| Monthly
Planning Guides for North Texas
and Plant Care Information |
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| Keys
to Gardening Success |
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| Late April
Planting FAQs |
Q:
What's leaving holes in my leaves?
A: It
could be more than one kind
of critter - but chewing caterpillars
are active right now, as are
slugs and snails. Ask one of
our nursery professionals for
the most likely pest to be
bothering your particular plant.
Slugs and snails can be controlled
with our Sluggo slug bait,
which is a pet-friendly slug
bait, or our Hi-Yield Slug
and Snail bait, a conventional
metalaldehyde bait. Caterpillars
can be safely and thoroughly
controlled with our Thuricide
product, an effective organic
control that only kills leaf-chewing
caterpillars.
Q:
Why are my rose blooms browning
before they open? (or gardenia,
or magnolia...)
A: Thrips
are very active in late April
and May, and suck sap from
the petals of your blooms before
the blooms properly open. Since
the pests are deep inside the
tight-wrapped buds, it's hard
to contact them with normal
pesticides. Use a systemic
pesticide to get control -
Isotox, Di-Syston, or our ferti-lome
Systemic Insect Drench, and
prune the worst damaged blooms
off the plant. For our organic
customers, prune all current blooms
off the plants, and begin spraying
with a preventative Neem oil
application once every two
weeks.
Q:
What are the weird looking
round growths on the (leaf,
twig) of my tree?
A: These
are galls, normally caused
by tiny stinging insects very
early in the season. They
disfigure twigs and damage
individual leaves but rarely
do any serious damage. The
correct thing to do? Don't
worry much about them. There's
nothing much you can do at
this point and the plants are
not normally badly damaged
by them, losing at most a leaf
here, a twig there. Make sure
you don't confuse these galls
for scale insects, a more serious
problem on plants - the galls
are actually part of the leaf
or stem, the scale insects
glue themselves to the leaf
or stem and are not part of
the plant. Scale should be
sprayed for with a summerweight
horticultural oil at this point,
or a systemic root drench insecticide
should be applied, or both
in extreme cases.
Q:
What is this (black spot
on my rose, white powder
on my crape myrtle, spot
on my indian hawthorn)?
A: These
are fungal diseases flourishing
in cool temperatures and rainy
season on these plants,
particularly if they're not
planted in full sun with good
airflow. Several fungicides
work well on these problems,
but we prefer our ferti-lome
Broad Spectrum and our ferti-lome
Systemic fungicides, containing
Daconil and Banner. |
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| Spring
& Fertilization |
This week, we're going over
a few tips about fertilization!
Many people aren't clear on
what needs fertilizing, what
fertilizers do, and why they
should use them.
What
do the numbers on fertilizer
mean?
The three main numbers
on fertilizer refer to, in
order -
- Nitrogen (N) :
Nitrogen is necessary for
healthy, green leaf growth!
Plants that "park" and
just don't grow are often
lacking this, particularly
if they are pale in color.
- Phosphate (P2O5) :
Phosphorus is all about healthy
blooming and rooting, and
is required for photosynthesis.
- Potash (K2O) : Potassium
is required for the overall
health of the plant in many
ways. It won't dramatically
increase your blooming or
leaf growth the way the other
two nutrients will, but a
plant lacking potassium is
an unhealthy plant indeed!
Micronutrients matter a lot,
but we're focusing on the "Big
Three" today.
These three numbers are often
referred to as N-P-K as
a quick reference.
What needs fertilization?
Around here, that'd be everything!
Our soil, for the whole of
the surrounding area, is extremely
nitrogen-deficient, with
medium to very high
levels of phosphate and medium
to high potassium from most
of the soil analyses we see
at the nursery.
How should I fertilize,
and with what fertilizer?
There are so many types of
commercially available fertilizer
available these days that it
can be very confusing which
fertilizer to use for what
purpose. As a general-purpose
shrub and tree fertilizer in
this area, we recommend fertilizers
higher in nitrogen than
any other nutrient, with generally
lower phosphate and potash,
with the nitrogen being at
least twice as high as the
phosphate, such as our Covington's
Special.
