Let’s make a gardening schedule. Here are the best times for planting in North Texas

Gardeners all across Texas have been revving their motors waiting for the best planting times, and for many of our favorite plants, that season has arrived. However, for others, this isn’t it. Let’s make a list and outline the schedule. Hopefully I can help you avoid some costly mistakes.

Before I begin, one warning about new plantings: be prepared to water new trees and shrubs by hand for their first couple of years. Sprinkler irrigation alone will not be sufficient. Use a hose and water bubbler or breaker and soak them deeply every two to three days.

▪ Shade trees. You can plant them at any time of the year if you’ll commit to that regular watering. Selections are best in the spring, but fall planting gives them the longest time to establish new roots before hot weather rolls in. Fall is my choice. (If you’re talking about digging and transplanting established trees, that must be done during the winter dormant season.)

▪ Shrubs and vines. Plant at any time. Again, I like fall because I have more time, but selections are far better in spring. Unusual types, especially seasonal bloomers, ought to be bought when they’re at their prime. Many nurseries quit offering them when they’re not showy.

▪ Groundcovers. While these can be planted at any season, I prefer to plant them in mid- to late spring so I can take advantage of the burst of new growth in spring. Good soil preparation is critical, so don’t rush the job.

▪ Annual flowers. You have a couple of basic groups here. Cool-season types such as pansies and pinks (dianthus) are planted in late fall and replaced in late spring. Warm-season flowers are planted in April or May and replaced in fall.

There are sub-groups within each of those. There are some cool-season flowers that are not quite winter-hardy enough to survive entire winters. They would include petunias, sweet alyssum and others, and they would be planted in late winter (February). And there are tropical annuals that require very warm weather (May or later) to thrive, so we hold off on planting them until it’s almost summer.

▪ Perennial flowers. The basic guideline is that perennials that bloom in the spring are dug and divided in fall, and those that bloom in the fall are dug and divided in early spring. The good news is, however, that nurseries now offer so many perennials in pots that you can plant almost any type at almost any time of the year as long as you can find a ready supply.

▪ Wildflowers. Folks are already asking me if it’s too soon to harvest bluebonnet seeds. Well, yes. Very much so. You must let the pods dry and begin to release the seeds on their own before you pull them loose from their mother plants. That’s not going to happen for another month or more. It’s probably best to buy acid-scarified seeds in late August anyway. You’ll get much better germination with that extra help.

▪ Fruit trees, grapes, blackberries. These can be planted anytime you find them in your local independent retail garden center. (Independent centers are much more likely to handle varieties recommended for your part of Texas.) If you’re buying bare-rooted trees, however, mid-winter (January) is just about the only time that you’ll find a good supply. Google “Texas A&M AgriLife Extension fruit and pecan variety recommendations.”

▪ Vegetable gardens. This timing will be ultimately critical, and it will vary considerably over this paper’s entire circulation area. Dates I will give will be for the Metroplex. I’ll let you make your own adjustments as necessary.

First crops into the ground: onions, asparagus and snap-type English peas in late January.

Mid-February you’ll plant Irish potatoes and Cole crops, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.

Late February plantings include leafy and root vegetables, including spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard, radishes, carrots, and beets, among others.

Around the average date of the last killing freeze of March 15-22, plant corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers.

By April 15 plant eggplant, sweet potatoes, southern peas and okra.

▪ All of this reverses for the fall garden. Pumpkins and tomatoes go in around July 1. Peppers on July 15. Corn, squash, beans (bush), cucumbers near Aug. 1. Cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower on August 15 and leafy and root crops by the end of August.

If any of these planting dates for spring or fall is missed by more than a couple of weeks (as adjusted for your locale) it will really throw the plants’ growth off pace, usually enough that you won’t get good production.

▪ Turfgrass from sod. Bermuda can be planted almost year ‘round since it is our most cold-hardy grass. However, spring and summer are definitely the best times. It will take root most quickly to hold soil tenaciously against washing rains. St. Augustine can be planted from April 1 through early September. Zoysia is less likely to be hurt by the cold, but spring and summer plantings are still best.

Bermuda can be seeded from early May through mid-August, but May and early June are best. It’s more difficult in summer because it’s harder to water it properly. Fescue for permanent turf and ryegrass for winter overseeding are both planted in September or early October.

This story was originally published May 5, 2023 at 7:00 AM.