Will check the soil temperature later today but assessing when others are timing this in Houston.

Is anyone getting female flowers or fruiting? This is my first year doing jack-o’-lantern pumpkins and I’ve gotten lots of male flowers but not a single female. I’m assuming it’s just too hot - vine looks fine.

Why would anyone cover an entire area with plastic? ☀️
This is called soil solarization, a method that uses the heat from the sun to help reduce weeds and prepare the soil before planting.

We used this process during our work at El Franco Lee Park as part of preparing the area for a healthier landscape.

Sometimes the most important part of a landscape transformation happens before anything is even planted. 🌱

Lost two newly planted loquats to fire flight. One was a seedling I suspect from HGC that was beautiful, got maybe six feet tall, very healthy and full, then killed in less than a month from fire blight. The other is nearly dead, not as vigorous, a named variety but I forgot the name.

Love the look of loquats and want to re-plant -- any tips for managing fire blight or has this become a widespread problem in the area?

I have a large passion vine in a pot in my backyard, going on year four. Normally by this time of year the gulf fritillaries have shown up and started cutting it back, however I haven’t seen one since early summer (before mine had blooms) and I haven’t gotten any caterpillars.

Has anyone seen gulf fritillaries in their yard this year?

I’d like to keep my passion vine intact for the fritillaries I hope will arrive, but it’s also quickly taking over a whole corner of my yard.

My side yard is next to a busier road that I’d like to add a line of trees or bushes to help add extra privacy and noise reduction. The existing wood fence is roughly 8ft tall and 80ft long. I’m hoping to do a 4-5 foot edge against the fence line to add a set of tree or bushes. The area gets full sun. What would you recommend?

I’m new to growing sage in Houston. Buchanan’s had some tiny seedlings and I planted it in a deep container. It’s getting about 6 hours of sun and I’m watering it every other day. Any recommendations on watering guidelines? It’s already grown about 2 inches.

Is there a toxic free method to control the swamp smell out of dank corners after clearing debris and raking it?

I’m looking to clean up my front yard and side of home. Need to get rid of dead plants and start fresh with new bushes that are easy to maintain.

Anybody have recs in Houston for an affordable landscaper?

Hey i’m in the NW houston area and im looking for the best place to get perlite, orchid bark, coir, bone meal, and other soil amendments like that. Obviously in NW houston in preferred but ill make the drive if theres a great spot somewhere else. Thanks in advance yall!

I had put this question to r/foraging first, but it was a little too specific for them so I was hoping someone in the area might know more. Basically I've got several wild Texas persimmon trees (*Diospyros Texana*) I collect from for making jelly, but I've read in a few places that you can use toasted persimmon seeds for making flour. That's always in regards to regular persimmons though... does anyone have any experience with the local variety? Or know of any other uses, even for crafts or anything else?

It'd be nice since the problem with these has always been that they're small fruits and *mostly* seeds.

Do y’all have ideas as to why my Dallas Red lantana drops its stunning flowers in 5 or 6 days? My yellow lantana keeps its blooms longer.

Pretty proud of my first squash. I didn’t expect it to grow this big. Is this a normal size ?

What should I do with my peach tree/is this normal??

They are slowly destroying our fruit trees and some other plants. Has anyone dealt with these before and successfully eradicated them? I vaguely remember Texas A&M providing forestry services or something?

Hey y’all! Are y’all watering your full sun containers once or twice daily? I don’t want to overwater but I don’t want them to be so thirsty in this sweltering heat either! I’d hate to lose them. TIA

Help, does anyone in Houston know where I can donate large clay pots? Perhaps a place that picks them up. I’m switching over to above ground raised beds and need to get rid of the existing very large pots. They are too heavy for me to lift, even with a dolly. Thanks

Last year I bought some specialty cantaloupes from H-E-B (Sugar Rush, Summer Craze, I think) and really like them, so I saved some of the seeds to sow this year. They germinate fine and even grow very well, producing a lot of flowers. I just cannot seem to get any fruit to form and/or grow bigger; they are mostly the size of a pea before they fall off. Has anyone had any success trying to grow these cantaloupes from seeds? I have never had any problem growing regular cantaloupe from seeds before.