North East Texas Hardiness Zone Map
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Planting
- Buy and plant crape myrtles in bloom to be sure you are getting the desired color. Know the variety’s mature size to avoid future pruning. Ask for varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew.
- This is the best time to plant vinca (periwinkle) in full sun. Look for the variety ‘Cora’ since it is resistant to soil-borne diseases. Water with drip irrigation or soaker hose to keep water off foliage.
- Plant these tropical annuals for their flowers: tropical hibiscus, ‘Gold Star’ esperanza, mandevilla and Mexican heather. Use croton, boujjainvillea and variegated tapioca for their foliage color.
- June is the time to select day lily varieties as they reach peak bloom.
Fertilizing and Pruning
- Prune back autumn sage and mealy cup sage by one-third their size. Deadhead salvias, as well as annuals and perennials, to stimulate more growth to allow the plant to continue re-blooming until late fall.
- Continue to prune as necessary, fall-blooming plants such as Mexican bush sage, mountain sage, Mexican mint marigold, copper canyon daises, asters and mums to keep them compact and to prevent buds from forming prematurely. Don’t prune after September 1 when buds begin to form.
- Remove flower stalks on coleus, caladiums, lamb’s ear and basil before buds open. This will promote new leaf growth.
- This is the second time to apply an all-nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer on turf grasses. Cut the amount by half to prevent excessive growth which means more water and mowing!
- Fertilize container plants and hanging baskets with a water-soluble fertilizer every one to two weeks.
Garden Watch
- Control aphids on crape myrtles with a strong spray of water.
Spider mites can be troublesome, especially on tomatoes. Treat with an appropriate organic or chemical pesticide. - Control webworms in pecan and other trees using a long-handled pole pruner. Remove while webs are small.
- To deal with the hot weather, water deeply and less often. Hand-water newly planted trees and shrubs.
Wrap the trunks of newly-planted Shumard Oak and Chinese Pistache trees to prevent
sunscald and borers. - Take a critical look at your landscape while at the height of summer development. Make notes on how the landscape can be better arranged; plants that need replacement, overgrown plants that need to be removed; or possibly, areas that can be converted to more family-friendly activities. Save this information for implementation later in the year or next spring.
The Desert Willow is a small, deciduous tree reaching heights of 15-20 feet and a width of 15-20 feet It has low water needs and tolerates full sun. Beautiful trumpet-shaped, sweetly fragrant pink to light purple flowers occur from late spring to fall depending on rain. Its ability to withstand arid conditions, beautiful flowers and long flowering period make the Desert Willow one of Texas’s best small, native trees.
And from our own Keith Kridler:
Start seeds of tomatoes for transplants the first weeks of July. Choose cherry/grape tomatoes and or heat tolerant varieties. Middle of July is the time to set out plants for a bumper fall harvest of tomatoes. You can “air layer” make cuttings from limbs and or suckers from healthy tomato plants from your garden.
Peanuts: For funnzies buy a bag of raw peanuts in the shell at the grocery stores. Shell the raw peanuts, plant them in well drained soils, raised rows and grow some peanuts for the children or grand children. Peanuts are a legume, they have cool looking leaves and produce “nuts” under the ground. Children can poke holes in soft soil, drop a peanut/push a peanut under the soil by about 1&1/2” deep. In seven days you have new leaves poking up through the soil. Roast the left over raw peanuts for a reward snack.
Time to spray Zinc on the foliage of Pecan trees, time to add mulch around your trees in the lawn, time to lightly fertilize your lawn and trees, especially fruit and pecan trees. Also a good idea to lightly add lime to your soils this month.
Azaleas: Lightly trim back and or shape your azalea bushes after they finish blooming. Watch for lace beetles, be sure to add organic mulch around these bushes.
Gardenia’s/Camileas: Inspect for White Flies, Tea Scale as these insect pests will be under the leaves and cause yellowing of the leaves. Thin out sickly inside the bush limbs and twigs. Trim back overgrown limbs, lightly fertilize the bushes when they are done blooming. Add mulch! Add iron to the soils in the flower beds.
