We have 2 half price greenhouses (#5 & #7) that are overflowing with a huge variety of trees, shrubs, vines, and groundcovers of all shapes and sizes, and they are all 50% off! The half price houses are restocked regularly so come and shop them often for the best bargains around!  All half price plants have a yellow tag showing the regular price and the reduced price!

Giant Variegated Mondo Grass Evergreen groundcover for shade	Rose of Sharon (Althea) Beautiful flowering shrubs & patio trees	Little Gem Magnolia Espalier Stunning magnolia trained to 4’ x 4’ trellis
Dwarf Gardenia Fragrant white blooms on glossy foliage	Red Rocket Crape Myrtle This true red variety grows to 20’ tall	Evergreen Wisteria Evergreen vine with purple cluster flowers

Find these and all of our fabulous half price deals on our Half Price Inventory.

• Tropical hibiscus (2 gal) -you’ll feel like you’re stealing them at $7.99 or 2 for $12!
• All trees (shade, fruit & accent trees) -  20-50% off
• All Shrubs (incl Encore Azaleas & Roses) – 20-50% off
• Palms, Vines & Ornamental Grasses - 20-50% off
• Perennial Maiden Grass (3 gal) – 50% off – now only $14.99 
• Citrus trees (Meyer’s Lemon, Lime & Grapefruit) – 50% off
• Crotons & Banana trees  – 50% off
• Tropical House Plants - 20% off
• Tree-form bottle brush (3-15 gal) – 50% off  & about to bloom!
• 25% off all “Insect Lore” children’s learning sets (bug habitats, fun books, etc.)
• Flats of Vinca & Zinnias - $10 (reg. $20); Flats of Pentas - $20 (reg. $30)
• 1 gal. Pentas- only $2.88 & 1 gal. Perennial Verbena & low mounding Bandana Lantana only $4.88
• Other Perennials 20% off (see our bargain table of selected half price perennials- now $4.88.

Cashiers will automatically take 20% off regular price on any of these items not already sale priced.   

Let us know if you’d like some recommendations for the best plants for your particular needs, and remember you can take advantage of our current sale prices even if you don’t want to plant until fall. Just buy your trees now and we’ll take care of them until you pick them up yourself or make arrangements for us to deliver and/or plant your trees for you in the fall. You can visit our website to download a PDF of our available stock which includes sizes and prices.

It’s really hot outside and many people are asking for drought tolerant plants that will live in the sun. Greg suggests adding yucca and agave to your landscape for color and architectural interest.

Sapphire Skies is a cold hardy trunk-form yucca with striking baby-blue foliage and, at maturity, spectacular spires of ivory flowers in summer. Pendula is a clumping type yucca with soft harmless cascading blue-green leaves and white flower stalks in summer. Red yucca, with its coral red flower spikes, is the one you see so often along the highways….which is a true testament to how tough it is!  As an added bonus, this wonderful plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies and is rabbit and deer resistant!

All of the Yucca and Agave in stock are 20-50% off during our summer sale!

The next class in our Kids Summer Series is Sun & Shade Plants on Saturday, July 31st at 9:30. The kids will plant their own tomato (sun plant) for fall harvest, and start their own fairy garden. After class, all the kids will get an ice cream treat!

If you would like your children (ages 5-12) to attend this and/or the last class, which will be a fun and educational Scavenger Hunt, reserve their place today by calling Mary at (972) 475-5888 Ext. 111. Space is limited so reservations are required. See the calendar on our website for more information.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite photo in our Kids Only Photo Contest.

Photos are displayed in our store so come in and support the efforts of these boys and girls with your vote (1 vote per person) before August 14th.

See Photo Contest For Kids Only for details.

Burton specializes in diagnosing and solving plant problems. You may be experiencing these same issues, so we want to share Burton’s advice.

When you come to Covington’s, Burton can usually be found at the main checkout counter and he’s anxious to help make your gardening experience easier and more enjoyable.

Please bring actual bugs or plants or photos showing the problem when you come to get your gardening problems identified.

