SAN ANTONIO/AUSTIN — While the drought may seem as if it will go on forever, lower temperatures and rain will eventually return, and South Central Texas residents can apply lessons learned to the recovery and re-establishment of their landscape, said Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticulturists.
“As conditions improve for replacing or planting bushes, turf grass, ornamental plants and other landscaping, there is a real opportunity for people to rethink things and possibly choose materials that are more drought-tolerant and require less maintenance,” said David Rodriguez, AgriLife Extension agent for horticulture, Bexar County. “It’s also a good time to be thinking about how, what and how much you’re going to plant in case you’re considering a vegetable, herb and flower garden.”
Rodriguez said landscaping decisions should follow the four P’s of success: planning, preparation, purchase and planting.
“Planning means picking the right location and knowing the dimensions and scale of what you’d like to do,” he said. “Preparing means getting the soil ready by composting and mulching, as well as assessing the soil type and depth, and amount of sun available for the material you’ll plant. Be sure to purchase the right material for the location by using the informational resources available to you. Plant only healthy, good-quality plants and make sure the holes dug for them are the right depth and diameter.”
Rodriguez said AgriLife Extension has many free horticultural informational resources available through the Texas AgriLife Extension Bookstore, http://agrilifebookstore.org and in the Lawn and Garden section of the Aggie Horticulture website, http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu. He added that individuals can also call the Master Gardener hotline, a service available in most AgriLife Extension offices in metropolitan areas, for additional information and advice.
“There are also many excellent landscaping professionals who you can work with and who can advise you about the right materials to use for your landscape,” he said.
When cooler and wetter weather arrives this fall, this also will be an excellent time to “revitalize or rejuvenate your lawn, trees, shrubs and flowers so they may store up energy and be ready for next spring,” Rodriguez said.
“In particular, people should be considering increasing the use of drip irrigation, which is a more efficient and effective means of delivering water to the landscape,” he said. “Take this opportunity to fertilize and apply compost and mulch, and think about replacing dead or dying shrubs and ornamentals with attractive native or adaptive species that do well in heat and with less moisture.
“Just as any other time of year, lawns need to be watered through the fall and winter if there’s no rain,” said Daphne Richards, AgriLife Extension agent for horticulture in Travis County. “Don’t wait until the grass comes out of dormancy to water.”
She added that mid-September to early October is also a good time to aerate the lawn and fertilize.
“Around this time of year is the most beneficial time to fertilize and prepare your soil for the spring,” Richards said. “And now would also be a good time to aerate your lawn in anticipation of the fall and winter rain to prepare it for receiving and absorbing moisture so it can have a jump-start in the spring.”
Rodriguez and Richards both recommended the use of native or adaptive materials to replace less drought-tolerant plants, and Rodriguez added that “wildscaping,” such as making a butterfly garden using plant materials known to attract them, might also be of interest.
They said shrubs and bushes such as yaupon holly, vitex, beautyberry, Texas mountain laurel, Turk’s cap, crape myrtle, Earth-Kind roses and ornamentals such as esperanza (yellow bells), plumbago, fire bush, bougainvillea, Pride of Barbados and Moy Grande hibiscus, are among the attractive, drought- and heat-tolerant materials suitable for the region.
“Looking for materials with the Texas Superstar designation will make it easier to find plants that meet both aesthetic and hardiness criteria,” Rodriguez said.
Fall is also a time for planting vegetable, herb or flower gardens, they said.
“Now is a good time to be thinking about what and where you want to plant,” Rodriguez said. “And if you’re planting a vegetable garden, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, beets, cauliflower and radishes are among the winter veggies you should be considering.”
Richards recommended adding compost to garden soil and mixing them together, along with making sure the soil is watered prior to planting, as this will help with water retention throughout the fall and winter.
As far as trees are concerned, those that have fared best during drought are mid-maturity trees with well-established but not widespread root systems like those in older trees,” Rodriguez said. “If a tree has a large cavity, has been severely damaged or has lived out a normal life span, it may be difficult to justify the expense and labor necessary to save it.”
Richards added that people often forget to water trees and shrubs during the fall and winter months.
“Even if you’ve given up on watering your lawn during fall and winter, remember to water your trees and to prune off any dead growth to help them survive,” she said.
Dr. David Chalmers, AgriLife Extension state turf grass specialist in College Station, suggests early fall is also a good time to try and assess whether or not lawns may survive the winter and recover in the spring.
“Lawns have what we call growing points or crowns near the surface. While non-irrigated lawns may have browned off, regrowth is possible from those growing points,” he said. “Those who have chosen not to irrigate through the drought and allow their lawns to go into the winter dry and brown, seriously reduce the chance of their lawn rebounding in the spring.”
Chalmers said the typical South Central Texas turf grasses – St. Augustine, zoysia, Bermuda grass and buffalo grass — are resilient and his own studies show they are capable of surviving 60-day drought conditions.
“Lawn sites are quite variable, and over longer drought periods and without adequate soil quality, irrigation and fertilization, some grass will not endure,” he said. “But consistent mid-September through October irrigation accompanied by a fertilizer application can encourage new growth in dormant turf grass. This will take a few weeks to notice and you’ll need to differentiate between grass and weed growth. If there’s no sign of recovery, you’ll have to decide if you want to try and re-sod before winter or wait until the spring to re-establish your lawn.”
Chalmers said the AgriLife Extension publications “Keep Your Lawn Alive During Drought,” publication B-6126; “Turf Grass Selection for Texas,” publication L-5519; and “Lawn Fertilization for Warm-Season Grasses,” publication number E-437, provide more information and advice on grass selection and care.
These and other materials on turf grass, trees, vegetables, herbs, flowering plants and other ornamentals can be found at the AgriLife Bookstore website. AgriLife Extension also has a new website called Water Education in Texas, located at http://agrilife.org/drought/, which includes information on optimizing lawn and garden water use.
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