Inspect your flower beds, lawns and pasture near your yards. Begin trapping out Moles and Pocket Gophers. Set rat sized snap traps in storage buildings, garages and monitor for mice, rats and meadow voles.
Raccoons, opossums, squirrels and birds will begin picking your blackberries and blueberries! There is almost a complete crop failure locally for most of the plums and peaches/stone fruits on small backyard orchards. Buy peaches and plums from local commercial orchards, freeze, de-hydrate or preserve by canning this years fruit crop.
Start more seeds of Zinnias, Cosmos and other common annual flowers. Watch for molds and mildew on everything from grasses to Crepe Myrtle trees!
Stink bugs are hitting the blackberries, squash bugs are on the pumpkins and other squash plants, tomato worms are stripping leaves. Crickets and grasshoppers are doing damage in some areas.
Starting to see “Mason Bees” working the sunflowers and other blooming plants. Make a “Mason Bee” house out of hollow bamboo canes or even larger drinking straws from milkshakes. Check on line how and where to hang them!
Southern Magnolia Trees are in bloom, Sumac and Elderberry bushes. Honey Suckle, Orange Trumpet vines, Pepper Vines, Virginia Creeper are either in bloom or about to bloom. Chinese Tallow and Pomegranite trees are still in bloom.
After the rains be ready to treat the fire ant mounds in flower beds and in your lawns where pets, children or adults might stumble into them.
Spot spray herbicides for poison ivy and other pest plants.
Remember that mosquitoes will mature in standing water in just 10 days at 80*F. Wash, rinse and clean out any standing, stagnant water. Haul old car tires to any business that sells new tires. It only costs $2<$3 for each tire you drop off. Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
| Asterisk (*) means transplant vegetable starter plants. For seeds, start 2-3 weeks earlier |
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| Crop | Spring Planting Date |
Fall Planting Date |
Seed or Plants Per 100 ft of Row |
Inches Between |
Number of Days Before |
Average Yield Per 100 Feet |
Average Days of Harvest |
| Asparagus | 2/1 to 3/1 | Not Rec. | 1 ounce | 18 | 730 | 30 pounds | 60 |
| Cabbage* | 2/1 to 3/1 | 8/1 to 9/15 | 1/4 ounce | 14 to 24 | 60 to 90 | 150 pounds | 40 |
| Garlic | 2/1 to 3/1 | 9/1 to 10/15 | 1 pound | 2 to 4 | 140 to 150 | 40 pounds | |
| Kohlrabi | 2/1 to 3/1 | 8/15 to 9/15 | 1/4 ounce | 4 to 6 | 55 to 75 | 75 pounds | 14 |
| Onion (plants) | 2/1 to 3/1 | Not Rec. | 400 to 600 plants | 2 to 3 | 80 to 120 | 100 pounds | 40 |
| Peas, English | 2/1 to 3/1 | 8/15 to 9/15 | 1 pound | 1 | 55 to 90 | 20 pounds | 7 |
| Spinach | 2/1 to 3/1 | 9/1 to 10/15 | 1 ounce | 3 to 4 | 40 to 60 | 3 bushels | 40 |
| Turnip | 2/1 to 3/1 | 9/15 to 10/15 | 1/2 ounce | 2 to 3 | 30 to 60 | 75 pounds | 35 |
