Hi there,
My husband is considering a job in San Antonio and I would love to know how the gardening is there. What can you grow and what can't your grow? Do roses grow well? Bulbs like iris, daffodils and lily of the valley? What is the soil like?
Thanks Dave friends!
San Antonio gardening questions
Last time I was there, 2 years ago in july the temp was 108.
We have native bulbs that do well, several varieties of narcissus and one that looks a lot like lily of the valley which doesn't naturalize here. There are a lot of irises that do well and we also have day lilies, rain lilies, amaryllis, spider lilies, and others that handle our weather.
San Antonio has a different soil than my area, but it responds well to amendments and raised beds. Drought is a constant worry in TX so we do a lot of drip watering, heavy mulching, and use of drought tolerant plants.
There are a lot of great people on our forum who are very helpful and knowledgeable. We also have four RU's a year which can be a great source of plants and bulbs that will do well here.
Steadycam is right, it gets very hot in the summer, but it is still a fabulous place to live and garden. Keep us posted.
Joy
This message was edited Feb 2, 2014 2:35 PM
Very good advice from Joy, I live too far north to be of great help, but many of the Texas plants will work in many areas with a little help from their friends, the gardeners who love them.
San Antonio has a very unique soil. It's a lot of caliche (rock) and very shallow before you hit bedrock. If you get past the caliche level, the soil is nice, but that takes a lot of work. The area is continually under water restrictions, so native plants are the way to go to decrease on water consumption. It's a very beautiful place and the surrounding areas are lovely. The traffic is horrible, though. LOL
I took a look at the USDA hardiness zone maps and it looks like it's comparable to your moving to Gainesville, FL. San Antonio is on the edge of 8b and 9a. You are used to 9b where you live. It looks like you might be accustomed to sea breezes and those do not exist in San Antonio. I live in Houston, TX which is 9a. Go look at my trade list of things I have. That will give you an idea of what can grow in zone 9a.
Here is the heat zone map for Texas which is important to know as well.
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-texas-heat-zones-map.php
This message was edited Feb 3, 2014 5:43 AM
Thanks all for your help!
San Antonio, Bexar County (bear) grows many things! Also depends on where you settle in to the city - its large enough to have different types of plants thrive. Not as sandy by any means as Gainesville, no sawgrasses...cedars more than pines, and a LOT of things always happening like The Riverwalk..dryer air as well!
I've lived in three different areas here in the San Antonio area, and as a volunteer w/ MGs, I've planted allll over, so I can say it depends on where you end up!
North SA has a lot more rock, shallow soil w/ limestone under it. East SA has some pretty good soil, black, with less rock and some clay. South SA is sandier, really south (outside city limits) is almost pure sand, and called "post oak Savannah". West SA is similar to East, with plenty of rock but nutritious black soil...again, it depends on how far North or South you end up.
As to the rest, yes, we're in constant drought, so it's a good idea to plant what will withstand low water once established. Hot hot hot summers, with lots of humidity. We get some freezes--down to 15 degrees at times--but you can create micro-climates with rock walls and such. My iris and cannas have bloomed their heads off, St. Joseph's lilies, amaryllis, and other such do well. Roses? Heirloom and own root roses selected for heat tolerance and disease resistance do better because even though we have constant drought, those summers are humid too! :~P
All that being said, I love gardening here, and have FINALLY found the perfect place to grow clematis! Good luck with your upcoming move!