Your Houston Landscape Survived Summer, Now What?

September in Houston.

The calendar says fall. The thermometer says, “That’s adorable.” While people in other parts of the country are pulling out sweaters and drinking pumpkin-spice everything, we're still standing in our yards sweating and wondering why we bothered doing our hair. And honestly, our landscapes are tired too.

After months of heat, humidity, heavy rain, blazing sun, and whatever else Mother Nature decided to throw at us this summer, your landscape may be looking a little less Better Homes & Gardens and a little more I've been through some things. That's okay.

September is our transition month, and it's a great time to help our landscapes recover and get ready for what Houston gardeners have been waiting for all Summer: Fall.

Before You Fertilize Everything in Sight, Let's Talk About Soil

At The Rice Organization, we believe healthy landscapes begin below ground. I know. Soil isn't nearly as exciting as flowers. Nobody walks into a garden center and says, “Oh my gosh, look at that gorgeous microbial activity!” Well... maybe I do.

Healthy soil is alive with beneficial bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and other microorganisms that help plants access nutrients while improving the soil's ability to hold water and oxygen. That's why we focus on compost, humates, organic fertilizers, and other soil-building amendments rather than synthetic fertilizers. We're not looking for the horticultural equivalent of an energy drink, a quick burst of green followed by a crash… We want healthy soil that can support healthy plants for years.

Your Plants Are Tired. Don't Send Them to Boot Camp.

After a long Houston summer, it can be tempting to look at a tired lawn or struggling plants and think: FERTILIZER! Not so fast. September is still hot. Plants are already using plenty of energy dealing with heat and water loss. Pushing a bunch of tender new growth isn't necessarily doing them a favor. Think of your landscape like you feel after working outside in August. You don't need someone yelling, “Come on! Ten more!” You need water, shade, and possibly a margarita. Your plants don't need the margarita. But you get the idea.

About That Irrigation System...

September is also not the month to put your irrigation system on autopilot and forget about it.

Houston weather can go from monsoon to concrete-dry soil remarkably quickly. Check the soil before watering instead of assuming the irrigation controller knows what is happening outside.

Water deeply when needed rather than watering frequently and shallowly. And remember: more water is not always better. Roots need oxygen too. Plants can absolutely be loved to death, and overwatering is one of the more popular ways to accomplish it.

Mulch: Not a Volcano

Mulch is still one of the easiest things you can do to help your landscape. It helps moderate soil temperature, conserve moisture, protect soil organisms, suppress weeds, and eventually adds organic matter back into the soil. But please… No mulch volcanoes around trees.

If your mulch is piled halfway up the trunk and your tree looks like it's erupting from Mount Mulchmore, pull it back. Tree trunks need to breathe. Mulch belongs over the root zone, not piled against the trunk.

Step Away From the Pruners... With One Important Exception

As flowers fade and seed heads develop, you may feel the overwhelming urge to make everything neat and tidy. Resist. Coneflowers, Rudbeckia, and other plants produce seeds that birds can eat. Stems and plant material can also provide habitat for beneficial insects. Nature is not particularly tidy. And somehow it managed just fine before we arrived with blowers, hedge trimmers, and an uncontrollable desire to make every shrub shaped like a meatball. But there is one plant we absolutely DO want you to cut back: tropical milkweed. To be clear, tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) isn't a plant we recommend. Unlike our native milkweeds, it can remain green and continue flowering for an extended period in our climate. When it persists instead of dying back seasonally, monarchs can congregate on the same plants and potentially increase their exposure to the OE parasite (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha).

If you already have tropical milkweed in your garden, cut it down to the ground in the fall and keep it cut back through the winter. Better yet, consider replacing it with milkweed species native to our region. We love monarchs. That's exactly why we're picky about milkweed. So yes, leave those coneflower and Rudbeckia seed heads for the birds. Leave some stems and habitat for beneficial insects. But the tropical milkweed? That one has our permission to meet the pruners.

We Have Travelers Coming Through, and They're Hungry

While we're waiting for Houston to get the memo that it's supposed to be Fall, millions of birds are beginning their Fall migration, and our area is an important stop along the way.

Some are passing through. Others will spend the winter with us. And many have traveled a very long way and could really use a decent meal.

Think of your garden as a tiny roadside café. Seed-producing plants such as coneflowers and Rudbeckia can provide food for birds, while native shrubs and other plants may offer berries, seeds, insects, and shelter. And don't forget the hummingbirds.

During Fall migration, hummingbirds need nectar to fuel their journey south. Keeping nectar-rich flowers blooming gives them another natural food source as they pass through Houston. This is another reason not to clean up the garden too quickly. Leave some seed heads. Keep those late-blooming flowers. Plant natives that provide food and habitat. And please don't spray pesticides all over their buffet.

A few plants in one Houston backyard may not seem like much, but when neighborhood after neighborhood provides food, water, nectar, and shelter, all of those little spaces begin to add up.

Besides, if you're going to have houseguests, it's only polite to feed them.

And Please, Please, Please:Skip the Synthetic Pesticides

Seeing one bug does not require calling in the National Guard. First, figure out what it is. Your landscape is an ecosystem, and insects are part of it. Some are pollinators. Some are predators that eat pests. Some become food for birds.And yes, some are jerks. But spraying a broad-spectrum pesticide every time something takes a bite out of a leaf can kill the beneficial insects right along with the ones you don't want. At The Rice Organization, we believe in working with the ecosystem rather than trying to sterilize it. A garden without insects isn't a healthy garden. It's a very lonely collection of plants.

Fall Really Is Coming. We Promise.

September in Houston requires a little imagination. Technically, Fall is approaching. Eventually the temperature will drop below 90 degrees, we'll all emerge from our air-conditioned homes, and Houston gardeners will remember why we live here.

Fall is one of our best planting seasons: Trees, shrubs, native plants, and many perennials planted during the cooler months have time to establish strong root systems before they're introduced to the character-building experience known as August in Houston. So if your landscape looks tired right now, don't panic. Don't throw every product in the garage at it. Don't fertilize it into submission. And definitely don't spray something just because you saw a bug.

Give your landscape what it actually needs: healthy soil, appropriate water, organic matter, and a little patience. Because after surviving another Houston summer, frankly, we could all use a little recovery time.

~ Laura Neff, owner of The Rice Organization, Inc.

Phone: 713-868-2528

Email: laura@riceorginc.com