Spring Gardening by Dr. Robert E. Moon

The weather has started to change from winter to the promise of spring.  I saw my first Mayfly the other day and we have already experienced some temperatures in the high 80’s.  So it is not too early to begin preparing your yard for spring and summer.

Now is a good time to trim all the freeze damage off all of your shrub and vines.  This will allow the plants to grow back without any dead or discolored branches or leaves.  At the same time, if you have ornamental grasses in your yard, cut them back to a height of 6 inches. 

Fertilize all of your beds to encourage vigorous new growth. 

With the recent rains, keep your automatic irrigation system turned “off”.  No extra water is needed at this time.

  • Pull all weeds from beds and tree rings.  Add double ground, dyed-brown, hardwood mulch to freshen appearance.  By maintaining 2 inches of mulch, you will be providing great growing conditions for your plants, reduce water use and make it easier to remove those pesky weeds.  Remember, no red mulch.  Brown will provide a more natural appearance.

  • Since I do not know anyone that likes to pull weeds, before March 15, apply a pre-emergent weed control to your planting beds and turf.  This pre-emergent will help control all spring and early summer weeds.  Apply Preen to planting beds and Halts to your turf.  Follow all label directions when applying.  You will find that this treatment will help you avoid pulling all those weeds.

  • If you have planting containers in your landscape, cultivate the soil in the pots and add new soil so you can plant those flowering treasures to add color and beauty to your yard.

Take advantage of these early, beautiful spring days and get outside and enjoy your yard!

HomePro 101 Power Point

In case you were unable to make it to the HomePro 101 breakfast, click HERE to review the presentation.  This has great information for our residents in all stages of the building process and if you just moved in.  Clare offers a wide variety of ways to control your smart home.  Feel free to reach out to Adam Murty with HomePro at 713.446.1273 with any additional questions.

Gardening by the Moon: Plants vs. Extended Freezing Temperatures

The recent extended, extreme cold weather has been very hard on many of your plant materials.  The damages are severe because of the temperature fluctuation from warmer temperatures to extended freezing temperatures with no opportunity for plants to acclimate to the colder temperature.  Once this happens, tender foliage and stems die.   Plants turn brown, drop leaves, and often look like wet tissue paper due to cells in the plant bursting when the moisture in the plant cells turns to ice.

 

Do not panic because most of your perennial plants and shrubs are still alive.   They will need to be cut back but you do not have to rush to do this.  They will need to be cut back by the end of February to the middle of March to remove dead and damaged leaves and branches.  If you have already cut back these plants, that is okay.  I normally wait and give some time to be able to identify all the damage to the plant.  Many times you will see splitting on the stems and that is also freeze damage.  That will need to be removed in spring, if you see this damage.  If you are unsure about what to remove, wait until spring greenup and cut back to new green growth.

 

I have had questions about covering plant material during periods of extreme cold weather.  Covering only helps for a short period of freezing temperatures (four hours or less).  When temperatures are in the 20’s or below for an extended period of time and especially with high winds, covering does not help.  If you see that a period of freezing weather is expected, you should make sure plants are watered before the event.  But in the case of the recent cold weather, there was adequate soil moisture due to recent rains.

 

To encourage new plant growth, fertilize all plant material – trees, shrubs and ground cover – in February.  Unfortunately, living in Texas, we can always expect extreme temperature changes in the winter.  This year was just unusually cold and for an extended period of time with wind and no time to acclimate.

GARDENING BY THE MOON: Mulching Time is Here

There is a time and place for everything and if you have not cleaned up your planting beds from summer, now is a good time. 

First, if you have not switched your irrigation system to off, do so now.  There has been plenty of natural rainfall to keep your plants thriving.  Only leave your irrigation system on if you have recently planted new plants and only provide water to those new plantings.

Now for the mulching part.  Start by removing any weeds and unsightly plants from your beds and tree rings.  Once debris is cleaned, it is time to mulch to improve appearance of beds and tree rings during the winter months.    If you are asking why you need to mulch now, here are the best reasons!

  1. Mulch will help you conserve moisture in the soil to reduce watering.  It also evens out the moisture in your beds and helps save money all other times of the year.  It reduces surface evaporation and improves water penetration and air movement in the soil.

  2. You will really like this reason.  It discourages weed growth and makes weeds easier to remove.

  3. Mulch will provide winter protection for your plants by insulating the roots during periods of cold weather.  It also protects roots from extremely hot weather and prevents quick temperature changes to the roots moderating soil temperature fluctuations.  For plants that are shallowly planted, it protects roots from freeze damage and frost-heave.

  4. By mulching, you are improving the holding capacity of soil nutrients and as mulch decomposes, it improves soil structure.

  5. New, fresh mulch makes beds and tree rings look decorative.

  6. You can save valuable time and back pain by reducing bed care.

After cleaning beds, add 2 to 3 inches of bark mulch that is double or triple ground hard wood.  The HOA guidelines require brown mulch so stay away from the colored mulches.

Find your next pretty day and add another thing to do in an already busy season.  Mulch away!

We are Thankful

We have so many wonderful things to be thankful including our amazing community!  Check out what our residents are thankful for:

 

*Photos taken at our Fall festival held November 12, 2016.

Fall Planting

Looking to plant this fall?  Wondering which plants would be best?  Dr. Moon, Pomona's horticulturist recommends the following: Amazon dianthus, dianthus, snapdragons, pansies, violas, cabbage and kale.  All these plants can go through the winter.

In addition, if you need assistance from Dr. Moon on your front yard, please send an email to Lori Evans to get information from Dr. Moon on his monthly visit to Pomona.  Happy planting!

Trunk or Treat Tips and Ideas!

Halloween is around the corner and as you think about how you want to decorate your car for our Trunk or Treat event consider these suggestions: 

  1. Start with a Theme – Your theme will establish everything else you do. Start by choosing a theme and then add your ideas to it!
  2. Coordinate Your Costume – More than just decorating your car, consider matching your costume to the theme, too! If you have a Flintstone’s trunk – you could dress the whole family up as members of the Flintstone family! 
  3. Add an Activity – Many trunk decorators have added ways for the kids to earn their candy through some sort of activity. For some trunks, the kids must search through a treasure chest of gold at their pirate-themed car, or maybe they have to throw their fishing pole into the “sea” trunk to retrieve their prize. Kids LOVE this sort of thing!
  4. Get Creative With the Candy – Depending on your theme, consider giving away candy or prizes that match the theme. For example, the Cookie Monster-themed trunk could definitely give out some cookies! 
  5. Make it Personal – Think of your own favorite animals, children’s stories, movies, hobbies and more that YOU are interested!
  6. Finally, make sure decorations are family friendly and most importantly HAVE FUN!