Hi Courtney, Try the Texas Smartscape website and the Native Plant Database. The former is a program that started in the DFW area, the latter is attached to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center down in Austin. You probably have some plants that will handle the move, they might need different amounts of sun/shade and water here. One of the biggest issues I can see, beyond the fact that our nights are a lot warmer than they are in Utah, is rainfall. I haven't checked a map to make sure, but I'm pretty sure we get a lot more rain than you're used to. But, then we can turn around and go weeks without any rain to speak of. We're getting to a case of "Feast or Famine" with the rainfall. I would identify the most important plants, to you, and concentrate on trying to move those. They may wind up being container plants but that can be a good thing. Fewer plants might make the apartment stay easier--speaking from experience, watering a lot of potted plants using watering cans is a pain! Maybe you can try thinking of the move not as "I'm leaving all of this work and love and tears behind" but as "I'm leaving my garden for someone new to enjoy" and a chance to learn new things and try new plants. I grew up in San Antonio and had mental lists of all of the plants that I wanted to have once I had a house. Then I bought a house in Lewisville (north of Dallas) and there are whole sections of those lists that I cannot grow here unless I want to treat them as annuals. But, there are other plants that I can grow here that would not do well in San Antonio. And there are a lot of friendly people here who would be willing to share plants and experience to help you get your new garden started! Good luck with the move! Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Smartscape

Del Rio is right across the Texas/Mexico border at Cuidad Acuna, (Mexico) The local landscape is arid, dry, and a lot of brown, in areas. Those areas would be where the goats have been kept. We have a parcel of land just north of Del Rio, on the Devil's River. It is a beautiful river, and our land is beautiful, but it has never had a goat on it, nor a chain. It is like it was when God made it. I love it there. It will get cold at Del Rio, but not often, not on consecutive days, and not real cold. You will love Amistad Reservoir, a man-made lake, with caves decorated with caveman drawings. Hunting is big there, and that is what our land is used for. Many, many Crockett and Boone deer taken there. I love nandina, but I have been told I am weird- many times, LOL. You will see acres of Texas sage. Remember the book, "Riders of the Purple Sage"? That is it, and IT is gorgeous! Well, the book isn't about the sage, but it is gorgeous! Welcome to Texas. I hope you enjoy it here, so much so that you will wish you had got here sooner. I lived at Marquette, and it is beautiful, but Dern! it is so cold! We had to plug our car in, lest it freeze! We rode motorcycles around Lake Superior at the end of June, and the lake was still frozen! Here, heat is the biggest problem. It does get hot! Janie Here is a link that might be useful: Check out Del Rio

Your soil choice and how you water is what determines when it's appropriate to fertilize - not the season. Mother nature doesn't remove the nutrients from the soil during periods of quiescence, predictive dormancy, OR consequential dormancy, and her plants don't seem to suffer setback due to her indifference. Nearly all who offer the well-worn advice that you shouldn't fertilize in the winter can't tell you why they offer the advice, and don't realize it's based on the assumption you'll be watering in sips for the entire winter to avoid root rot. Advice based on assumptions needs to be qualified lest it be misapplied. The advice 'not to fertilize during the winter months' assumes you'll be using a water-retentive soil you can't flush regularly w/o worrying about root rot and impaired root function. Not flushing regularly ensures not only a rapid build-up from fertilizer salts and minerals in tap water, it also causes badly skewed nutrient ratios, which in turn create antagonistic deficiencies, which occur when a toxicity (excess) of 1 nutrient causes a deficiency of another (or more) nutrient(s). Using a healthier soil you CAN flush regularly eliminates not only the over-watering concern, but the worry about build-up of mineral salts from fertilizer and tap water. Flushing the soil regularly effectively purges the soil of nutrients, sort of like pushing the fertilizer reset button and returning the salt levels to 0. THEN, when you DO fertilize with an appropriate, you can plan the solution strength so you're at the lowest possible concentration nutrients you can have w/o deficiencies, which is optimal. That is impossible to achieve by withholding nutrients. If you ARE using a water-retentive soil, your best course is to: ** Wait until your plant needs water to flush the soil THOROUGHLY by pouring room temp water = to at least 10X the volume of the pot the plant is in through the soil. ** To ensure the pot drains well, employ a wick through the bottom at the sidewall and tip the planting 45* so the wick is at the lowest point, and let it drain. ** Right the plant and slowly apply what the manufacturer suggests as a full strength fertilizer solution over the entire soil surface until about a cup comes out of the drain hole. ** Tip it again until it stops draining. Since you're fertilizing an already wet soil, the water already in the pot will act to dilute your full strength solution so it's somewhere around 1/3-1/2 strength, so don't worry you'll be over-fertilizing. ** Repeat the steps every 4-6 weeks if you're watering in sips. If you're using a high quality soil you can water properly, you can fertilize at very low rates every time you water (I do), all winter long. The only extra effort it takes is measuring 1/4 tsp into every gallon of water you irrigate with. Got all that? Al

About potting this tree: if I'm going to take it out of this pot to change the soil, should I put it back directly into this pot as I now have it, or should I put it back in the slightly smaller black plastic pot it came in and just set that pot inside this decorative one? What size pot is appropriate depends on the size of the root mass when you've finished any root work you're doing and the soil you choose/make. The soil I use for trees renders pot size moot. IOW, you can put very small plants in extremely large pots if the soil is appropriate to that arrangement. OTOH, when your soil is significantly water retentive, choice of pot size becomes more critical. Your medium should never retain a soggy layer of soil at the bottom of the pot long enough to limit root function or impact root health. Best would be to make sure you have several pot size choices and enough soil to adapt to whatever pot size is appropriate. This is pretty much a judgment primarily based on experience. Keep in mind that you can still have a reasonably healthy plant if you're using a medium that is more water retentive than what would be considered ideal, but still be sacrificing an appreciable amount of potential in terms of growth, vitality, and appearance. Very healthy plants have a 'vibrance' that requires a number of factors to favor the plant, and soil choice is very near the top of the list, if not AT the top. Should I trim the roots while I have it out? That's for you to decide based on how comfortable you are with the process. I can say, however, that regular root maintenance is a requirement if you want to maintain a high level of vitality over the long term. Once roots become congested, it's a permanent limitation until such time that you physically get your hands into the root mass to relieve that congestion. Potting up only partially relieves the limitations imposed by root congestion while a full repot w/root pruning removes it entirely. The loss of potential in trees potted up vs trees repotted is actually immense. About pruning: Once I identify the leader, do I cut the other branches back to their lowest set of leaves, or even further (leaving them without leaves at all?) Patience is an important part of working a plant for the long term. Your plant has a natural rhythm, and conforming to that rhythm for the good of the plant often requires a lot of waiting. I don't think it's a good time to do any pruning. I'd focus on getting your repotting done and then allow the plant to grow unencumbered by pruning. You might be able to choose what branch will be the new leader and do some pinching to prepare the plant for that end, but more likely the branch that will be the leader hasn't even grown yet. Healthy plants tolerate a LOT of work and bounce back willingly. Plants at low ebb or those circling the drain don't tolerate stress well at all. So, do your serious work in the summer around Father's Day and focus on what's required to keep your plants healthy. If you're determined to improve your proficiency, I can put lots of helpful info in front of you. After that, beyond the questions you ask, it's sort of up to you, and, of course, all the good folks you find along the way who are willing to help. Al