1. There are 2 seasons in Texas... summer and winter. At least that's my opinion having moved here (20 years ago)from a climate that reaches 10 below zero in the winter. You might notice fall and spring, but if you sneeze you might miss them too.

2. Hmmm... not sure I'm understanding this one, but if you have full (afternoon) sun in an area, don't plant anything there unless it explicitly survives in full Texas sun which may also be interpreted to mean "hotter than he!! conditions".

3. If you buy something this time of year be prepared to pot it up into a larger pot as soon as you get home. Root bound plants will probably not thrive in the August heat, even if you water them each day, keep them in shade and sing to them.

4. Plants and trees tend to go on sale now when it's too hot, too costly and near impossible to keep the container plants thriving at the local nurseries.

5. Figure out your zone by the temperature your area gets down to (the low)in the winter, rather than going by the squiggly line on a zonal map. Squiggly lines lie.

6. Dunno-don't live there, but the major risk occurs in the winter as to whether the plants you plant are hardy enough to live through the low temp. in your area. Thus, the need for knowing what zone you're in.

Of course you can always create microclimates, but that's a whole 'nother subject...

You're South of North Central Texas. Are you drier than DFW? You're further south so you're warmer. I believe West Texas is a lot colder than you are. Fall is around October. It depends when things start cooling off at night really. DFW has a longer fall than where I come from at least! (Los Angeles County/desert).
I'd go ahead and plant anything I bought in a pot during the hot periods here. The ground has a lot more protection than a pot! I've erected shade cloth "tents" to protect establishing plants in summer. Also, wilting doesn't neccessarily mean dry. Test the soil for moisture with a finger or a meter before watering always. PJ

Now, now...Texas has four seasons. Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer, and Christmas. ;-)

Of course, as a season, "Christmas" might be in December, or February. The property I lived on last I had a large Joseph's Coat rose (5-6 feet in diameter, 6-7 feet tall) that almost always had a full bloom on Christmas day. I thought that beat a white Christmas any time. *G*

Y'all are too funny! Thanks for starting my morning with a laugh.

new in texas, good for you for asking questions. I wish I had asked rather than wasting hundreds of $$$ when I moved here. (It got so bad I created a website for gardenign in my particular area to save other newbies.)

I think your best bet would be to find the local gardening club. Gardeners love to share information.

The link below has recommended plants lists for your area and other information.

Best of luck to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tom Green Co Extension

I'm still adding a few odds and ends, since our summer heat seems to have arrived late I'm *guessing* we're going to have a longer 'still summer' but I'm filling specific holes, and going for full sun plants that are already well established and already acclimated to full sun.

I just added pentas and a duranta yesterday, but both were 2 gallon pots.

When I plant them I prune them back a little to help combat the wilt factor.

Okay, it was late, I had a beer and I might not have made sense.

Back to the full sun thing...
I have an area that gets sun until 1pm, that would be 6 hours of morning sun. That means that area gets XXXX sun (fill in the XXXX please)
And then the reverse, an area that gets 6 hours of full sun after 1pm is XXXX sun.
For some reason I'm getting confused and thinking that means the areas are only part sun. It must be all the reading I do about other areas of the county.

As for the winter low temperatures to figure out the zone, everything I've found is just "squiggly lines" on a map. This past winter we had some snow, this is the only winter I've had here so I don't know what to base it on other than hubs saying "I promise you it's never like this here". How do you figure out your zone without using a squiggly line map by entering in your zip code?

txspice, I have checked out your website, quite a few times actually, it is very helpful and I only wish someone around here would do something similar.
Our MG and NPSOT chapters haven't updated their site in ages and there aren't any lists on it. The extension office does have some lists and I have them all bookmarked. The list just seem to be sorta small, I want more choices!

The sites that I've found for Midland and Abilene have a lot more info and I figured since they were northwest and north of me they'd be colder so things would surely make it through our winters.

Here is a link that might be useful: TX High Plains recommended list

That is a great suggestion, TXspice, anyone locally could give much better advice than those of us in another area. I am reminded of Tally's response on another thread that stated an area less than fifty miles from her could not grow the same plants she could.

As I was out watering, yes pj I stuck my finger in the ground to make sure they needed it, I thought of another...

"Until established"
Is that generally a week, a season, a year? Is there a way to tell when it really is established?

I think I'm going to have to hang out at one of the local nurseries with a shirt that says "Will dig for mentoring".

That might work and might not. If you are willing to water, they might feel that you are a prize!

Afternoon sun is undesireable at this time of year. San Angelo is in a different world from us in the winter, but in summer, Texas is Texas! HOT! especially in the full sun. Six hours of sun would be considered full sun, especially afternoon sun. Morning sun is just full sun, but not terrible full sun. Get it? Morning sun is usually o.k.; Afternoon sun is killer sun.

