Tips from the Garden

by CMG Adrienne M  

Hardy Fuchsia from ProvenWinners.com

 “One of the healthiest ways to gamble is with a spade and a packet of seeds.”   ~Dan Bennett~

March is a time for planting in south central Texas. The ground is warming up, as we welcome Spring on Thursday, March 20.  There are so many colorful flowers waiting for a chance to grow, such as aster, zinnia, coreopsis, echinacea, dahlia, cosmos, dianthus, and begonia. Here’s a large list of summer flowers including favorite nectar flowers for bees and butterflies.

• Fuchsias are among the most spectacular of summer flowers, with their continuous display of stunning, dancing blossoms of scarlet-red flowers with violet centers and white petals. The Hardy Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica) is a good choice for deep shade gardens in South Central Texas.  This low-maintenance, semi-evergreen shrub can grow up to 3-feet tall and wide, and blooms from late spring to first frost, attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Provide wind protection, as the pendent flowers can be easily blown off. Zones 6-11.
• The Spring Plant Sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is on the last weekend in March.
• There is still time this month to trim roses, shrubs, and trees, or to plant new ones. If a shrub is not performing well, it may need to be transplanted to a spot better suited to its needs, or, consider replacing it with a selection from the Earth-Kind^® plant list. The following website has links to more resources on spring garden activities such as: Tips for Starting Seedlings at Home, Seasonal Color – Care and Management, all about Old Roses, and Proper Pruning Techniques click here.

Monarch Butterfly on Coreopsis from Cincinnati.com

• Monarch butterflies will begin flying through Texas along the Balcones Fault, this month until June, heading north to breeding grounds as far away as southern Canada. They will feed and lay eggs here before dying; their offspring will continue heading north. The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife site has information on creating butterfly habitats, identifying milkweeds (“over 35 different milkweed species have been recorded from Texas”), a migration map, and much more. Besides nectar-bearing flowers, a shallow dish of sugar-water, with 1 or 2 flat rocks for perching, will be a welcome treat for them.

Miss Ruby® Butterfly Bush from Monrovia by Doreen Wynja

• Buddleja is also known as Butterfly Bush and Summer Lilac. Miss Ruby® is noted for its remarkably vivid blooms of magenta flowers that are fragrant and vibrant. With blooms throughout the summer, it is a magnet for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. This low-maintenance variety loves the sun, is non-invasive, deer-resistant, and drought-tolerant once established. Butterfly bushes need regular watering, with good drainage, as their roots are sensitive to rotting.  “Miss Molly” has vibrant pink blossoms, and “Miss Pearl” offers pure white blooms that look especially magical at night. Zones 5-9; 4-to-5-feet tall and wide.

‘Pugster’ Dwarf Butterfly Bush from ProvenWinner.com

• ‘Pugster’ Dwarf Butterfly Bush, Buddleja davidii, is a container-sized plant that blooms prolifically through the summer. It is compact, with rounded, multi-stems that grows to 2-feet tall and 3-feet wide.

‘Cheyenne Spirit’ Echinacea from HighCountryGardens.com

• Echinacea or coneflower, is a reliable spring and summer flower for containers and beds in our area. It copes well with most soils and tolerates coastal conditions. These bright and resilient native flowers are perfect for a pollinator garden, growing to a height of 2-to-3 feet.  They are easily established and thrive in sun, but do not like overly wet soil, as their stems begin below soil level, and could rot. Resist the urge to deadhead them, as small birds love to eat their seeds.

Container Gardens from ProvenWinner.com by Peggy Evans

• Container Gardens can brighten up a balcony, a patio, an entryway, or add interest to any part of a garden.  In this example from Proven Winners, gardener Peggy Evans has chosen containers in neutral colors, which allow the plants to be the stars of the show.  Annual begonias, coleus, million bells, sweet potato vine, and salvia thrive in this semi-shaded spot. Be inspired to create something special for your home through thoughtful design.
• March is excellent for starting herbs in containers and in beds.  Plant basil, chives, cilantro, oregano, thyme, dill, lemon balm, and mints.
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is more than a flavorful seasoning herb for cooking. This easy-care, hardy plant also adds texture and variety to gardens and containers.  All rosemary plants are naturally bug and deer repellant, evergreen and waterwise once established.  They love our Texas sun, tolerate both poor and alkaline soils, and prefer soil that is somewhat dry. Many varieties of Rosemary can be purchased from garden centers, and range in height from 1-to-7 feet.

Tuscan Blue Rosemary from Monrovia.com by Doreen Wynja

• ‘Tuscan Blue’ Rosemary grows 6-to-7 feet tall, with wide, very aromatic leaves, and dark blue spring flowers. Said to be “the workhorse of the landscape industry,” it makes an exceptionally stunning hedge.  On the opposite height end, Huntington Carpet® is a ‘prostrate’ rosemary from Monrovia, 1-2 feet tall and 8 feet wide. It is an excellent groundcover in sunny areas, good for erosion control, and is outstanding for cascading over retaining walls and the edges or planters.  Rosemary is a Mediterranean plant, and prefers drier soil with excellent drainage. Zones 8-10.
• Joseph Masabni, Horticulturalist at Texas A&M, has written an excellent booklet on using Rosemary in the landscape.
• The ground will soon be warm enough to plant the gardener’s favorite vegetables: tomatoes, green beans, peppers, cucumbers, and butter beans. The soil should be at least 70 degrees F. Once in the ground, protect tender transplants and seedlings from chilling wind.
• Download the PDF guide: “Spring Vegetable Varieties” by David Rodriguez, Bexar County Horticulturist, and Dr. Jerry Parsons, Vegetable Specialist for a list of vegetable varieties that grow best in our area.
• Plant extra lettuce seeds here and there to use as young greens while waiting for the other salad greens to grow to maturity. Do the same with onion sets and use the sprouts as scallions.
• More about the Monarch Butterfly:

• • • Journey North is a program of the Arboretum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which tracks migrations of the Monarch butterfly, and encourages participants to report sightings of adult Monarch butterflies, along with useful information.

• • • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing protection for the Monarch butterfly, and is encouraging the public to be part of its recovery.

Sources: these and other online sites: Monrovia.com; DavidsGardenSeeds.com; PanAmericanSeeds.com; Proven Winners.com; Aggie-Horticulture.tamu; thePlantNative.com.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; University of Wisconsin-Madison; The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; Bexar County AgriLife;