| Beets | 2/1 to 4/1 | 9/1 to 10/1 | 1 ounce | 2 | 50 to 60 | 150 pounds | 30 |
| Radish | 2/1 to 4/1 | 9/15 to 10/15 | 1 ounce | 1 | 25 to 40 | 100 bunches | 7 |
| Carrots | 2/10 to 3/1 | 8/1 to 10/1 | 1/2 ounce | 2 | 70 to 80 | 100 pounds | 21 |
| Collard / Kale | 2/10 to 3/1 | 8/1 to 10/1 | 1/4 ounce | 8 to 16 | 50 to 80 | 100 pounds | 60 |
| Potatoes, Irish | 2/15 to 3/1 | 8/1 to 9/1 | 6 to 10 pounds | 10 to 15 | 75 to 100 | 100 pounds | |
| Cabbage, Chinese * | 2/15 to 3/10 | 8/1 to 9/15 | 1/4 ounce | 8 to 12 | 65 to 70 | 80 pounds | 21 |
| Lettuce | 2/15 to 3/15 | 9/1 to 10/1 | 1/4 ounce | 2 to 3 | 40 to 80 | 50 pounds | 21 |
| Broccoli * | 3/1 to 3/15 | 8/1 to 9/15 | 1/4 ounce | 14 to 24 | 60 to 80 | 100 pounds | 40 |
| Cauliflower * | 3/1 to 3/15 | 8/1 to 9/15 | 1/4 ounce | 14 to 24 | 70 to 90 | 100 pounds | 14 |
| Muskmelon | 3/15 to 5/1 | 7/15 to 8/1 | 1/2 ounce | 24 to 36 | 85 to 100 | 100 fruit | 30 |
| Chard, Swiss | 3/20 to 4/15 | 8/1 to 10/1 | 2 ounces | 6 | 45 to 55 | 75 pounds | 40 |
| Squash, Summer | 3/20 to 5/1 | 7/15 to 8/15 | 1 ounce | 18 to 36 | 50 to 60 | 150 pounds | 40 |
| Cucumber | 4/1 to 4/15 | 8/1 to 9/1 | 1/2 ounce | 24 to 28 | 50 to 70 | 120 pounds | 30 |
| Eggplant * | 4/1 to 4/15 | 7/15 to 8/1 | 1/8 ounce | 18 to 24 | 80 to 90 | 100 pounds | 90 |
| Squash, Winter | 4/1 to 4/15 | 7/1 to 8/1 | 1/2 ounce | 24 to 48 | 85 to 100 | 100 pounds | |
| Tomato (plants) | 4/1 to 4/15 | 7/1 to 8/1 | 1/8 ounce | 18 to 36 | 70 to 90 | 100 pounds | 40 |
| Beans, Bush | 4/1 to 5/1 | 8/1 to 8/15 | 1/2 pound | 3 to 4 | 45 to 60 | 120 pounds | 14 |
| Beans, Pole | 4/1 to 5/1 | 8/1 to 8/15 | 1/2 pound | 4 to 6 | 60 to 70 | 150 pounds | 30 |
| Beans, Lima | 4/1 to 5/1 | 8/1 to 8/15 | 1/4 pound | 3 to 4 | 80 | 50 pounds | 40 |
| Corn, Sweet | 4/1 to 5/1 | 7/15 to 8/1 | 3 to 4 ounces | 12 to 18 | 70 to 90 | 10 dozen ears | 10 |
| Mustard | 4/1 to 5/1 | 7/10 to 9/1 | 1/4 ounce | 6 to 12 | 30 to 40 | 100 pounds | 30 |
| Potatoes, Sweet | 4/1 to 5/15 | Not Rec. | 75 to 100 plants | 12 to 16 | 100 to 130 | 100 pounds | |
| Watermelon | 4/1 to 5/15 | 7/1 to 7/15 | 1/2 ounce | 36 to 96 | 80 to 100 | 40 fruits | 30 |
| Pepper | 4/10 to 5/1 | 7/1 to 8/1 | 1/8 ounce | 18 to 24 | 60 to 90 | 60 pounds | 90 |
| Pumpkin | 4/15 to 5/15 | 7/1 to 8/1 | 1/2 ounce | 36 to 48 | 75 to 100 | 100 pounds | |
| Peas, Southern | 4/15 to 6/1 | 7/1 to 8/1 | 1/2 pound | 4 to 6 | 60 to 70 | 40 pounds | 30 |
| Watermelon | 4/15 to 6/1 | 7/1 to 7/15 | 1/2 ounce | 36 to 96 | 75 to 100 | 40 fruits | 30 |
| Okra | 4/15 to 7/1 | Not Rec. | 2 ounces | 24 | 55 to 65 | 100 pounds | 90 |
| Brussel Sprouts | Not Rec. | 8/1 to 10/1 | 1/4 ounce | 14 to 24 | 90 to 100 | 75 pounds | 21 |
| Parsley | Not Rec. | 8/10 to 10/1 | 1/4 ounce | 2 to 4 | 70 to 90 | 30 pounds | 90 |
This page last updated or reviewed [220721]
