You have asked some great questions this week. How to change green hydrangea flowers to blue or pink. How to get Santa Rosa plums to set fruit. Why lantanas have lost all their leaf color. (They're also not blooming.) And a really important one for Texans: how to control spider mites on tomatoes. See how I've answered.

And, in closing…

As promised, here's a photo of my bride and me as we left St. Paul Lutheran Church in rural Ashville, Ohio, on August 6, 1967.

Image clickable for larger view.

Compare that to the photo Steve took of us at Steve Fields Steakhouse in Plano one year ago tonight. Lynn hasn't changed. Wish I could say the same! Happy Anniversary with love, Lynn. Let’s get an updated photo tonight.

Image clickable for larger view.

That's what I have for you in this week's e-gardens. I hope you have a great week. Let's meet together here same time, same e-mailbox next week.

Until then, happy gardening!

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