Itchy eyes? Runny nose? Clogged, painful sinuses? Sounds like allergy season has arrived. But if you love to garden, or simply enjoy spending time in your yard, don't despair. You don't have to give up the outdoors because of allergies.

Timing and common sense when it comes to lawn and garden maintenance can help prevent some allergy problems.

Warding Off Invaders

• Banishing weeds from your yard and garden — especially allergy inducers like ragweed, dock, English plantain and lamb’s quarters — can significantly reduce allergy problems.
• While doing any yard work, wear a mask to filter out excess pollen and glasses or sunglasses to protect your eyes. Wear long-sleeved cotton shirts and long pants to keep pollen away from your skin. When you finish your project for the day, take a shower and wash your work clothes to remove pollen residue.

Watch the Clock & Weather

• Pollen counts peak during the early morning and at dusk. Although cooler temperatures make these tempting times for gardening, high pollen counts can discourage even the most determined of allergy-prone gardeners.
• Most trees and shrubs that produce allergenic pollen bloom at certain times of the year. Learn the blooming times of these plants.
• If you aren’t allergic to mold, mildew, or weed pollen, gardening after rain may be a good idea for you, as rain helps wash pollen out of the air.

Pollen Pointers

• The plants in your landscape actually affect the amount of pollen in your yard. Plants with bright, pretty flowers cause fewer allergy problems because they rely on insects to transfer the pollen. In contrast, plants that rely on the wind to spread the pollen cause more allergy problems because they produce more pollen.
• Keeping lawns mowed to a proper height decreases their pollen production.

The following plants are less likely to aggravate allergies

TIP OF THE MONTH — Click on the month to the right to get that month's tip.

Click Here to learn more about Poisonous Plants

Avoiding and treating diseases in your Texas garden:

1. Keep the foliage of your plants dry.

2. Remove any dead and diseased plants from your garden. Don’t compost them!

3. Keep your garden clean by removing garden debris frequently.

4. Keep your garden tools clean.

5. Use natural products that will help deal with common plant diseases, such as horticultural cornmeal.

Read more about plant disease from Texas A&M Univ.

Other Central Texas Garden Events

Snails and slugs are rampant in many areas of the state.  This often occurs with excess watering, but is also seen in times of high rain amounts or when the fragile balance of nature gets out of whack and their natural predators (toads, turtles, birds, ants, etc.) can no longer keep up with the numbers.  Although baits are effective in control, they can also be toxic to birds and other animals.  An organic solution to curtailing damage from snails and slugs is to use copper sheet metal strips (3” strip with 1” pressed into the soil with the top ½” turned down and away from the bed) to surround the area where the problem is occurring.  If you can clean sweep the bed for a time and leave it bare, you will remove the hiding places also.  A trap (commercial one or a buried jar lid filled with beer) may be necessary to catch the culprits already within the area.

Lawn Fertilizing

Generally, late fall through early spring is the best time to plant a new tree. Most shade and ornamental trees sold in the nursery trade are either balled-and-burlaped (B&B) or container grown. B&B trees should be planted as early as possible, preferably before bud break. Container grown trees can be planted later in the season because there is less disturbance of the plant's root system.

Tree Selection

Native tree species are usually a good choice because they are adapted to local soil and rainfall conditions. Be careful! Just because a tree is native to Texas does not mean it will work in your yard. (For example, a Shumard oak from Northeast Texas will not do nearly as well in our soils as a Shumard oak grown from seed collected in Fort Worth or Waco.) There are many "exotic" species that will do very well in Central Texas, including Chinese pistache and sawtooth oak.

Trees with low, slingshot crotches may require substantial pruning in order to develop a healthy crown. The root ball should be firm and moist, and the trunk and branches should be free of damage.

Care of newly planted trees & perennials

Following the initial installation of a new garden, water approximately three times per week for the first two weeks. If your garden was installed in the heat of the summer, water everyday if it doesn't rain at least a half-inch for the first week. For the next two weeks water three times per week, or everyday if it is hot and dry. When establishing a new garden it is imperative that you watch for any signs of watering problems.

For the first year it is important that your plants stay moist. There after, the plants should be rooted in well enough to sustain on their own and handle a little stress. However, Low maintenance does not mean no maintenance. Water your plants when they look dry. Look at the soil to see if it is dry and learn to recognize drought symptoms. Your plants will tell you when they are thirsty. Check them daily and water as needed. Look for any of the following symptoms:

• Wilting
  Wilting merely indicates root damage. Always feel the soil to make sure it's not already too wet. If the plant is wilted and the soil is dry, water. If it is still wet, let it dry out before watering again.
• Folding or Cupping
  Many plants merely fold up their leaves when they are dry. Lawn grasses are excellent examples. Their leaves either fold like a book or roll like a newspaper.
• Color Changes Some plants never wilt, fold or curl when dry. Their leaves simply lose their rich green coloration. Hollies are excellent examples. Their foliage, when dry, turns a dull metallic green color.

Watering Reminder

Deep watering encourages deep rooting. Shallow watering encourages shallow, week roots. Soak the soil thoroughly when you water, then allow it to dry slightly before watering again. Your plants' root system will grow downward in search of the moist soil. Good watering equipment is one of your most important investments. Remember the requirements; whichever equipment you use must distribute water uniformly and efficiently, minimizing runoff and evaporation.

Approximate Watering guidelines

1. With the first signs of spring, deep water all vegetation approximately once each week—this would be about 30-40 minutes of sprinkler time.In the first year, give each tree a thorough soaking about two or three times each week (unless it rains) to get them through the hot summer months.Toward the end of summer and into fall, taper down the deep watering to once a week, depending on need.During the winter months, the amount of water the trees will receive from periodic rainfall and your irrigation system should be sufficient. The following summer, each tree should be deeply watered once every two weeks, depending on how much rain we've gotten.
2. Each year there after, the trees should be self-sustainable, unless there are long periods of drought.

*Note: The amount of water that plants need during establishment and beyond is arbitrary because the weather conditions play a crucial role in how plants grow, i.e., light, temperature, rain, wind, humidity, etc.

Winter Care

By wintertime, most perennials have completed their bloom cycle and stopped producing foliage. This time of year is equally as important as the growing season because this dormant time is when most plants, trees, shrubs, and grasses are establishing their roots. This is why this is the best time of year to plant, transplant, and do major pruning.

It is very important to water in all of your vegetation before a freeze. Dry plants are more likely to be damaged by freezes. If there has been a frost, some perennials might be showing signs of frost damage. Plants will let you know when they cannot sustain their foliage by browning up and wilting. Any dead looking portions on herbaceous or woody perennials should be removed with sharp, sterile pruning sheers. Woody perennials, depending on the species, should only be cut back about half way. Dormant plants do not need supplemental fertilizing until spring.

Evergreen shrubs and trees can be pruned to shape during the dormant season. They will still need supplemental watering, approximately once a week, if there hasn't been any rainfall. During establishment, it is crucial that both perennials and evergreens don't dry up because they do not have deep roots that can absorb moisture from within the soil. Thereafter, evergreens in the winter months should sustain with little care on their own.

All tree stakes should be removed after a maximum of 2 years from the time they were installed. If stakes are left on trees for a longer than 2 years girdling can take place, which can cut off the flow of nutrients & water from the roots to the rest of the tree.

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