Fertilize or not??





Q. When do we fertilize the lawn to encourage fast greenup in the spring? My know-it-all neighbor says it does not do any good to fertilize our hot weather grasses like Bermuda and St. Augustine until May! Surely we can fertilize earlier than that? A. No, your neighbor is right. Our hot weather grasses do not have the root system and growth chemistry in place to take advantage of early fertilization. The fall fertilization we do in October does more to encourage early green-up than early spring fertilization would.

Q. We are a small development that relies on a private water company. Our water supply is limited and our rates are high, how do we learn about efficient water use for our landscapes? Would you visit and make a presentation? A. Yes, I will make presentations to groups seeking water conservation information if the size of the audience justifies the trip. You can also make contact with the local office of Texas Agrilife Extension for a speaker. My email address is “cfinch@saws.org.”

Q. I blundered and did not cover my Mexican lime tree during the recent freeze. The stems look alive but the leaves fell off. Is there anything special I need to do for it to recover? A. Make sure you protect the tree if we get another freeze. At some point this spring you will need to fertilize to help provide the nitrogen needed to re-leaf. If the weather is mild the tree may re-leaf before the danger of another freeze is over but I would wait until late February to add fertilizer. Use fertilizer that is labeled for containers if the lime tree is in a container.

Q. We have harvested the main heads on all of our broccoli. It was great. How long will it take for the side shoots you talk about to be ready? A. Depending on the weather I would expect them in 3 to 4 weeks.

Q. My stocks look terrible. Are you sure they will recover? The flowers of our snapdragons were also burned off in the freeze but at least the foliage looks good. Not so with the stocks! A. Do not sell them short. If there is any foliage left provide fertilization with lawn fertilizer in late January to encourage a bloom response in February or March.



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