We're hanging up our snow shovel and heading south. Don't know much about Texas gardening but it has to be better than Chicago. Are there any great nurseries in the Dallas/Southlake area? When do I get to start fixing my landscaping and planting - March?
Moving to Dallas
Come on down...you'll love gardening in Texas, even in Dallas.
Dallas has a little of everything as far as weather is concerned.
I'm way south of Dallas but there are a few Dger's here from that area and they can give you a better idea of what to expect...I think texasgardening is in that area and she can probable be a big help.I don't know too many others right off but I'm sure some one will help you get aquainted with our lovely state.
MsC
Hang in there. We will help you out! It's just that we're takin a break to stuff our turkeys!
Welcome! I'm south of FW. There are numerous places to shop! Are you moving to new construction, or an existing garden? Sun, or shade, and how much sun. The TX summers can be brutal!
Welcome!
Hi there,
I was new to the DFW area this year, so may be able to help out a bit. SteveFortworth also - he will be around shortly too I expect. Its Turkey Stuffing time right now but there are several others who will chip in soon too.
Where exactly are you moving to? The Dallas Metroplex is so huge that advice on where to shop isn't the same from one area to another. TxMel had some valid questions too.
The folks here are lovely and so friendly and helpful it won't take you long to settle in.
Its cold but sunny here today - temp in the 40s right now but rising - thats as low as its been so far this season. We still have roses, cannas, marigolds and geraniums blooming in the garden and the bananas haven't given up growing yet either, they unfurled a new leaf each two days ago.
Look forward to your input too.
Carol
Thanks okus :-)
Hi heidi, I moved down here about 5 and a half years ago from Illinois like you, and as okus said, lots of us are transplants from colder climates. There are lots of nurseries as okus said, and I wouldn't knmow where to direct you on that, since I'm on the other side of the metroplex in the north Ft Worth area. I tend to order most of my plants online, though I have gotten shrubs and trees from garden centers. We get lots of extremes here with regards to weather....avg temps in July and August are in the high 90's, which can be stressful to many plants which prefer cooler growing conditions, but then we really don't go over 100 that often, and if we do, it's normally by just a degree or two, so it's not exactly the desert southwest either. In winter, temps will drop into the teens at least a few times, and I just saw on one of the TV channels that we average 35 days a year where temps go below freezing. Rainfall averages here are similar to those in Chicago, though this has been a wet year and we may well hit 50" of rain this year.
You'll find the soil is terrible here, nothing like the nice stuff we had in Illinois. It is usually about 90% heavy clay and 10% sand or rock. If you can amend it or build raised beds with good soil in them, you'll probably be able to grow a much wider variety of things well, since clay is actually high in nutrients but tough for plants to root well in and establish good drainage. As okus said, we do have a long growing season, though around now (late Nov) is when we start getting freezes. I usually plant bulbs from mid-October through December (tulips go in late here or they'll come up too early, and you generally need to refigerate them to do well, though other bulbs are fine), and things like lilac and peonies can be grown but you have to be careful about choosing the right varieties, since they require some work here and aren't effortless like in the north where you get an extended long cold period. Part of the problem is that even though are nighttime temps are low, daytime highs regularly go into 50's and even 60's even in January. We do get a couple of ice storms and even a snow or two each year, but it doesn't stick around long.
