PlantMaster guidelines for expedient answers!

We hope your early
fall has been good!

What's wrong with my
Sago Palm?

I surfed the web and found a link to a page with similar photos (I've included the link below). You might go and read about the problems in those photos and decide if you think that these photos and the customer's photo could be related. I think that a combination of nutrition, pH and culture might be the problem with our customer. Here is what the Texas A&M Plant Disease Diagnostic laboratory said about the photo when I sent it to them:

"In my opinion, these symptoms do not really suggest infectious disease. It looks like this plant has experienced an "episode" of something that has stressed/damaged tissue at a certain stage of maturity or development. It appears that oldest and youngest tissue is not affected or minimally affected. It is difficult to say what this might be...I tend to think NOT anything infectious, but more physiological or cultural...or even chemical (drift, exposure, etc). I can't rule out some type of nutritional stress but nutritional stress generally develops slowly over time...so aspects of time of progression of occurrence would be important here. I would ask if anything had been sprayed in the general vicinity prior to symptom development.

"At this point in time, I see no reason to apply any type of fungicide... unless additional evaluation and/or symptom suggest fungal problems."

Poisonous Walking Stick

Got a message lately about a foreign species of walking stick insect that has invaded Texas and spits acid into your eyes, causing pain and possible blindness? Here are the facts (you'll have to put up with a couple of ads from this site, but it's a great site to debunk possible urban myths and clarify other stories that might be true).

Previous Garden Notes Newsletters

Celebrate Safely

Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year's, Thanksgiving, Halloween or all of the above, the year-end holiday season is a time to enjoy. But as it coincides with colder temperatures and heating season, we need to exercise additional caution to have a safe Holiday Season.

Have your heating units checked and cleaned early. Keep space heaters away from anything that can burn and keep fireplace fires small and covered with a screen.

When you give a party, use chafing dishes with caution, provide smokers with non-tip ashtrays, and keep an eye on anyone who is drinking and smoking.

Mixing children with matches and lighters, like for New Year's celebrations or lighting Holiday candles can be a dangerous situation. Teach older children how to light the candles and fireplaces and keep all matches and lighters out of children's reach.

Be sure that you use indoor lighting that has been tested by an independent laboratory, throw away any sets of lights with frayed or cracked cords, and don't overload your electrical outlets. Extinguish all candles before retiring at night and never burn candles near a Christmas tree or decorations or displays.

And if you have a fresh-cut Christmas tree, check it daily and keep it well watered. If you have an artificial tree make sure that it's flame-retardant.

Enjoy this Holiday Season and many more.

Fall & Winter Plants

I thought it might be fun to list the plants that are showy right now and give you a little clue to the suitability of each for the season. So I strolled through the garden center just now and jotted down a few plants that "popped" out. If you'd like this kind of information more regularly than what I'm sending now, maybe we could do a really short note, maybe just in Text format, and send that to you. If you have any input you'd like to share, just write and tell us.

Petunias - One of the world's most popular plants is hardy to the 20s. Full sun.

Geraniums - Most people don't realize that these are hardy into the 20s during the Winter. Bloom nicely in the Fall, grow all Winter then explode in the Spring with blooms. Full sun.

Snapdragons - Winter hardy to the lower 20s, choose from tall "rocket" types or "border" types. Full sun and will bloom all Winter and next Spring.

Pansies & Violas - THE favorite Winter bedding plants. Very hardy, bloom all Winter and into next Spring. Full sun best.

Bulbine - More is visible in streetside and median plantings these days. Yellow or golden spikes of blooms on plants that look like green onions. Very Winter-hardy and perennial. Full sun.

Cuphea - Several varieties including the Mexican Heather and the taller, "cigar" types like 'David Verity'. Taller varieties have more prominent flowers. Perennial, Semi-shade to full sun.

Hamelia - Firebush or Hummingbird Bush, it's blooming right now and will repeat in the spring if protected through the winter. If not, then it will usually die down to the ground and return from the soil, blooming by Summer. Full sun.

Polka-Dot Plants - Also called Pink Splash, these plants can become perennial in the protected garden. Leaves speckled in rose, pink or red, and an occasional white variety. Can be kept small with pinching, and are ideal for container combinations.