Turf, we feed with even higher
nitrogen/phosphate ratios -
3 to 1, or 4 to 1, with a moderate
amount of potassium. Our Covington's
Pro-Choice premium
lawn fertilizer does this well,
with a 21-7-14 balanced fertilizer
with 25% slow-release nitrogen.
Containers, we generally recommend
an even-and-balanced fertilizer. Osmocote
14-14-14 or Peters
20-20-20 are good
choices.
Too much of a particular nutrient
can be as harmful as too little.
The above recommendations are
good for most yards in the
Metroplex, but If you'd like
to find out the exact state
of your property's soil, your
county's extension service
will usually have soil sample
kits to send off for a detailed analysis.
Contact your local county agricultural
extension agency for the costs
and contact information. |
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| April Pointers |
A few pointers for April:
- If you haven't yet fertilized
your turf, please do show
it some love. It's time,
and proper nutrition grows
a thicker turf, less prone
to weeds and disease. Mow
short and regularly for the
best performance from your
turf.
- April is the best
month to find the unusual
and different in
plant material. Don't let
it pass you by without finding
a new favorite plant or two.
Try something new!
- April is absolutely an
outstanding month to plant
roses. We have more
than 4,000 roses on the property
right this second to choose
from with an enormous selection
of colors and growing types.
- Spend a bit of time evaluating your
plants this Spring. Are all
of your plants performing
to your expectations, or
serve a purpose in your landscape
design? If you have a plant
or two around the house that's
just never looked right,
or was damaged in the
drought and never fully recovered,
it probably is time to do
some "spring cleaning" around
your landscape. Don't be
afraid to remove a poorly-performing
plant from your landscape.
We feel it important to emphasize
this point a bit. Gardeners
plant trees and shrubs with
the intention of having a beautiful
plant for years to come. None
of us want to have to remove
a living plant that is in very
poor shape, because there's
always the wish to "fix" the
plant, to heal it, to make
it better. This is not
always practical, or even possible.
There's even times when removing
a perfectly healthy plant,
which serves no purpose in
your landscape or affects the
health of other plants you
wish to do well, is sometimes
necessary - for example, a
large shrub misplanted in an
area where it is shading other
desirable plants that need
sun to live.
Do not be afraid to remove
this kind of plant. Replace
it with a healthy, properly
selected plant, or remove
it outright. Just think of
it as a spring "housecleaning",
the hard scrub-to-the-walls
type of cleaning that makes
your whole landscape look better.
Do this yearly to keep your
landscape looking sharp.
- The last thing we'll recommend
this week - if you haven't
done this yet this year,
go outside the house one
day and set your sprinkler
systems on, one
zone at a time. Look and
see to make sure that all
your sprinklers are operating
properly, are pointed correctly
to get even coverage of your
turf and landscape, and are
unclogged, then set a saucer
out in that area to measure
how long it takes your sprinkler
heads to fill the saucer
with about half an inch of
water. That's how long that
particular station should
be set for per watering,
but is rarely under twelve
to fifteen minutes per station.
Two, to at most three such
waterings per week are generally
plenty to keep established
plants in good health.
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| March Frequently Asked Questions |
We thought we'd put a short
list this week of some of the
most commonly asked questions
and solutions we're being asked
this month at the nursery.
Chances are, one of more of
these solutions will answer
a question you may have
about your own yard!
- What is that purple-blooming
weed all over my yard? The
weed in question is called
henbit, and it is a real
problem this year, with
yards still vulnerable
from the previous few years'
stresses. This weed is
easily controlled with
our ferti-lome Weed-Out broadleafed
herbicide. For all of our
customers, particularly
our organic customers who
really don't want to use
conventional herbicides,
we also are recommending
core aeration be done on
your turfgrass right now,
especially if it hasn't
been done in a few years.
Less compacted soil grows less
henbit because it's growing
thicker grass. Properly
timed pre-emergent herbicides
(Dimension or corn gluten
meal) will halt henbit
seeds before they sprout,
but do nothing to already-growing
henbit.
- Is it time to fertilize,
and do I need to? Yes,
it is, and absolutely!
We start feeding turfgrass
around the first day of
Spring, generally, and
have been feeding shrubs,
flowers, and trees
all the past month. We
have far from an ideal
soil in North Texas, and
you should feed your soil (and
thus, your plants) several
times a year. If you haven't
already been doing this,
you'll see a dramatic difference.
The fertilizers you use
do matter - ask us about
what to use for your particular
plants for the best success.
- Am I too late to
apply pre-emergents? No,
you are not. You have missed
many weeds already that
an earlier February application
would have prevented, but
you can stop a lot of weeds
which have either not yet
emerged, or weeds already
sprouted which will go
to seed and come up yet
again this spring. DO apply
your pre-emergents in mid
to late February next year
for best effect, but stopping
half of your weeds from
sprouting is still better
than stopping none. Don't
forget to put September
on your calendar for
the next application!
- Will we get another
freeze, and should I wait
to plant? Our
average last freeze in the
Metroplex is March 17th.
It is not very likely we'll
get another freeze ahead,
but it is possible. The
earlier your flowers
and vegetables are
in without freezing, the
better they'll do in the
heat of our summer.
The traditional date for
vegetable gardeners to
wait until in this area is
Easter weekend.
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| February
Gardening Advice, Part IV |
"What Should
I Do With My Organic Yard
This Month?"
There's much to do in the organic
yard this month! Here's some
of the highlights.
- Pre-emergent weed
control - apply
corn gluten meal at the rate
of 40# per 2,000-2,500 square
feet to both prevent many
weed seeds from growing up
to full-blown weeds, but
also to apply nitrogen in
an organic-friendly
form to your turf's soil.
(Corn gluten meal is a 9-0-0
fertilizer.)
- Molasses -
it's time to apply molasses
throughout the yard as well.
Established organic yards
don't need this as often
as a yard in transition to
organic maintenance, but
it's still good at least
once a year in any yard.
Molasses activates your soil's
beneficial micro-organisms
and is also helpful with
reducing fire ant infestations.
- Prepare your soil! Organic
and conventional gardeners use
the same sensible practices
when it comes to basic soil
preparation - 2" of
compost, 2-3" of expanded
shale, and roto-till to evenly
blend with the heavy clay
soils most of us have. It's
right for everyone. Top dress
with another couple of inches
of your favorite mulch when
you're done to prevent weed
growth and to hold moisture
and moderate soil temperatures.
- Reuse and recycle! Many
gardeners have a huge
pile of used flats, nursery
containers, and planting cups
from the last year's plantings.
Clear that mess out of the
corner of your garage or shed.
We accept used trays and
nursery containers of 1-gallon
size or larger here at the
nursery, and check with your
local city's recycling program
about recycling your other
items properly. When purchasing
new plants, don't clutter
up our landfills with perfectly
reusable or recyclable plastic
by throwing the empty containers
in your trash.
A few words about maintaining
the healthiest organic
yard possible.
When
thinking about plant problems
and challenges in the yard,
just remember: every problem
in the yard has a reason.
Healthy plants planted in
the correct sun and soil
conditions rarely have
problems, and constant problems
or challenges to a plant's
health in your yard, from
the turf to your tallest
tree, generally means there's
an underlying issue that
needs to be corrected. If
you have a plant that needs
spraying with something anytime
you look at it, that plant
isn't in the right place,
or has some other contributing
factor. If your turf
won't fill in, or always
has weeds, you may have more
shade than you think, or
soil compaction issues. There's always a
reason. It just isn't always
apparent. Look where your
sun is, your sources of water,
and what kind of soils and
plants you have in the area.
More often than not, you'll
find your answer.
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| February
Gardening Advice, Part III |
February's
a fine month to concentrate
on your containers! From enormous
to modest, a beautiful pot
or planter packed full of early
color or edible delights can
really spruce up a space whose
permanent plantings aren't
looking their best right now
due to the winter.
