The Good: Winter Protection

As temperatures drop, providing protection to all our plants, which moderates temperature swings, helps plants get through the winter and emerge stronger in the spring.

Protection for Plants in the Ground

Protection can take several forms, but the one that helps 24X7 is mulch. Mulch helps keep the warmth of the soil from radiating into the air, thus keeping the plant’s roots warmer. A thick layer of mulch over the root area of a plant can also protect the crown of perennial plants that die back during cold weather. Fallen leaves make great mulch and will ultimately break down and improve the soil. The Comal County brush recycling center on Hwy 46 provides free shredded tree and brush mulch. And, of course, various mulches are available from garden centers. (Mulch can stay in place year-round – in the summer, it keeps the soil cooler and helps reduce water loss.)

Watering plants helps protect them, too, because water holds warmth and releases it more slowly than plant surfaces or air. Our recent dry spell means that many of our plants are sitting in relatively dry soil, which tends to get cold faster than moist soil. Watering plants before freezing weather arrives can help keep the roots from being damaged.

“Frost blankets” made of spun fibers, not clear plastic, can provide additional protection for plants. These lightweight covers can help keep the soil’s warmth around the plants. The covers are placed over the plants and pinned or weighted to keep the edges in contact with the soil. There is some maintenance involved, as they should be pulled back on warm days.

Finally, before fertilizing or pruning plants in the fall, consider whether those activities will stimulate new growth, which will be more susceptible to freeze damage.

Protection for Plants in Pots

Plants in pots are more susceptible to freezing weather because the exposed sides of the pots radiate heat more rapidly than plants in the ground. Potted plants should be brought into a protected area such as the house, garage or greenhouse. If no indoor area is available, it may help to group them together and protect them by surrounding with mulch, watering them and using frost blankets.

When bringing plants indoors, avoid bringing the pests they are likely harboring. For a few days before bringing plants indoors, spray them daily with an organic soap, then quarantine them for a while so any pests they bring with them can be eliminated before they attack your houseplants.

More Information on protecting plants during cold weather is available at this link:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/docs/FrostsandFreezes.pdf

The Bad: Winter Temperature Fluctuations

In Mystic Shores, we can expect our first freeze around November 15. As winter arrives, our average highs are in the 60’s to low 70’s, with lows in the upper 30’s to 40’s. However, within those averages lurk record highs of 90 degrees and lows of zero. Last winter, bitterly cold 9 degrees was measured by home weather stations here in Mystic Shores, which was seven degrees colder than the 16 degrees recorded in San Antonio.

Rainfall averages are less than two inches per month from December through March, and this year’s La Nina weather pattern indicates we are in for a relatively drier, and warmer winter.

Plants may respond to mild spells by leafing or blossoming, only to have freezing weather destroy the new growth or blooms. One of the many advantages of native plants is that they have adapted to the weather fluctuations that we experience in Central Texas during fall, spring and winter, and may not get fooled by unseasonable weather.

For more information and statistics on our South Central Texas climate, visit this link:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/ewx/wxevent/wincli20092010.pdf

October in the Garden - The Very Special

Aaaah, cool fall weather. That’s good. And a sign that it’s time to plant trees. And who doesn’t love trees? Folks often ask what is the best time to plant trees, and the answer is RIGHT NOW! Planting a tree in the cooler fall months allows plenty of time for the roots to grow over the winter and into the spring, so when the hot summer months arrive, the tree has a good foundation to carry it through July and August. Even better, choose a native! Native trees are perfectly adapted to survive the extreme temperatures of our winters and summers and have learned to hunker down and hang on during periods of drought. Diversify to protect against oak wilt by planting Chinquapin Oak, Bur Oak, Lacey Oak or any of the others in the links below. Around here we joke that we are too old to grow trees, but you know, somebody else will live here some day and they will thank us.

Here are a couple of great web links with lots of good information on how to plant trees. So get outside and dig a hole!

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/tamuhort.htm

http://www.plantanswers.com/calvin/fall_trees.htm

http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/TreePlantingTools.html

October in the Garden - Deer Damage

A friend at TP&W once told me that there are two kinds of deer people (there are many more kinds of dear people, but that’s different story). Anyway, he said that half the people love deer and want to see them every day in their back yard, but the other half hate them and want to get rid of them all. I admit I’ve spent time in both camps. The deer I love were those up in the Utah mountains where we had a cabin. This deer population was kept in check by nature’s balance of predators and disease, were not tame, stayed far away from people, and came into your yard to eat your rose bushes at their peril. The deer I hate are the ones around here, who lounge on front lawns as if they are the family dog, who stare unafraid at you while chewing the leaves off your prize whatever plant, and who multiply like rabbits, their last natural predator having been dispatched years ago.

And this time of year, I dislike them most of all. From September through November male deer look for trees to clean their antlers of summer velvet. The bucks also thrash and batter trees for noise effect, coating the twigs and bark with scent glands to mark territory. It’s called the fall mating “rut.” If you’ve ever walked out to pick up your morning paper and noticed one of your immature trees with bark scraped off, branches torn and hanging limply, you know the words coming to mind. The damage can be significant, and fully girdled trees will die.

