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Home & Habitat Garden Advice |
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- Plan garden renovations
and install during cooler months for
a beautiful yard in spring.
- Plant spring-flowering
perennials now for better blooms next
year.
- Purchase nursery
stock in the fall; it’s larger
and a better value now.
- Plant shrubs and
trees in cool months to get roots settled
in before summer's heat.
- Monitor irrigation
settings as weather cools; reduce length
of irrigation time and/or the number
of days to prevent fungus problems and
sad, soggy shrubs and grass.
- Water your lawn
only when you see your footsteps.
- Check irrigation
for new trees and large shrubs; water
well at slow rate with hose for 1 hour
once or twice a week
- Schedule seasonal
plantings around easy-to-remember dates:
* Late September: Allysum, dianthus,
lobelia, petunias
* Halloween: Pansies, snapdragons, violas,
and small bulbs
* Thanksgiving: Daffodil, narcissus,
leucojum and rain lily bulbs
* December 1: Cyclamen
* New Year’s Day: Pre-chilled
tulip bulbs
- Rake compost over
your lawn and water in well for healthy
grass.
- Eliminate overgrown
or unhealthy plants—it’s
okay to give up on problematic plants!
- Choose hardy plants
to survive the alternating deluge and
drought of Houston summers.
- Color your garden
with hardy flowering shrubs that take
turns blooming throughout the year.
- Divide agapanthus
and daylilies now, cut back by 1/2 ~
replant new drifts for spring color.
- Prune fall blooming
shrubs after they bloom to reshape and
promote fuller growth.
Spread your neighborhood pine needles
in beds and compost your autumn leaves.
- Nourish heat-stricken
plants with compost and water well.
- Prune stray shoots
from spring-blooming shrubs to let flower
buds form.
- Replace weak azaleas
with spring blooming native Viburnum
and Sweetspire.
- Improve drainage
with soil elevations and shallow swales
- Reduce mosquito
populations by eliminating clogged gutters,
low spots in the yard, and unnecessary
pot saucers
- Protect against
pests such as spider mites on rosemary
or lace bugs on azaleas with natural
Neem Oil spray
- Fertilize roses
with cottonseed/alfafa meal and water
in with a seaweed solution
If all this sounds like too much
trouble—ask us about a customized Home &
Habitat Landscape Maintenance Service contract! |
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