Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Wednesday - July 01, 2009
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Compost and Mulch, Transplants, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Planting from pots in summer in Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
It's the last week in June and temperatures are going to be at 100 or more all week. I've some plants that I'm wondering about transplanting to an exposed site in this heat: muhlenbergeria lindheimeriana (one gallon)and cassia lindheimeriana (4 in"), and several 4" pots of Mexican wire grass. Should I wait for a break (back down into the 90s?)or a few cloudy days? Once they have a couple days break, they will still have to contend with months more of sun, heat and water from the hose. I remembering reading or hearing that, beyond the problems of heat stress, too much moisture in this heat can be detrimental to unestablished plants that normally take a lot of heat in dry weather. In order to establish these plants, I'll be watering in the evenings. Do I have any options, or do I wait until mid September?ANSWER:
We feel your pain, we garden in Austin, too. Our first impulse was to say: One word - WAIT! Then, we looked at your question more closely and realized you were not talking about moving plants from one garden spot (in the dirt) to another; you had the plants still in (probably) black plastic nursery containers. We hope you are keeping them in shaded conditions and watering regularly because, if not, the roots are probably already fried. Our suggestion is that you slather some mosquito repellant on yourself and plant those in the evening, after the sun has gone down. Make sure the soil is already prepared for good drainage and easy adaptation by the roots. Working some compost into the soil before you ever put the plant in there is a very good idea. This will help with drainage, make trace elements available to the plant roots and, in general, be gentle with those roots. On your evening planting expedition, get the plants into the soil as quickly as possible, and then water very gently by sticking a hose deep down in that nice compost and letting it dribble very slowly. If there is still daylight, or the next morning, cover the root areas with a good quality shredded hardwood mulch. This will keep the sun off those baby roots, cool the ground, and help to hold in moisture. Continue to water very gently (no overhead) every other morning or so (to help prevent mildew) and don't fertilize. Any plant being transplanted right now is a plant in stress, and stressed plants don't need fertilizer.
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Invasive Indian paintbrushes in Grawn MI
June 04, 2012 - I have lots of Indian paintbrushes crowding my lawn and taking over the grass..what kills it without killing the grass?
view the full question and answer
Plants to hold a slope in Western PA
April 04, 2010 - We have a hillside that keeps moving/sliding due to lack of vegetation. What kind of ground covering can we plant to help maintain and stabilize the hillside? If you need to know the climate here, we...
view the full question and answer
Creating a wildflower meadow
May 18, 2013 - I have an area 1-6 acres worth that is currently grass that I would like to overseed with wildflower seed. The local native plant nursery says that would be a waste. I don't really want to kill gra...
view the full question and answer
Plants for aerobic septic system in Houston
February 03, 2011 - My husband and I would like to plants some trees and shrubs, but we have an aerobic system taking up most of the yard :( Can you recommend any trees that won't hurt that? Also shrubs for our weath...
view the full question and answer
Possible to grow Inland Sea Oats in Oklahoma?
March 17, 2011 - Would it be possible to grow inland sea oats in Southeast Oklahoma? Is this within the range of this plant? I am asking on behalf of my cousin in OK.
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |