Foxtail agave caught a reader's attention during a California trip, but it is not recommended for planting in Kerrville.
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty ImagesQ: I recently was in California and saw beautiful foxtail agave plants. I have a home in Kerrville. Would it survive there, and if so, where could I buy it?
A: Foxtail agaves (Agave attenuata), like many of its century plant sisters, are subtropical. They are ranked as USDA Hardiness Zones 10-11 (no freezes, please). It would not be winter hardy in Kerrville and would require substantial protection from any freezing temperatures.
Asian jasmine, surrounding the live oak trunks, has turned brown from the December cold.
Courtesy imageQ: I have several beds of Asian jasmine in my yard that look like this. Did last summer’s drought or the December freeze do them in? Will they come back?
A: This is definitely from the December cold. This happens in northern parts of Texas many winters and in Central and South Texas in the coldest winters. The best way of dealing with it is to trim the Asian jasmine beds back to 2-3 inches in height. It will all be browned stubble, but keep the faith. Follow that up with an application of an all-nitrogen lawn food (with no weed killer included, of course). Apply the fertilizer around March 1, and water it in deeply. You will see a beautiful burst of new growth by the middle of March. All will be well.
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Texas mountain laurel grows well in soil that is kept uniformly moist.
Courtesy imageQ: That was great information on how to start Texas mountain laurels from seeds you gave us here recently. No wonder I never could get them to germinate. Two more questions: How much water will they need when they are young? And will they grow well in soil that is basically topsoil underlaid with clay instead of the rocky soil where you normally see them growing natively?
A: Texas mountain laurels grow very well in soil that is kept uniformly moist. In fact, that’s how nurseries produce them. People sometimes get the wrong idea that plants from arid areas must be kept extremely dry all the time. It’s just that they have adapted to those conditions better than most other species. Given good moisture, however, they respond by stepping up their pace. The same sort of principle applies to their soil. Plants in nature do not grow into the rocks. They simply tolerate them. However, rocks do serve as a rather odd sort of mulch as they hold moisture beneath them during dry spells. If you’re going to be irrigating regularly, that really won’t matter. The main thing with Texas mountain laurels is to ensure that they have perfect drainage. If you’re going to be planting one in a clay soil, it should be planted in a raised setting, either in a high part of the garden or on a berm.
Q: I live in a community which has front lawn maintenance provided at a monthly cost. The schedule includes a pre-emergent application in February and a post-emergent treatment in April. Then they propose to repeat all that in August and October. On top of that they propose to fertilize the turf in April and October. They also are scheduled to apply pre-emergent this month and in October to our beds and to fertilize the beds at the same time. Does all this make sense? Is it overkill?
A: It may sound like a busy schedule, but it’s exactly what I do for my own lawn and landscape. It’s similar to preparing a fine meal. Different things are done in different ways at different times. First of all, the pre-emergent application in February is for warm-season weeds (crabgrass and grassburs). The August application is for winter grassy weeds (annual bluegrass, rescuegrass and annual ryegrass). I actually recommend a second spring application 90 days after the first to overlap the time of effective control since our Texas growing season is so long. And the post-emergent material is probably primarily for broadleafed weeds like clover and dandelions, etc. You use different products in shrub, groundcover and flowerbeds, so that explains those treatments. And great that they’re feeding when they are and how they are. Hats off, all the way around!
Q: I just bought a young ylang ylang tree. It’s 2-feet tall and it’s looking healthy. Since it freezes where I live, I’m going to keep it in a pot and bring it into the house for the winter. What type of potting soil is best? What about fertilizer?
A: I love this column. And I love the Internet. I had never heard of a Ylang Ylang tree. I found a reliable South Florida source of information for your plant, Cananga odorata, online. Without that, I was floundering. I can now tell you that potting soil won’t be the issue. Pot size will be. This is a plant that can grow to be 60-feet tall. Of course, you can keep it much smaller, but you’ll still want to grow it in at least a 36-inch pot, perhaps larger. I would use a highly organic potting soil, and I would include 10 percent expanded shale with 90 percent of the potting soil to give the pot some ballast against the prevailing south winds while it’s out on the patio. Keep it trimmed and give it very bright light during the winter. Full sunlight would be best. Use a diluted water-soluble fertilizer that’s highest in nitrogen (first number) each time that you water it. Cut back on the watering during the winter dormant season. Do not expose it to any below-freezing temperatures.
Email questions for Neil Sperry to SAENgardenQA@sperrygardens.com.