Some things do like the sun, regardless of when they get it, like okra and zinnias.

The sun under the mesquite tree should be quite valuable. I have never grown anything under a mesquite tree, however, so I couldn't tell you if the trees put off harmfull stuff like a walnut does, but the diffused light would be good, as far as that is concerned.

'Until established' usually means that the plant has put down new roots in it's new abode. You might pay attention to see when it is putting on new foliage, and hold back on the water a bit. If the plant does not suffer, you might consider it established. Mind you, this is MY opinion, and not necessarily one that is true for everybody.

Why would you move to San Angelo, anyway? I love the area, and I wouldn't mind living there, if only to have the opportunity to visit 'Zentner's Daughters' any time I wanted!

I would make a trip to the extension office, and ask the agent there the questions you have asked us. Also, you can get information from TAMU via their website.

Also, I know you don't get much rain there; a real good reason to Google 'Rain Gardens' (images), and see what you think of that. There are some gorgeous ones, especially in West Texas.

We (Jackson County MG) are putting one in as part of a native plant garden project we are doing with the 4-H kids. I am excited about this!

Plants will go on sale now, and in the fall. Fall is when the temps cool and life is delightful again, and you see your neighbor in the yard again. It lasts awhile here, but probably not so long for you. We don't have much winter here, maybe 3 days, and seldom are they consecutive. That's why we live here. We HATE winter!

Good luck on your search for knowledge.

Janie

As far as what I've read establishing takes a couple years or so. There is a rhyme for when plants are ready to take off and do thier own thing.
1st year sleep
2nd year creep
3rd year leap!
My plants behave totally different after the 2nd year or so. I protect/baby valuable plants from heat/cold for the first 2 yrs. After that they'd better be able to make it alone!PJ

I would consider San Angelo Zone 7 for almost all planting you do but like stated earlier plantings on the southern side(micro-climate) of heat radiating objects may give you the chance to do some zone 8 plants.
As to plant labels stick with full sun plants only for your afternoon sun and part to full sun for your morning side plantings.
Most plants are planted in spring which is still when most people plant regardless if it is the best time to plant a given plant or not.(Hence nurserys (mine included) supply the broadest and most diverse selection and sizes at that time.
Many plants can be planted in the summer but most people don't want to deal with the constant attention to water that these plants will need if planted during that time period. Many Evergreen plants that are zone appropriate can be plant year round yet I see very few customers in the November-Feb time period and again a nursery can't afford to stock and maintain a brimming full nursery selection when only a handful of customers are coming in and even considering planting.
Fall is a great time for most but not all plantings. It starts as the first cool fronts start coming in and night time becomes cool enough to enjoy being outside and you start opening windows to enjoy some fresh cool air at night. Maybe as early as mid-Sept but more often Oct. is the month to get serious about fall planting of many things. The challenge will be what is available for you to plant because many nurseries have pared down inventory because not enough gardeners take advantage of this PRIME time of year and many that do want the plants at sale price (read at cost or below). Having been in the nursery business for 22 years (12 in Texas) this is an observation not to dis my fellow gardeners. I like many nurseries are trying to offer as much as is reasonble business-wise throughout the year but the customer is the ultimate driver of what will be carried and when, if you are going to survive in this challenging but personally rewarding vocation (read most of us aren't into for the pay). An average 1st year teacher makes more than a good nurseryman after 10 years of caring and teaching others about his plants(children).
Do get to know your Ag extention and Master Gardners in the area as well as the native plant people in your area, also search out the best of type nurseries in your area and look for free seminars put on there and if you stop by throughout the year you will get lots of free and probably useful advise as well as see what is carried at any given time throughout the year. Any of these will give you much needed advise and ideas to work into your situation. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are great gardens or landscapes.
Last but not least continue to frequent this forum and ask questions and lurk and search as anyone that does, no matter how long they have grown plants will find little gems of wisdom and of course a great bunch of caring folks that wish you all the best in you gardening future.
Happy Growing David

I do think that most of those plants listed on the Texas Smartscape site are good for most of the state. They just started with the North Central Texas area since those who developed the site are located in Fort Worth.

Be sure to also check out the Texas Superstar plant list. These plants have passed the garden trials in test garden across the state.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Superstar Plants