March is a great time to plant more perennials here...even late February will work, but not for anything tender like Dahlias. I have found most of my dahlias returned 2nd year. I wouldn't plant much past April, because in May temps start to get pretty warm and even hot late in the month. If you like ornamental trees, crabapples (malus), crape myrtles, and roses of sharon do very well here. For anuuals, marigolds and zinnias grow terrifically well here, as well as portulaca (moss rose)and even petunias have worked well for me. For bulbs/rhizomes, as okus said cannas grow terrifically well here and perennialize, in fact they grow so aggresively and spread they're almost like weeds. I have buried them under 10" of soil and run over them witht he lawnmower and they keep coming back. I have also had great luck with both Dutch and bearded (German) irises growing and returning. Daffodils do quite here as well as muscari, and hyacinths too....and mine have all returned. I consider tulips annuals here - and you need to prechill them in the refrigerator for about 8 weeks before planting. Some have returned ffor me, but most have not. Lilies perennialize and naturalize easily here, IF they have well drained soil. Have had great luck with Asiatics, trumpets, orienpets, and early orientals. Be careful with late blooming Orientals, though, which struggle in July/August heat unless they get some shade. Roses do quite well here, and I have several still blooming like okus does. Still, everyone has different results based on their own specific conditions.
For grass, bermuda and St Augustine seem to be the two standards here, because of their love of sun and high heat tolerance, though many people overseed with winter rye in the fall, since Bermuda does not come out of dormancy until April, and who wants spring flowers with a brown lawn! I did it for the first time this fall and it really has come in well...just took a few minutes with a spreader a couple of times.
Oh...one more thing.....consider bloom times for bulbs and most perennials about a month earlier than what you had in Illinois.
Like okus said, people in TX are very friendly, and so are the people here on DG. Have fun!
Good luck and happy gardening!
This message was edited Nov 25, 2004 10:24 AM
Heidi, daylilies do well here too, and require little maintenance...you might want to try those as well!
Wow thank you for all the info. We are moving to Southlake. The previous owners had a lot of low maintenance (green) gardens which I'll be ripping out. I love roses which I know do well there and I need color (coreopsis, geraniums).
How about the Veronicas, Campanulas, Salvias or Callirhoe? I also heard that lilacs don't do well in TX - anyone have any lilac bushes?
I do love tulips - that will be something I deal with next year I guess... We got about 3 inches of snow last night - 3 wks and counting...
Hi Heidi,
Gosh you are going to be moving right on Christmas - that is one chaotic time to move - I know I've done it!!
Southlake isn't that far from either myself of Steve - Keller is the next town as you head east, and I think Steve is just the other side of 35W and a couple of miles South. Salvias grow extremely well here, they are DH's favourite so we have all sorts of different ones and 90% have done very well indeed. The other 10% are the rarer sorts and they are also healthy, just not twice the size they were when planted! We also have a Veronica but haven't planted any campanula, I think they might not like the summer too much.
One thing we have noticed, which is worth a mention, a lot of the plants that we expected to want full sun, from our experience in the UK, have actually done much better in partial shade.
Best of luck with your move, I hope it all goes smoothly for you.
I shall be off line for a while from the middle of next week as I'm taking a trip back to the UK to see the family (and play Santa Claus delivering the presents), so I will let the others look after you for a while. :>)
Okus you'll have to give me the names of the great nurseries nearby. I saw a Plantshed while we were exploring.
Things will be quite chaotic for the holidays but worth it in the end since we just hate the chilling Chicago cold. Happy Travels.
OOps that should have said Keller is the next town as you head West - The Turkey has gone to my head!
There is a great Nursery called Mikes just off 114 heading West from where it joins Southlake Boulevard (Fm1709) and only a couple of miles along. That has a huge selection and is a lot cheaper than Plant Shed.
Suttons is on 1709 heading west towards Keller.
The Lowes on Rufe Snow and North Tarrant has all the basics and they look after their stock well too, which some don't!
The Plant Shed is on Davis heading South and a few miles further, in Hurst, there is Green Mama's Organic Garden Center. They have a lot of Texas Natives and unusual plants.
There is a Calloways too on Precintline which is runs off Davis going South.
I'm sure there are loads of others, but that should get you started and take your mind off the unpacking for a bit.
Then there is the next Texas Plant Swop, which I think is being planned for April by the DG contingent too.