This week's question is about one of the most pernicious weeds in Texas. Read on!

Q: I have an area on the side of my house between my own home and my neighbor's, and our homes are built closely together. This spot has a new set of weeds popping up, and I'm told it's nutsedge. How can I eradicate this stuff? Better yet, can I do this organically?
 
A: Nutsedge is a truly tough weed to eradicate in the landscape. Here are a few pointers on removing this plant from your lawn and landscape beds:

• Don't Pull It - Unless you have caught it within a few days of sprouting, nutsedge has an aggressive root system that has thin, easily broken roots with large "nuts" at the ends. Nutsedge will easily pull up but if you leave all those "nuts" in the ground, each and every one of them will sprout in a few days. Don't pull it. Really! Unless you're digging down eight or nine inches when you do, you're likely just spreading the weed faster.
• Water Less - Use a little judgment here, because you obviously do need to keep your lawn and flowerbeds watered; but areas catching a lot of run-off or areas which are just consistently wet grow nutsedge like crazy. Water less often and simply mulch your beds deeper.
• Most Herbicides Don't Work On Nutsedge. Even If They Say They Do - Because of the root system mentioned above, most herbicides that kill grass-like weeds will burn the tops of nutsedge, but that burn-out won't extend to all the tiny nutlets. There are two herbicides that actually work on nutsedge (Sedgehammer and Image), and the Sedgehammer works much more quickly with a better kill rate. Kill-zall, Roundup, and 20% vinegar with orange oil added can burn the tops of this weed and if it's done repetitively, can exhaust the stored food in the nutlets and eventually work too, but these products will damage or kill anything you directly spray them on.

Organically, we've seen everything in the world recommended, with the most prevalent thing being heavy applications of liquid molasses to the root zones of the nutsedge. Now, molasses is great stuff and I do use it for a variety of purposes, but for something I regularly use as a soil food around the roots of my most sensitive plants to suddenly kill nutsedge (while leaving me with a great looking lawn...), well, let's just say that I've tried it and that was some healthy looking nutsedge!

The sugar in the molasses failed to rot my nutsedge roots even at a heavy application rate. Perhaps we'll try just using it straight next time, but for now the best organic solutions would be repeated spot sprays of 20% vinegar with 2 oz. per gallon added of orange oil, or to spread black plastic on the afflicted areas right now while we're hot and sunny to simply bake and sterilize the area completely. Two weeks should do it, and apply molasses and soil foods once more when the areas are uncovered.

Nutsedge will bake at 120-140 degrees under such a plastic cover, and the plastic will keep your lawn sprinklers from watering the area much. This will kill everything beneath and the area will need to be freshly seeded or sodded afterwards. 

Don’t miss your opportunity to save 25% off all regular priced trees & shrubs in stock with landscape installation!

Whether you’re building new or re-landscaping, Covington’s landscape design professionals can create the perfect outdoor environment. Our designers will take into consideration your wants, hopes and needs for your project and meld them with our expertise to create an ideal plan suited to you, your family and your home.

No matter the size or scope of your project, it is best to begin with a master plan. With four in-house designers, Covington’s can create a unique plan exclusively for you and your space. Once you have approved the design plan, our experienced landscape crew can install your new landscape and you will see your dreams turn into reality! Call us today at 972-475-5888, Ext. 5 and take advantage of our Summer Landscape Special during its last week.

Go to our Landscape Services page to see photos of some of our projects and to learn about our design process.

Click here for a brief video about the beginnings of Covington’s Nursery and Landscape Co. and an introduction to our landscape design team.

As you, our regular readers, know, the Webletter we send out weekly is filled with helpful information about planting in North Texas, as well as our latest specials. But if you have a friend who's enthusiastic about having a beautiful yard and seeing the best of the new material as soon as it arrives, recommend our Webletter to them!

They'll see that it's also filled with pictures taken here at the nursery, usually in the same week the article is published, of the newest trees, shrubs, and flowers as they come in. Why settle for generalized pictures of a common shrub when you can see the very plants we have available, right now?