I have never seen a plant die when it's 100 outside from too much water. There is no such thing. Of course, the plant may not need all that water, but it won't kill it. I promise.
In my yard it works best to put "part sun" plants in the 6 hours of morning sun location and "full sun" plants in the 6 hours of afternoon sun location. "Full shade" plants work with 5 or less hours of morning sun. Most full shade plants just won't grow without some sun. I found that out the hard way.
Lots of plants go on sale during the summer time. It works best for me to go ahead and buy them when I see what I like and then put them in pots by a water hose. If I plant them in the yard it is such a pain to drag the hose to those plants every single day and I usually end up giving up and the plant dies because it's roots aren't established enough to live in the heat. If the pots are beside the faucet then it's no big deal to turn it on and water them every day or every other day.
"Till established" - for me this means I water daily for a month if I just planted them and it is summer time. In the fall you can do it daily for 1 week. In the spring you can do it daily for 1 week but then at least once a week after that during the summer because the roots didn't have time to establish. No matter when they were planted you'll still need to check on them during their first summer in the ground just to make sure they don't need water. If plants are drought tolerant then they should be fine after that first full year. I've got plants all over the yard that literally haven't been watered since their first year in the ground. And we had a drought last year and the year before, but they did fine.
As far as planting things in the fall- Anything in October through Feb will generally have time to establish. Anything after Feb will have to be babied during the summer.
For your zone. If you are in a squiggly zone area, like I am, then plant the zone 7 and colder plants in the fall. Any zone 8 plants should be planted in the spring, so that they are established enough to take the winter. Many many zone 8 plants are growing in my yard, and there are even some zone 9s. Not that I recommend that! But there are lots of plants that can tolerate cold winters IF they have scorching hot summers. And that is one thing that we do have around here!

new in texas

Hi! I'm your neighbor up Hwy 67.

We are zone 7b...not as cold as the Panhandle and not as warm as DFW, East Texas or Gulf Coast; we are much drier. This spring was not normal for us, I'm praying it does become the norm. :)

Schertz Nursery on Knickerbocker has a Fall sale (think at the end of September)...watch for the ad. Some plants are 1/2 off including trees (we bought a Red Oak a couple of years ago for $10 and it has done great). Last year I came home with a tropical hibiscus that bloomed all winter on my enclosed porch. A couple years ago I got a Flame Acanthus that is one of my husband's favorite plants. It is a neat nursery to visit...huge trees (born here--have never seen many large trees LOL).

Right now I'm having to water a couple of times a week or more to keep things from wilting too much. I do not have much shade (working on getting more).

If you do buy something, don't do HD or Lowe's...they do not water the plants...you get home with it and it dies! There is another nursery way out on S. Bryant Freeway nearly to the Loop (it has changed hands--can't remember the name) that has great things in the spring. Was there couple years ago and they had lots of mint and salvia. Olive Nursery is good...not as good as it was years ago. I also shop at M & R's Nursery...have found plants for good price. Have trailing lavender lantana that came from there and Mexican Mint Marigold that was on sale.

Oh, I was told the City of San Angelo sells plants when they divide their gardens. Not sure that would include the water lily collection! : )

John E. Begnaud is County Extension Agent-Horticulture. He is on the TV station often with suggestions. Think I recall he helped the city choose plants for the River Walk. We have not been there in recent years for the July 4th fireworks/Pops concert at the River Stage so I not sure what has gone in since we were last there.

I'm putting in lots of lantana in various colors; my lawn is just about gone in the back yard, YEAH!! The butterflies and hummingbirds love it. This year we have lots of tomatoes...the neighbors hide when they seeing us coming LOL.

Our humidity is much lower than zone 8; our ground cracks and it is the devil to get it soaked good. Considering all the mulch we bought last fall/winter you would think I would have it all covered, plus all the grass clippings our neighbor gave us from the mowing he does in the neighborhood --but alas, I still have areas that need MULCH! If you have trees...get a grinder and make your own mulch from the fallen limbs...that is what we do...neighbors bring their limbs over and put over our gate.

Be sure and save your leaves...first norther blows ALL of ours down the street and they head for Concho County! Bah Humbug! The leaf mulch is wonderful to hold in moisture and feed your plants.

Do you do cannas? I might have some cannas to divide and some Crimson King iris next year.

Good luck!
Peggy

Janie,

Thanks for the comment on rain gardens. I have an area out front that is now a depression in my yard which holds lots of water after heavy rains. This happened after my not-so-nice neighbor, to say it kindly, raised the grade of his yard. I have been slowly putting out plants that like water, including a bald cypress (I have an acre of land.), cannas, and swamp rose. I am getting ready to add some ferns. Good idea. Thanks so much.

Linda, in case you do not know, the bald cypress will put up knees all over your yard.

Don't forget TX star hibiscus! They LOVE standing water. PJ

I totally agree with the sleep creep leap analogy, but would add, that different plants will have different ages when you purchase them. A 2 gallon nursery camellia is going to have more root to it than a 1 gallon home depot plant (usually) so by buying the larger plant, it can have a better chance of creeping and leaping sooner than the smaller plant.

This is also reflected in prices, so whether you're willing to baby along a younger plant can save you money, but the cost is made up in worry and labor.

As for in ground established, I think there's a mid ground. Once it starts putting out new growth, then you're making progress. Each year, I've noticed the stuff that dies back to the ground comes back faster and bigger. Each time it comes back it becomes more established.