Heidi, I'm not in Texas, but I wanted to second what Okus said about expectations for sun needs. A plant that needs full sun up north may prefer partial shade in the hot south. I've learned that especially here in Israel. I'm from Oklahoma and it gets very hot and very humid in the summer there, so I thought that full-sun plants there would definitely be the same here, but several need partial sun. Also things like herbs can be quite different in their needs. In Oklahoma I always grew basil in large pots on my patio and it grew like mad. Here basil doesn't do well at all in pots an will turn to a skinny stick within a few weeks....but take that skinny stick that looks half dead and put it in full sun in the garden soil and it grows to monstrous proportions practically overnight...in CLAY! I guess my point is that you shouldn't really take your knowledge of planting in Ilinois too much to heart when you start planting in Texas. Things can be very different from your expectations. But definitely gardening in Texas is going to be so fun for you! You'll absolutely LOVE the long growing season!
-Julie
There are a few good nurseries to your west also. Blooming Colors has two locations - one in Grapevine (just to the west) and one in Coppell (just northwest). http://www.bloomingcolorsnursery.com/page3.html
Also, Pecan Creek is in Coppell. http://www.pecancreeknursery.com/html_pecancreek/home.htm
Here are a few websites that might help.
This first one is about the vegitation and soil regions of the metroplex.
http://www.kingsnake.com/dfw/habitats/habitats_of_the_metroplex.htm
This one is a great search tool for some of the best plants for Texas.
http://www.txsmartscape.com/search_main.asp
Here is the A&M Horticultural Website. Most of the plants on these pages are natives.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/picturepages/index.html
A suggestion... Go to any of the Half Price Book Stores http://www.halfpricebooks.com/states-cities.html#texas in the area and pick up any gardening books by Howard Garrett or Neil Sperry that you can get your hands on.
I second the suggestion of Daylilies and Salvias. Lots of herbs are perennials here so a herb garden is a must. :) I grow Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, French Tarragon and Culinary Sage. Coreopsis does well, though it's not long lasting. Geraniums do well too, but best with a little afternoon shade. I will repeat what others have said... If it thrives up there in full sun, it will probably do best down here with shade in the hottest part of the day - if it's even going to survive here. If you have true full sun down here that you want to fill, Texas natives will probably do best. Some plants need a colder winter dormant period and just won't be happy here. Hostas are a good example, but even certain cultivars of hosta will do fairly well. I have links if you have a Hosta addiction, so just ask.
I hope your move goes smoothly and you settle in and enjoy the longer growing season. Welcome to Texas!
I agree with what everyone said. As a rule of thumb, unless it IS that "Texas Native" brand or something similar, I take full sun to mean partial shade. Even if it doesn't fry in full sun, your bloom time will typically be much less. I have 3 partial sun areas and pretty much everything does best there. Zinnias, salvia, coreopsis, lemon drop plant, yarrow, and of course sweet potato vine all thrived in the full sun this year. Suprisingly, so did my sun coleus! I have found that any hosta you buy in a local nursery will do well in shade down here. I would also suggest giving plants some space between each other and/or your house and fences. In the summer, when we actually do get rain, it will heat up the next day and the humidity is bad. I had some mildew and fungus issues this year in my more crowded beds. As for the soil, well, we had a horribly unkept yard at our house- like 20 years of no one paying attention to it. So we plowed down pretty much everything and got my father in law's tiller and tilled in all the junk. Because of the big trees we have, we had lots of built in leaf compost. I also have a practice of buying at least two bags of compost everytime I go to Home Depot or Lowes. Then I just spread it in whatever bed I feel like. My soil is actually really good now! We have to sod with St. Augustine in the backyard next spring due to the amount of shade. However, if you can do Burmuda I would. I love St. Augustine but if you have a yard full of it, just brace yourself for that water bill! Burmuda is quite a bit more drought tolerant- but the trade off there is that it will shoot runners into your garden areas if you don't stay on top of it. I suggest bordering your beds with bricks turned lenghtwise (not end to end). That saved my life in a few areas!
