A lovely new variety of salvia is blooming its head off right now in Texas. Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' has huge striking rose-colored blooms. Plants grow to 3'-4' tall and 2'-3' wide in full sun.

They are cold hard to about 25 F so should make it through winter in much of the state. We'll occasionally lose them here in winter in the DFW area, but we'll call it a tender perennial. This is definitely going to be a must for the hummingbird garden next year! Now is a great time to plant perennial salvias, along with many other perennials such as heuchera, hellebore, stachys, Mexican bush sage, scabiosa, etc.

Now is a Great Time to Seed Lettuce

Really, it's just about one of the easiest veggies to grow! In the DFW area, you can grow salad greens from September through May of the following year! And growing your own beats paying $7.99 a pound for organic greens at the store.

You'll want to direct seed lettuce into the garden now. Lettuce seeds need light to germinate so just sprinkle them onto moist soil surface and press down gently. Do not cover with soil! Because seeds are exposed, you'll need to be diligent about keeping the soil surface moist until germination (consistency of a wrung out sponge). As seedlings sprout and put on their first set of true leaves, you'll then want to thin out seedlings so that remaining seedlings have room to grow.

While you may want to harvest entire heads of lettuces such as Romain or Butterhead, it's not necessary. You can do what is called loose-leaf haresting on these plants from fall through spring. New leaves emgerge from the center of the plant and then splay outwards. Simply snip off leaves as they reach about 4-inches and continue harvesting around the plant as it grows.If you do want to harvest the entire head, then do what is called "succession planting". Sow new seeds in the garden every 2-3 weeks.

Lettuces are biennials, meaning they will grow foliage the first season, and then bolt, or flower, the next. So after warm temperatures hit in late spring/early summer, your greens will bolt and you'll need to stop harvesting. Pitch leftover plants into the compost bin! Feed your greens with an organic veggie food every couple of weeks (liquid) or monthly (granular).

Well, I don't want to jinx anything, especially considering what we experienced last October, but this month has just about been the nicest we've seen in a long time! The weather is great, night temperatures cool...it's a great time for planting just about anything.

It's an especially good time to get Narcissus (Daffodils), Lycoris, Anemone, Leucojum, Muscari, Hyacinthoides, Dutch Iris and many other perennial bulbs in the ground. The next couple of weeks will be peak availability at the local garden centers so you'll have the best selection of bulbs to choose from. Don't wait until December because many varieties will be long gone.

I love the new trailing pansies in the 'Plentifall' series. I mean, I'm in love with pansies and violas in general...I never tire of them. In our Texas gardens, they provide such lovely color and fragrance from fall through spring and they are so cheery.

photo courtesy of PanAmerican Seed

This new series of pansy hybrids are trialing which makes them perfect for containers and hanging baskets. We don't have many options here for trailing flowering plants for the winter season so these are a great addition to our cool-season plant pallet. Can't wait to plant mine!

How and Went to Plant Tulips in Hot Climates

UPDATED 2024

If you live in Texas and want to have a beautiful spring display of tulips, early fall is the time to get planning. Local Garden Centers should have their best selection of spring bulbs in-stock by about mid-October. If you're shopping online or mail order, don't wait to order or vendors will be out of stock before it's time for you to plant!

When growing tulips in hot climates here are a few keys to having great looking tulips that bloom on time in spring.

1. If you garden in a warm climate with mild winters you must buy bulbs that are properly pre-chilled. Tulips require a vernalization. That means about 8-10 weeks of soil temperatures between about 45F and 50F and then a return of warm temperatures to produce a flower bud. If the bulb does not get the proper vernalization, it won't bloom. Also, if a bulb has been pre-chilled and then left out in warm temperatures for long enough, it will de-vernalize...and not bloom. You can try chilling your tulip bulbs in the refrigerator, but that only works for small quantities and most refrigerators are set colder than is optimal for tulip bulb vernalization. Then there is also the moisture and ethylene problem in the fridge.

2. Plant them on time. In my extensive experience with planting large tulip displays, the best time in the DFW area to plant tulip bulbs is about the third week of December. You have to wait until soil temperatures are consistently below 50F. The golden rule is don't plant them before Thanksgiving and try to get them planted by the end of December.

3. Plant them deep. Plant them 6"-8" deep from the tip of the bulb to soil surface. I usually plant mine at least 8" deep. The biggest mistake people make here when they plant tulips is planting them too shallow. Temperatures fluctuate more in the top few inches of the soil. So if you plant your tulips only 3"-4" deep, they will often emerge too early (especially when we have those January thaws). This can result in wimpy flowering, or the flowers being damaged by a subsequent frost. They can also blast, meaning the flower will open down at ground level. This is a result of the bulb being exposed to high temps very quickly after vernalization. By planting them deep, they will be insulated from those early warm temps and they will bloom on-time. Adding a couple of inches of mulch on top of the soil will help.

SO, to recap:

1. Only buy properly pre-chilled tulips.

2. Plant them on time: December, when soil temperatures are 50F or below. You can purchase an inexpensive soil thermometer.

3. Plant deep! A minimum of 6" deep, 8" is better for tulips.

Ok, never did I think I'd be picking an ASIAN JASMINE as a favorite new plant of mine, but there is just something about 'Snow-N-Summer' that has me hooked! If you haven't seen this new beauty, it's basically just like your standard groundcover Asian Jasmine, except the new growth emerges pink, then fades to white before turning green. It's such a lovely color effect. It looks fabulous in containers too...

So you may have seen this post some time ago about a mystery Iris in my garden. My new friend Kelly Norris from Rainbow Iris Farm was nice enough to ID it for me...finally!!

This is Iris 'Thornbird'. Such a lovely combination of beige and purple! I'll be bringing in some loose rhizomes of 'Thornbird' the first week of September at NHG. FABULOUS!

Blooming Perennial that Takes the Heat

Ok, looking for a perennial that will thrive and bloom during the worst of summer heat? AND you can eat it? Give garlic chives a try. This beauty just starting blooming about a week and a half ago in my garden, during one of the hottest Texas Augusts on record (Not sure we've seen a day below 104F all month).

The garlic chives in this photo are flanked by some 'Profusion Yellow' zinnias I just planted a couple of weeks ago, also in the heat, which are doing great. The 'Serena Purple' Angelonia and white periwinkles also look great in the heat.