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It s time to cut down your freeze-damaged plumbago and Pride of Barbados and hope, San Antonio
Calvin Finch, Gardening
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Hummingbirds are drawn to flowering bushes, like this one feeding on a Pride of Barbados. Calvin Finch says it’s time to cut back Pride of Barbados to the ground and hope that the roots send out new shoots.Staff file photoShow MoreShow Less
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Blue plumbago may have survived the freeze. Cut it back to the ground and hope the roots send out new shoots.MonroviaShow MoreShow Less
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Purple martins may be hanging out around bodies of water where insects are more plentiful rather than their usual stomping grounds, where the freeze may have killed too many insects.Gilbert S. Grant /Getty Images / Science SourceShow MoreShow Less
You ll be crushing on the new 2021 Rodeo Tomato, Ruby Crush
Calvin Finch, Gardening
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The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is going to be pretty different this year thanks to COVID, but nothing can stop the picking of the annual Rodeo Tomato. And as far as Jerry Parsons, the horticulture specialist with the Texas Cooperative Extension in San Antonio, and I are concerned, this choice is excellent and extremely easy for us to support.
It is the Ruby Crush cherry tomato that we have been recommending to area gardeners for a number of years. The Ruby Crush is a determinate selection which means that it quickly grows to its full size and then concentrates on producing fruit.
Winter weeds or sustainable winter lawn? It s about perspective
Calvin Finch, Gardening
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HorseherbCourtesy photo
Sustainable Winter Turf (SWT) is the concept that Jerry Parsons, my colleague on the Gardening South Texas Radio Show, and I developed when our St. Augustine lawns became more shaded and we came to appreciate the winter weeds that infested (we now say “enhanced”) the shade- and drought-affected lawns.
For years, like many San Antonio-area gardeners, we mobilized our lawn care resources to support the St. Augustine lawn and protect it from drought, shade and weeds. Despite our best efforts, however, the lawns have declined.
Your guide to growing peach trees in your San Antonio backyard
Calvin Finch, Gardening
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All this cool weather bodes well for the backyard peach production in San Antonio this growing season, because a key to a successful peach crop is the “chill hours” we receive.TrongNguyen /Getty Images / iStockphoto
All this cool weather bodes well for the backyard peach production in San Antonio this growing season, because “chill hours” are key to a successful peach crop.
That’s the number of hours that temperatures stay between 32 degrees and 45 degrees during the winter dormant season. Each tree variety has a different chill hour requirement, and if it’s met, the tree can organize its chemistry for maximum fruit production.