Take steps now to protect young trees by wrapping trunks with plastic trunk wraps, strips of rubber tubing or protect with hardware mesh stretched around steel posts in a circle. Pre-formulated spray-on repellents are a common deer control technique, but a deer in rut may well disregard the disagreeable taste and odor altogether.

October in the Garden - The Good

Take good care of your garden tools and they will last a long time. Here are some tips:

§ Always remove all of the soil from your digging tools after each use.

§ Never put your tools away wet. Allow them to dry completely to prevent rust and handle rot.

§ Once each garden season, rub linseed oil into wooden handles to help preserve them.

§ After each use, wipe the metal parts of pruners, shears and loppers with an oily rag.

§ Or, wipe tools dry with a clean rag, then spray lightly with a penetrating lubricant such as WD40.

§ Sharpen cutting tools and blades of shovels and spades during the gardening season.

§ Use a hone or whetstone for sharpening and a file to remove nicks and smooth edges of shovels and trowels.

§ Thoroughly clean any tools that have been used for chemical applications as fertilizers and other chemicals rapidly corrode metal parts.

§ A neat trick is to fill a 5 gallon bucket with builders sand and pour a quart of new motor oil over it. Use this as a shovel cleaner/oiler each time you put your tools away. Plunge each tool in and out of the oily sand several times after use.

The Somewhat Bad: Ball Moss

Ball moss, a grayish mossy growth, usually around the size of a tennis ball, often is seen clinging to the branches of live oaks. Although it might appear to be a parasite of the tree, it actually is an epiphyte, which means that it may attach itself to a tree or other perches but it feeds itself by capturing moisture and nutrients from the air, rather than taking nutrients from the tree.

Ball moss likes shade and humid air, conditions that are naturally found under the canopy of live oaks. The branches on which it grows are not dead or dying because of the ball moss. They are dying because they are shaded by the branches above that form the canopy. Tree branches need a certain amount of light for photosynthesis in the leaves. Without light, leaves cannot produce sugars through photosynthesis and the branches ultimately die. However, those same branches provide food and shelter for birds, and the ball moss hosts a small spider that is food for wrens, warblers and other insectivorous birds.

While ball moss may be harmless to its landlord, many people object to it on aesthetic grounds. It can be physically removed from the tree as part of a pruning regimen or by careful periodic spraying.

More information about how to manage ball moss without harming your trees is available at this link -http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/main/article.aspx?id=1264&terms=ball+moss

The Good: Wildflowers!

Plant Them Soon

The spring show of wildflowers depends on something that may be counter-intuitive – fall planting, ideally during September and October.

Many wildflowers depend on fall rains and cooler weather to germinate and develop a deep root system. That root system may determine whether the plant lives and flowers or dies when our hot and dry weather arrives in the spring and summer.

To plant wildflowers, make sure that there is good contact between the seed and the soil. This may mean clearing existing vegetation, planting the seed at the recommended depth, then covering with soil and pressing the seeds into the soil. Check the planting instructions that come with the seeds, or consult a reliable source such as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. http://www.wildflower.org/howto/

If you are planting bluebonnets, some sources recommend scarifying (scratching or nicking) the seedcoat prior to planting them, to allow moisture to reach the seed and speed up germination. However, see the to-scarify-or-not-to-scarify discussion at this link: http://www.wildflower.org/howto/show.php?id=34&frontpage=true

since scarified seed may require supplemental watering.

Simple techniques such as rubbing the seeds between two sheets of sandpaper may do the trick, or line a sturdy container with sandpaper, add the seeds and lid, and shake it vigorously. The wildflower center has specific information on how to establish a stand of bluebonnets, including how much seed is needed and good ways to encourage year-after-year blooms: http://www.wildflower.org/howto/show.php?id=1&frontpage=true

A number of Mystic Shores streets are named for wildflowers, so consider eponymous selections for your yard or street border!

Patience Pays

Perennial wildflowers may need to develop roots for a year or two before they are ready to bloom. Once the blooms fade, wait until the seeds are set before mowing them, to help assure future generations of blooms. Since the germination period may be long, avoid spreading pre-emergent or other herbicides in the area where you’ve planted wildflowers.

Don’t Forget the Birds

Our native birds, both year-round and migratory, can benefit from certain wildflowers and other plants that provide food or forage. Premixed seed blends for birds are available from some wildflower seed providers.

Seed Sources
We are fortunate to have these wildflower seed sources in Central Texas, along with the Lady Bird Wildflower Center:
Wildseed Farms, Fredericksburg - http://shop.wildseedfarms.com/ (sells pre-scarified bluebonnet seeds)
Native American Seeds, Junction (the catalog indicates the soil types for which seeds are suitable. Also sells a “sustainable quail and dove mix" - http://www.seedsource.com/ (bluebonnet seeds are not scarified)