Here's a few ideas for your containers, from initial
selection to designing your plantings.
- Container Selection - Have
a good idea, ahead of time, what you wanted
to plant in the containers. This is important
for several reasons! Sensitive plants will
need a container small enough to move in
for freezing weather, and it's helpful to
know the colors of flowers you want to plant
so you can select pottery whose colors complement
both the flowers and your home's coloration.
- "Thrillers,
Fillers, and Spillers" -
Color containers should have
a focal area ("thriller"),
generally a taller, high-color
or interest item, and this is
normally either in the center
or along the back edge of the
pot, depending on the area the
pot will be viewed from. "Filler" items
do exactly that - fill the pot
- with colors and textures that
complement the "thriller". "Spillers" refer
to your trailing items, which
are just about the best reason
ever to garden in containers,
because most trailing color
looks great draped down the
sides of your pot. A good
color container has all three
elements!
- I planted it - and it's about to freeze, so
now what? For
larger planters that you'd
like to plant with tender
items, plant dollies are
helpful. These small roller-equipped
platforms are an amazing
help to move larger pots
on hard surfaces. For really
enormous planters, a furniture dolly (a large,
flat, rectangular four-wheeled framed dolly movers use)
takes a rough moving task
and makes it easy. For folks
with physical difficulties,
just leave your heaviest
item on that dolly all winter,
and chock the wheels so it
cannot move on a really windy
day. Everyone should be able
to enjoy gardening in containers!
- All About The Vegetables -
Container gardening is great
for folks with limited yard
space to still have the flavor
and savor of fresh vegetables
and herbs. Ask your nursery
professional to help with
choosing types of vegetables
appropriate for container
growing (as some are just
too big!), but most types
of herbs grow great in containers.
This is a food-producing
container but they don't
have to be green and boring
- plant a few flowers even
in your vegetable containers
to spruce up their look for
a planting that's both delicious
and beautiful.
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| February
Gardening Advice, Part II |
Continuing our article from
last week, we're shifting our
focus from design to maintenance
in the yard. Here's a few things
to put on your "to-do" list
for this week to gear up for
the spring season!
Things Every Gardener
Should Be Doing In February!
(In no particular order, they're
all important.)
- Pre-emergent herbicides
should be applied this month.
- Pruning! If
you need to shape or do remedial
pruning on evergreen shrubs,
this is the time. Prune out
any dead wood on your shrubs
or trees, and thin out trees
which need it now while you
can see the branch structure
well.
- Pruning, part two! Most
roses should be pruned back
halfway at this time from
last year's growth. Wait
until after the heavy bloom
in the Spring to prune climbers
which may need training or
shaping. The rest of your
roses are fair game!
- Pruning, part three! Take
the tallest third of
the canes of your nandinas
off cleanly at the ground.
This will keep the plants
full and bushy, and they'll
regrow fresh stems to stay
nice looking.
- Pruning, part four! (The
last we'll mention, we promise)
Ground covers can be cleaned
up at this time of year,
and Asian jasmine can be
mowed if necessary to keep
the ground covers full, clean
looking, and leafy.
- Tool maintenance. Many
people use tools of various
types in their professions
every single day and maintain
them with diligence - after
all, you make your living
with them. How many folks
can go in their tool shed
and find shovels covered
with soil from last year
(and rusting because of it),
dull pruners and saws, or
dull lawn mower blades? Well
maintained tools not only
make the job easier, they
do a simply better job -
sharp tools make cleaner
pruning cuts, for instance.
This leads into the next
point.
Select
the proper tools for
the job. Go through your hand tools! A
few basic hand tools every
gardener needs:
- Bypass Pruners (hand
sized) - one pair, either
sharpenable or with a replaceable
blade. (Don't use an anvil
pruner. Why do they make
those things? They cut as
well as a lead fishing weight.)
- Loppers -
longer handled, aluminum
or fiberglass handles
are best for reducing effort
while remaining durable.
