A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 78F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 78F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Baldcypress needles will turn brown and fall off during a drought.
Baldcypress needles will turn brown and fall off during a drought.
Q: My young baldcypress are turning brown. Are they dying?
A: No, but you need to soak them with water (at least a one-inch application, two hours with a sprinkler, or a dripping hose all night long) once a month if well established (or once a week if newly planted) to keep them alive during this drought. Baldcypress can lose all their needles in a drought and still be alive. Put a three-inch layer of organic mulch (hay, pine straw or grass clippings) around them to help them as well.
Q: My young holly tree is turning olive green, its leaves are curling and dropping, and its berries are shriveling and falling. Will it live?
A: That depends on how fast you can get water to it as it sounds like drought stress which makes sense since we are in the middle of extreme heat and a serious drought. Hook up a sprinkler and soak the area around it for about 2 hours and as long as the soil is well-drained, do so once a week until fall or rainfall arrives. Also put a three-inch layer of organic mulch around it to keep the moisture in and the weeds out.
Q: My oak trees still look very bad after the 2021 freeze. Will they ever recover?
A: Probably not. Live oak, post oaks, Southern red oaks, and water oaks took it on the chin during the 2021 historic freeze. If they have not recovered by now, they aren’t going to without a multitude of falling limbs and unsightliness. If they are in a pasture or safe area, leave them for the primary (woodpeckers) and secondary cavity dwellers (bluebirds, titmice, chickadees, bats, flying squirrels, etc.). If they are near your home or other structures have a certified arborist evaluate and remove them. You can look one up on the International Society of Arboriculture-Texas Chapter website at isatexas.com.
Q: It’s so hot and dry! Should I be watering my lawn and garden every day?
A: No. Everyday watering is wasteful and leads to increased chances of fungal and bacterial diseases including brown patch, leaf spot, root rot, and periwinkle blight. During June, July and August only, established lawns, annual flower beds, and vegetable gardens need one inch of water (in a single application) per week (minus rainfall); perennials, azaleas, and Japanese maples need one inch every two weeks; and shade trees, Asian jasmine, liriope, roses, and most other shrubs need irrigation once a month. Deep and thorough irrigation is the key to deep roots, increased drought tolerance, and decreased disease. Frequent shallow watering should be avoided. Try not to water periwinkles (vinca) at all or you will have to deal with dreaded aerial phytopthora (periwinkle blight) which is very difficult to control.
Q: My vegetable garden looks terrible. What did I do wrong? Should I give up?
A: Certainly not. Not only should all cool season vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and other greens be dying naturally now, even warm season crops like eggplant, sweet peppers, and tomatoes often die or succumb to insects and disease during our summer heat. As long as you have irrigation and remove any infested existing plants, July is the time to start with new eggplant, pepper, and tomato transplants along with seeding new cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash.
Q: My post oak just turned completely brown. What’s wrong with it? I need it as it shades all my azaleas. My sprinkler runs three times a week so surely it can’t be dry.
A: It’s not dry, it’s dead. When plants die from drought, they generally die slowly. When they die from root or crown rot, they die very quickly. Post oaks are upland, dry loving trees and three times a week irrigation will kill them. Barring historic droughts, they generally don’t require any irrigation at all. Azaleas on the other hand require irrigation once every two weeks during June, July, and August. Best to replace it with a native bottomland tree that tolerates more moisture such as a Shumard red oak or red maple.
— Greg Grant is the Smith County horticulturist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. He is author of Texas Fruit and Vegetable Gardening, Heirloom Gardening in the South, and The Rose Rustlers. You can read his “Greg’s Ramblings” blog at arborgate.com, read his “In Greg’s Garden” in each issue of Texas Gardener magazine (texasgardener.com), or follow him on Facebook at “Greg Grant Gardens.” More science-based lawn and gardening information from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service can be found at aggieturf.tamu.edu and aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
“I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.”