Turf grasses in the gulf coast region consist of St. Augustine (and varieties), Bermuda, Zoysia and a few native ones that are not commonly used as lawns. For the most part, these grasses will go into a winter dormancy and will brown out and discontinue the growth cycle or continue to grow at a greatly reduced rate. As winter approaches, it is good to cut the grass at a lower height to reduce the amount of thatch that has accumulated during the active growing season and fertilize with a WINTERIZER. This will encourage a deep, strong root system that continues to grow and develop over the winter with a result of a quick start in spring.

Turf grasses in our climate will typically need to be mowed in winter, but only every 2 -3 weeks, and this is to keep the leaves from accumulating and maintaining a neat trimmed appearance.

OVERSEEDING – a practice in the south has been to overseed in winter using ANNUAL RYE GRASS. This germinates in 7 – 10 days and will maintain a healthy green appearance to your lawn during the winter dormancy. There is a hidden benefit in this practice in that Rye Grass is a nitrogen fixer and as the Rye Grass dies out with the heat of our summer, both the root systems and the grass blades, as they decompose, will add a very beneficial nutrient base to your lawn. Another winter grass that can be used for overseeding here is FESQUE. The benefit to using Fesque is that if allowed to get a good start in the late fall and winter months, it generally will establish as a permanent lawn in shady areas and make it through the heat of our summers.

The shady parts of our lawns have a very difficult time supporting St. Augustine, Bermuda and Zoysia and those grasses, grown in the shade, are thin at best. The addition of a shade tolerant grass to those areas adds a green lawn that is welcome. The Fesque’s are not very traffic tolerant, so if these areas are the running areas for your dogs and children, this may not be the answer for you.

Turf grasses in winter still will require some irrigation if we don’t get adequate rainfall. If a lawn is allowed to enter a freeze when in a dry condition, it will suffer die back and the damage will take longer to regenerate as the growth season resumes. I only recommend watering twice a week maximum for a period of time not to exceed 7 minutes in winter as fungal problems will develop if the turf is allowed to stay too wet. Given adequate rainfall, it is not uncommon to turn the irrigation system off during this time of the year and only run it manually as needed.

Do not rush out and prune damaged plants following a freeze. Pruning encourages new, tender growth which will be even more susceptible to repeated freeze damage. It is best to leave the damaged growth in place to insulate the plant and the root mass.

Typically in the growing cycle following a winter that has a hard freeze, those plants damaged will show increased growth to compensate for the damage. Wait until spring for the hard pruning. If your yard is suffering from unsightly freeze damaged foliage, a suggestion is to add more annual color (Sweet Allysum, Viola, Pansies, Snapdragons, Dianthus) to draw the eye away from the damage and focus on the bright color spots.

Our Horticulture Management department can help make your garden shine. Please call Jerry Reesby at (713) 254-5025 direct

Winter is the time that an age old tradition of pruning s is practiced. Let’s dispel the myth that surrounds that tradition once and for all. The methods used to prune Crapemyrtles involve severe pruning down to the main trunks and the rationale for this pruning is that the tree blooms more prolifically following such a radical pruning.

The end result the following growth cycle is a large bush like creature ensues with quite a few blooms, however the plant never fully recovers from the pruning as all that happens is the new growth occurs from just below the cut in abundance and the next fall as the leaves cascade the plant looks like a broom that has been stuck in the ground. The truth is that Crapemyrtles bloom on first year wood anyway, and all new growth that the plant sends up in spring will bloom at the terminal bud of each new shoot as the summer progresses. If the spent blooms are cut off in summer, a whole new bloom cycle is the result and you can keep a Crapemyrtle blooming over an extended time. The secondary (and not insignificant) value of the tree is it’s beautiful vase like shape and exfoliating bark as the tree matures. Most of our Crapemyrtles will attain a height of 20’ to 30’ and become beautiful (albeit messy) shade trees if allowed to grow “un-murdered”.

This is especially beneficial in small urban yards that are just to small to accept a major shade tree (Oaks, Elms, etc.) and due to the full habit of the Crapemyrtle, screening is a plus as the tree matures and fills out. The correct winter pruning of the Crapemyrtle is to use a pole pruner and cut off the spent seed heads – which can be unattractive, and thin out excess interior growth which will open up the plant and force new growth to the perimeter in spring. The result will be a vase shaped, full tree with a beautiful form and just as many blooms.

Plants that should be covered during a freeze warning are temperamental annuals (Primrose, Cyclamen, Poinsettia), we also recommend wrapping or covering tender tropicals (s, Bougainvilla, Heliconia, Macho Fern, Ginger). Many of our Palms are fine down to 24 degrees with the exception of Sago and Cardboard Palms which will greatly benefit from both water and covering. The balance of the Palms may show freeze damage to the fronds following a hard freeze but will typically shed the bad fronds in spring and replace them with new.

DO NOT let the Palms go into a freeze DRY! You can certainly cover any plants you wish and do not forget your potted plants, as they will transmit cold faster through the clay into the root system. Leave the cover in place until the temperature is back above freezing, if you use a breathable cover (such as INSULATE) the cover can stay in place until temperatures reach 65 to 70 degrees. Damage will ensue if you use a plastic cover that can not breathe – the cold will be trapped under the cover.

We offer a covering service to all our Horticultural Management clients so they can sit back and relax. Jerry watches the weather channel to monitor potential freeze events and mobilizes the troops into action once the freeze is announced. We cover, check for moisture and uncover when safe.

Winter has arrived along with the threat of freezes. We are fielding the phone calls that always precede a night of freezing weather about plant protection.  The best protection for your yard is water – run your irrigation system through manually before turn in for the night before a freeze and let your plants go into the freeze saturated.  Several things will happen: 1.) If the temperatures drop below the freezing point, your plants will have a layer of moisture on them that will keep the temperature at the freezing point – almost an insulation that will help them from dropping below that. 2.) Wet mulch in the bed will set up a vapor type barrier of heat that will rise up from the warmer soil protected by the mulch and keep ground temperatures warmer than high up in the air. 3.) Hydrated root systems will stand a much stronger chance of regenerating faster once spring temperatures arrive. In past years when we have experienced a killing freeze, the yards that had the least amount of damage where those that had adequate moisture during the freeze. The most devastating freezes that we can have are the cold, dry north winds that maintain a temperature below freezing for a period of longer than 12 hours, typically, wet cold has the least amount of damage resulting from it.