new to texas

hey everyone. I'm new to texas and the dryness. Any suggestions for my plants to keep them moist and help raise humidity? Elizabeth

Welcome to Texas Elizabeth, I hope you will get to love it here, I do, Texas is a wonderful and diverse place.
To keep your soil moist the best thing to do is to incorporate as much organic matter into it as possible, and mulch, mulch, mulch to conserve moisture.
Josephine.

Thanks, where would i get the mulch?
I like it here so far. Different from AL, but guess I"ll get used to all the differences.
Elizabeth

Hi and Welcome to Texas & Texas Gardening Ejennings!

We have endured some incredibly dry weather and are amazingly dry already. I wonder what type of plants you are growing?

I am not in your locale but the number 1 recommendation for inground plants is mulch. In this zone pine straw in plentiful and I wait till a good soaking rain,.then spread the mulch to retain the moisture. I will also suggest xeriscape plants that require less water.

If you are growing in pots: if the pots are clay, soak in water well before you pot. If you choose to add moisture retentive crystals, soak the crystals before you plant. If you have hanging baskets, I find that if I fill a large bucket with water and submerge the plant under water till the gurgling quits, the plant needs less moisture maintenance.

These are just some things that I have found to be useful. I am sure others closer to your home will weigh in shortly. Good gardening... pod

I've got all indoor plants- ivy's, cactus, tropicals, etc.
And YES very dry. I have several hanging plants- just fill sink up with water and submerge? Thanks for the help!! Elizabeth

Hi, ejennings. It would be nice if you could buy compost and mulch in bulk. Sometimes cities provide mulch from tree trimmings in the town. Our city has a chipper that eats all the trimmings and takes them to the recycling center. If you know anybody with horses or cattle you can get manure and make some good compost. Coffee grounds are good too if you can get them.

Welcome to Texas, but it's really hot and dry here much of the time. I moved from West Texas years ago to live where trees grow by accident. When my mom lived in San Angelo, she thought she was in zone 7b, a bit cooler in winter than 8b. I am straight east of you about 100 miles and on the line between zones 7b and 8a.

Welcome to Texas.

Thought I'd post some links and info that have been of great value to me:

A&M xeriscape site
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/xeriscape/xeriscape.html

Texas superstar plants
http://texassuperstar.com/

edited to add this link on low water use plants
http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/HomeHort/F4Best/nLowWaterPlants.htm

Recommended books include the following:
Neil Sperry's Guide to Complete Texas Gardening
Plants for dry climates: How to select, grow, and enjoy by Mary Rose Duffield

You can never have too many socks or enough mulch,
Richard



This message was edited Mar 6, 2007 10:45 PM

Looks like I might need to go to the library. Thanks for your help!!

Welcome to Texas and Dave's Garden!! :-)

Welcome to our home, ejennings! Hope to see you posting and having fun with your garden. Even though we're in different climates, we can grow a lot of the same things. These Texas folks are wonderful!

Elizabeth ~ Re: submerging indoor plants

I would plunge all BUT the succulents or cacti into a water bath. Let the pot sit underwater till the bubbling/gurgling stops. Then, let it sit and drain. The potting soil sometimes dries out too much and is hard to rehydrate. This will let water soak the soil thoroughly. That way you won't have to water as often. You also don't need to submerge very often. It works well for me come summertime when my plants are outdoors.

The hydrating crystals would also work well in potted plants. Just be sure to follow directions and soak them well before using.

You also may want to tour the houseplants forum for ideas. Good idea to get prepared to deal with the summer early! Good luck ~ hope you enjoy Texas! pod

This message was edited Mar 7, 2007 6:58 AM

This message was edited Mar 7, 2007 6:59 AM

Hi ejennings, Welcome to Texas. Another place that may be worth your visit is your local Extension County office:
http://tom-green-tx.tamu.edu/
They are your direct link to A & M's services and are very helpful. If they can't answer your questions, they will forward the questions on to someone at A & M who can.

podster, what is growing in that little green cage? It looks interesting, but is difficult to tell what it is.

Elizabeth, you might try the hanging drip pans, they clip on the hanging baskets and provide a humid environment for them, which is a help during the summer months here.

We have a greenhouse too and keeping from getting too hot in the winter is a problem. We ordered a mister, but never got it installed. It would work better if we installed it.:) Supposedly they use surprisingly little water, but I can't speak from experience of course.

So many new ideas to try. Thanks yall for all the tips and books. Before long all this will be second nature to me. Good excuse to get the humidifier I've been talking about getting.
Thanks everyone, Elizabeth

Bettydee~

Think that kitty was wondering the same thing. It was just an old ivy ~ nothing special.

Great re-purpose of the cage.

I love stuff like that ~ this/is was a fun thread if you have time... http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/629034/