How to keep your plants thriving

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — With warmer spring weather settling in, gardeners across West Texas are rushing to get flowers, vegetables, and lawns started. April is a critical month because it gives plants time to establish now that freezing weather is over and before the extreme summer heat hits.

“Allison Schwarz, the county extension agent for horticulture in Tom Green County, said summer is the toughest season for our plants when it gets really hot and dry, so we want to get as much healthy, vigorous growth in the springtime,” said Schwarz.

Spring is a great time to plant annuals in pots or flower beds to brighten your yard, she added. “It’s also a good time to plant perennials. Perennials are plants that are more permanent. They have a persistent root system, and even though they die to the ground in the winter, they’ll come back every year. So things like lantana and salvias… also vegetables. If you want to grow some food, it’s a great time to plant some warm season vegetables.”

Lawn care is also important in April. Aerating the lawn can improve growth by giving roots the oxygen they need, especially in heavy clay soil. “Aeration is something that you can do yourself. You can rent an aerator machine, or you can hire a landscaper… Aerating the lawn isn’t something that you necessarily need to do every single year, but if you’ve never done it and you have an existing lawn, you might try it out and see if it doesn’t help your lawn get a little bit greener and denser and healthier, and that’s good in April,” Schwarz said.

Watering techniques are crucial for maintaining healthy plants and lawns. Schwarz said the best time to water is in the early morning. “There’s a really common myth that watering when it’s hot and sunny is damaging to the plants, like it will burn them. And that’s a myth. I have found some scientific resources online, some scientists at universities who have dispelled that myth. Watering when it’s really hot doesn’t burn the plants, but it can be wasteful for water just because there’s a lot more evaporation. So watering in the morning or evening eliminates that waste of water from evaporation,” she said.

She also advised watering new plants frequently at first, then gradually spacing out watering while allowing deeper absorption. “Anytime you plant anything brand new, I would say to hand water it in with a nice, strong stream of water from the water hose. Always hand water in right after you plant. And then I would hand water for the first couple weeks, just to make sure that it’s getting settled in well and getting watered. Then after that, I recommend using drip irrigation for vegetable gardens or flower beds,” she said.

Schwarz said the biggest mistake new gardeners make is poor plant selection. “Just find things that aren’t well suited to the area… The very first step is good plant selection. So be more picky. Native plants are great. Well adaptive plants, and then watering them up by hand using lots of mulch,” she said.

For anyone with questions about plant selection or care, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office in Tom Green County is available to provide guidance. “You can call me. I’m Allison Schwarz in the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office, on the horticulturist, and happy to help with plant questions at any time,” she said.

For those looking for plants adapted to West Texas, the Concho Valley Master Gardeners will host their annual plant sale on Saturday, April 11, at the Tom Green County 4-H Center at 8 a.m. Schwarz said it’s a great opportunity for gardeners to find plants that thrive locally.

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