Also, I would suggest NOT planting until at least the end of March. You get fooled by a couple of weeks of nice weather in late February/early March, then we get our annual ice storm which is just lovely. I fall for it every spring and always loose what I call my spring fever phase of plants for the season. Grrr... And, just my experience, I planted stuff all summer long. Especially containers, shade garden plants, and partial shade areas. The full sun areas I didn't tempt. But this was a wetter summer than normal so that maybe why I had such good luck. :)
As for nurseries, well, I am actually IN Dallas and Southlake is about an hour from my house. So I doubt any place I frequent would be worth the drive for you!
Good luck and welcome to Texas!
Jamie
heidibent, welcome to our great state! It is so large that growing conditions (soils, temperature range, windiness, etc) vary tremendously from region to region. That is what is so great about having this forum available because we can share information about what plants grow best in our region, although a lot of plants do well throughout the state. It is great that you will be receiving assitance from the good folks in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I have grown Veronica x spicata 'Sunny Border Blue' for many years here in the south central part of Texas and it has been a faithful and dependable plant. I have grown campanula as an annual container plant in filtered shade and have had to water it by placing the container in water so it soaks up from the bottom because it tends to develop a fungus. Having no greenhouse nor a place in the house to overwinter it, I would just buy new ones in the spring. Many Callirhoes do well here, but you need to check which ones do well in the Dallas.Ft. Worth area. Perhaps one of the Dave's Garden members from up there can help you out with this question.
As mentioned above, many plants that have tags that state "full sun" need partial shade here. I have found that a nursery specializing in native Texas plants has been the best place to buy plants and/or obtain information about them. When I see "full sun" on a tag, I am able to ask them if "full sun" is applicable to my area. Even tags on plants grown by Texas growers can be misleading. Some plants located in full sun in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area might fry by August in my area or be totally unsuitable for the West Texas region. I have found that a majority of the people at Lowe's, Walmart, etc. are not very knowledgeable about the plants that they sell. That's why I always check the PDB and other sources before I purchase a plant now. This has saved me a lot of money and time as well as kept my aggravation and disappointment to a minimum.
Just keep asking the questions you have and I am sure they will be answered.
Welcome, Heidibent! Looking forward to talking new plants in the spring.
Terrie
If you love roses, there are 2 of the finest rose societies around in the area. Plano has a rose society and there is the "famous" DAHRS. It's an antique society that has one of the best newsletters put out. I'm too far south to get to go but I joined just for the newsletters. They are packed w/very knowledgeable people. Also the rose society in Plano is stocked w/very great gardeners and speakers. They both have wonderful garden tours in the spring/and or fall which will give you ideas of what does well here. I moved from the DFW area and miss the great garden centers. I liked Redentas and Northhaven gardens. Good luck and we'll be glad to help in any way...
Hilary
Hi Hilary. How far is China Spring from Plano? Have you seen the Texas Roundup Forum and about a get together in April?
Welcome Heidibent!
You're going to love gardening in our weather here. My hydrangeas were still trying to put out blooms two weeks ago, but they have finally decided it's time to stop. By March, everything will start coming out of the ground again as we have very short Winters here. Take to heart what the other members are telling you above about our heat and the need for partial shade.
Redenta's is a great place to shop and is a "must see", they have 3 or 4 locations around the Metroplex. They only sell organic products and are pricey, but they always have whimsical items they make for a nice and fun shopping trip.
Also, go down to the Farmers Market in Downtown Dallas. There are several landscape suppliers there and if you are buying large quanities of plants they will usually provide you with pricing that is somewhat close to wholesale. Ask to speak with a Manager or the Owner and barter, barter, barter. You'll get some great deals with a little effort.
Good luck with your garden/yard and I look forward to seeing you around the Forums.
Tracey
Thanks to everyone for the info. We start the move this week - total insanity but well worth it.
I can't wait to start ripping up the gardens.