It is a tall perennial member of the Composite family indigenous to eastern and central North America. Water deeply and then let dry out.Image obtained from: Purple Coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea)Įchinacea purpurea, also called Purple Coneflower, is one of the most widely cultivated medicinal plants in the US (Ross, 2016) and Europe (Barrett, 2003).

Avoid over-watering plants as we head into heat.

Water fruit and nut trees deeply to avoid fruit drop-off.

Walk the garden in early morning to pick off stink bugs and largus bugs from tomatoes.

Prune herbs often to encourage new growth.

Keep a garden journal to note bloom times and insect habits.

A brief shower doesn’t mean it penetrated to the roots. Even if rain comes, check the soil to 3” deep to make sure their roots have water. Do not apply chemicals: pull them up or mow down before they set seed.

Mulch, but avoid touching the base of trees and roses.

Collect cilantro seeds when totally dry for coriander in the kitchen or to plant next year.

Store in jars, envelopes, or paper bags (not plastic) to plant in November.

Collect seeds from spring-blooming plants.

Leave clippings on the lawn to naturally fertilize. Don’t remove more than 1/3 of the top at a time. As we head into summer, keep the roots cool by leaving the grass long.

Move the lawn mower setting up to high.

Remove damaged leaves to the trash (not the compost pile).

Aphids and other insects can create sooty mold on plants, a fungus that develops from their secretions (honeydew).

Ladybugs and green lacewings will be chomping down those aphids, so watch for them and their larvae.

Be sure to get the undersides of the leaves.

It’s easy to spray them off with a hard blast of water. Fertilize every few weeks through growing season. Citrus with high nitrogen fertilizer like Citrus-tone.Fertilize bougainvillea with high nitrogen.Foliar feed flowers and vegetables with liquid seaweed.Late-spring blooming bulbs while you can still see them!.Once-only spring bloomers if you haven’t already.

Cut back fall blooming perennials like aster.

No need to apply pruning paint to other trees.

Trees: DO NOT prune red oaks and live oaks unless damaged.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Vegetable Planting Guides (Central Texas).

Cantaloupe, okra, Southern peas, sweet potato slips, pumpkin, summer & winter squash, watermelon.

Basil, catnip/catmint, oregano, thyme, rosemary, Mexican mint marigold, peppermint, lemongrass, lemon balm, lemon verbena, bay laurel.

Top new containers with light layer of mulch to conserve water use decomposed granite, pea gravel or other grit for potted succulents.

Clean up and replant containers-annuals, perennials, herbs, hibiscus, vegetables in larger containers.

Ornamental (clumping) grasses like muhly and Mexican feather grass.

Crinum lilies, cannas, caladiums, ginger.

Perennials & vines: (shade them for a week or so).

Annuals: zinnia, cosmos, sunflower, celosia, penta, periwinkle, gomphrena, portulaca and other “ice” plant succulents, Mexican sunflower, salvia coccinea.

To combat this, loosen the planting area with expanded shale, and even consider planting on berms.

In droughty years, this won’t be too hard, but in years with lots of winter and spring rain, the plants may rot, especially if you have any amount of clay in your soil. The stems of Echinacea remain entirely just below the soil surface, so you’ll need to be extra careful that this beauty doesn’t stay too wet. There are lots of cultivars out there, and most of them do well in the same planting environment as the native, but may not provide seeds for native birds. You may be tempted to dead-head, but try to resist that urge: the seed heads are a great food source for small birds. The flowers are long-lasting and attract lots of pollinators to nectar and pollen, but are pretty unattractive once they fade. Producing striking individual light pink to purple flowers from spring all the way through fall, Echinacea is very drought tolerant and should be watered sparingly, in only the hottest, driest of times. In the right conditions, coneflower will seed out for even more. Purple coneflower can reach a height of about 2 feet, and perhaps an additional 12 to 18 inches, including its flower spikes, but each plant stays very compact in width, at only a foot or so.Ĭluster in groups of 3-5 for the most impact. Native coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, is an easy-care, herbaceous perennial for sun to part/bright shade.

Purple coneflower embroidery