- Hedge Shears -
powered or unpowered, as
long as they're sharp and
the blades cut closely.
- Trowel or Transplanter -
one-piece solid aluminum
is the best.
- Long-Handled Round
Point Shovel -
(LHRP shovel) - this is
the mainstay, your basic
landscaping shovel. Pick
a shovel strong enough
to put up with whatever
force you physically can
bring to bear on it without
being too heavy.
- Pruning Saw -
some cuts are just too big
to get with a lopper. Folding
or fixed, your choice, we're
not fussy. As long as it
is sharp!
- Gloves -
everyone has their favorite,
but latex or nitrile dipped
cloth gives good hand protection
with good flexibility. Heavier
leather gloves for working
with thorny plants. A pair
of each isn't a bad idea.
- Rakes -
one leaf rake, one garden
rake. They're not the same.
A leaf rake is a lightweight,
wide mouthed rake great for
cleaning up large areas at
a time of light material,
while a garden rake is a
heavier item, appropriate
for cleaning up cut branches,
twigs, spreading mulch, etc.
One of each.
- A tape measure! Surprised?
Accurate measurements will
let you plan for the right
amount of materials ahead
of time, instead of running
back up to the store constantly.
If you don't know how much
material you need for a bed,
accurate measurements will
let your nursery professional
know how much to recommend
to you.
If
you don't know which brand
or model of tool to purchase,
look at what the folks who
do this for a living use. These
hand tools are often two to
three times the cost of the
least expensive model available,
but are sturdier, cut cleaner,
and are less physically tiring
to use for longer jobs. Cheap
tools are rarely the quality
tools which make work easier.
Nursery professionals, landscapers,
arborists - look at what these
people use, and think about
it.
Be prepared for a beautiful
Spring! |
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| Prepare
for your February Gardening! |
It's time to start thinking
soil preparation again. We
recommend all new flowerbeds or garden
spaces have a 2" depth
of our cotton burr compost
and a 2" depth of expanded
shale worked into the soil
to loosen the heavy North Texas
clay and to add valuable organic
material to the new bed. Top
dress the prepared soil with
another 2" layer of your
favorite mulch.
We use a lot of hardwood mulch
at Covington's, but cypress
and cedar mulches are also
good mulches with good reasons
to use them. We generally don't
recommend pine bark much, because
pine bark floats and in our
spring showers, this is not
a good thing.
Some design recommendations
from Covington's for your new
flowerbeds for this spring!
The following are a few of
the basic elements we use to
help design your spaces in
the landscape.
- Grouping -
One of any smaller shrub
or a handful of small bedding
plants don't show up well
from a distance. Group these
items up! A mass of smaller
items with the same texture
or color makes a stronger
impact in your landscape
than the same number of plants
scattered all the way along
an area.
- Repetition -
Tie beds a distance apart
together by using a recurring
theme - groupings of the
same sorts of plants, similar bed
shapes, etc. A square bed
of nothing but boxwoods doesn't
look like it belongs in the
same landscape as a round
bed entirely made of spirea.
Groups of low, mounded spirea
in beds of that boxwood in
both beds would be more appropriate,
with beds of similar shapes.
In multiple beds containing
many different plants, in
this example, groupings of
that low-growing spirea in
all the beds would tie in
beds even if they shared
no other item. If your plants
can't be the same sort (one
bed's sunny and one is shady,
for example), repeat colors.
- Edge Definition -
Make well-defined borders
to your flowerbeds. A sharp
edge, whether using metal
edging, stone, or even plastic
or wood edgings makes the
bed stand out sharply from
the surrounding lawn. Keep
those borders free of grass
trying to sneak into your
flowerbeds from the turf.
A clean edge makes the turf
to one side and the bed on
the other look cleaner as
well, or keeps a bed bordered
by a sidewalk well-separated
from your walking spaces.
This may seem a minor thing
but let us assure you
- it is not. This edge does
not have to be straight!
