Recent weather extremes have North Texans thinking of new landscapes. Time to plan is now

It’s no secret that the past several years have been rough on North Texas landscapes. You could push it all the way back to the biblical drought of 2011. Add in several record low temperatures, that killer late freeze of February 2021, and extended hot, dry spells of the past two late summers and early falls — it’s been tough to be a landscape here in our area.

Dissatisfied with the ways their surroundings have looked, thousands of Metroplex homeowners are planning on major spruce-ups come spring. My news for you today is that those repairs really ought to be started now, at least in your mind. You’ll need that time to get all the motors revved up and running. Let’s outline the processes.

Start with a list of improvements you want to make. How have your family’s needs changed over the past decade? Have the kids grown up and left home? Are you ready to convert use areas of your landscape to suit current purposes? Maybe you’ve always wanted a greenhouse or raised beds for your flower and vegetable gardens. Perhaps you’re finally ready to devote time, space, and funds to your own spa or patio.

All those things require planning, and this is the time to talk to the designers and ask for references. If you’re going to involve a professional landscape planner, winter is the best time to engage one — certainly not in the spring when they’re completely overwhelmed by everyone else.

If you have shade trees that have suffered from weather extremes these past several years, get a certified arborist on site to examine them. This tree assessment is important for any long-term landscaping renovations because you want to know which trees you’ll be able to save. It’s also important because you need to determine what pruning is needed for the safety and security of your friends and family, and also your property.

Whether they’re dead or alive, large limbs are very heavy. That weight will eventually cause a dead branch to fall, often during a wind or ice storm. You want to have it brought down intentionally by someone who knows how to do so safely. Every day is a risk. Don’t delay.

Shrubs have been wrecked by the weather over the past several years. Many types were frozen to the ground in February 2021, some killed entirely. Others have died unnecessarily in ensuing years because we didn’t get water to them in appropriate time. Most notably, hollies don’t wilt. Their leathery leaves hold their form right to the end. The only clue you have that they’re dry is the subtle change they make from crisp, dark green to insipid olive drab as they pass the point of no return, known to plant physiologists as the “permanent wilting point.”

New plantings of all species require careful watering by hand for their first couple of years. That means the hose and a water breaker. Sprinkler irrigation won’t be sufficient. That includes wintertime watering. Leave a hose readily accessible but disconnect it each time that you finish so that water won’t freeze back into your house’s walls.

If you have rows or groupings of shrubs where some have died or become disfigured in recent years you may be faced with the decision of filling in holes or starting the entire bed over. I offer the advice of years of experience: Get a fresh start. It’s almost impossible to buy new shrubs, plant them in among other mature plants, and expect them to look like they’ve all grown up together. Admittedly it’s going to cost more to pull out the remaining ones, but it will give you the chance to change designs and try new types of plants. You’ll be infinitely more satisfied.

Late fall and winter are a great time to get beds ready for early spring plantings. You can change bed sizes and configurations if that’s a goal. Work up the soil and incorporate fallen leaves and compost into the ground to loosen the clay. Or perhaps you just want to address the fronts of the beds so you can plant new borders or cool-season annuals. All of that can be done now.

Your lawn may have been brutalized by the past couple of summers. Bermuda dies out in the shade, and St. Augustine has had a rough time with chinch bugs and take all root rot, a fungus. But adding to all that, the drought gave weeds an inroad that they used to invade many North Texas lawns like never before.

We’ll revisit some of the hall-of-fame weeds here in upcoming months but make your plans to attack cool-season broadleafed weeds like clover, dandelions, and other non-grassy types with a spray containing 2,4-D on a warm day in the next couple of weeks before they get any larger. Then go after nutsedge (“nutgrass”) starting in May, crabgrass and grassburs with pre-emergents in early March and again in early June, dallisgrass as it appears, and other weeds as you identify them. Your best overall weed control program will be to keep your turfgrass healthy and vigorous with regular feedings beginning in early April.