- Dominance -
Use an individual specimen
or specimens, something larger,
to make a statement in an
area. One large
crape myrtle on a large blank
space, one specimen
holly on that corner, a pair of
topiaries flanking a walk,
etc. Larger single
items do show up well where
smaller individual plants
get "lost". Use
this sort of item to put
attention on a focus area.
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| Planting
Articles |
Covington's
Recipe for New Beds
- First, remove the grass
(if any exists) from the
new bed area with a sod cutter
or with a spray of 20% vinegar
or Hi-Yield Kill-Zall.
- Roto-till the area thoroughly.
- Add no less than a 2" layer
of expanded shale and a 2" layer
of our Back to Earth cotton
burr compost! The shale improves
drainage more or less permanently
(as it is stone, it doesn't
decompose!), and the porous
nature of the shale holds
moisture in drought conditions,
as well as air when the soil
would otherwise be waterlogged!
The compost provides further
initial drainage and feeds
the soil.
- Roto-till it again! Think
of this step like blending
a cake batter, working the
shale and compost throughout
the existing broken clay.
- Top dress with another
2" layer of your favorite
mulch! Hardwood
mulch, cedar mulch, and cypress
mulch are all good choices
for top dress. A thick layer
of mulch cuts dramatically
down on weed problems and
keeps your soil cooler during
the summer.
This bed preparation will
make it much easier
to succeed with your new plantings,
across the board.
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| Helpful
Articles |
Water
Conservation in North Texas
- Mulch
Everything -
This is the #1 priority:
when drought conditions
threaten, it's time to
mulch. Put a generous
two-to-three inch layer
on top of your flowerbeds,
around your trees, and
in your gardens. A good
thick layer of mulch
is the first
line of defense.
Prepare
New Beds Properly -
Expanded Shale and Compost,
a two inch layer of
each tilled into your
soils of new plantings,
adds proper drainage
and also holds enough
moisture around your
plants' roots to help
prevent undue summer
stress.
- Water
Correctly -
Water applied through
your sprinkler system
should be applied heavily,
but less often; follow
your home city's rules
for sprinkler usage.
Water in the early
morning to avoid
unnecessary evaporation,
and when you do water,
soak your plants hard. This
heavier, less frequent
watering encourages a
strong, deep root system
that is less prone to
drought stress.
- Do
Not Over Fertilize Turf -
Heavily fertilized lawns
need heavier watering.
In drought conditions
- with water restrictions
active - go easy on
the feedings. The turf
won't be a lush, brilliant
green, but it won't
burn up either.
Expanded Shale and Why You
Should Use It
Expanded Shale for our heavy
clay soil does the following:
- Shale
Opens Clay Soils - Using
a good two-to-three inch
layer of Expanded
Shale, tilled
in to the soil, opens
clay soils and keeps
them open for years.
One tilled-in application
of this shale will last
for at least 10 years
or more. This provides
a soil condition most
of us here in North Texas
never see - soil
soft enough
to easily dig without
"stomping" on your
shovel.
- Shale
Adds Air to Your Soil -
Even when your soil would
otherwise be waterlogged,
through rain or simple
over-watering, Expanded
Shale will still maintain
thousands of tiny pockets
of air, helpful for the root
system of your
plants.
- Shale
Holds Water in Drought
Conditions -
Shale also has thousands
more larger pockets within
a typical pebble, large
enough for water to come
in and make itself home.
Expanded Shale will hold
up to 38% of
its' weight in water,
but won't let it go until
the soil around it is
dry and in need of the
moisture.
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Planting Advice
Helpful Articles
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| Water
Conservation Products |
Soil
Moist has been developed
to reduce the amount of water
needed to maintain vigorous
plants and other green goods.
When mixed in the soil, the
crystals will soften and swell
as water is added and absorbed.

Enviro
RainDrops is a formulation
that reduces the surface tension
of water and increases the
retention of moisture in the
soil. It changes the structure
of water molecules to reduce
their natural tendency to bead,
allowing water to flow deeper
into the soil - up to 35% in
soils that do not typically
repel water.
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