While August may be a transition month between the summer days and the eventual cool fall weather, providing proper care during this month can help your landscape hit the ground running when the temperatures start to cool down next month.
This is especially important for our region as we're starting to see our fair share of summer pests. Scale, aphids, white-flies to name a few. No need to panic as we have the solution for pest control at our Moon Valley Nurseries locations. Last month we also covered common Houston Insects: What to look for and how to treat them. It's a must-read if you have been having some insect issues.
If you have any further questions, you are more than welcome to give us a call or you can visit any of our nursery locations.
To Do List:
- Watering: It technically is the final hot month of the year, so do not let up on your proper watering. When the outside temperature is consistently over 90-degrees you need to switch your landscape over to a summer watering schedule. Also, remember to water your trees deeply. For more info on watering click here.
- Pruning: The Houston area is a large one and if you're reading this you could be in Lake Conroe or down in Galveston. Regardless of where you are, there is a chance we could get hit by a hurricane or a strong storm. Always be sure to remove dead branches or trim off some of the top weight on your trees.
- Fertilize: As we hit the summer, some of the material in our landscapes can show heat stress. If it happens do not worry! A fertilizer can help the tree adjust to the change in weather. Continue to use Moon Dust and combine that with our easy to use Super Palm Juice, which turns palms green and keep them green. It contains all the special nutrients palms needs that are not found in our soils. Available now at any of our nurseries.
What to plant this month
Desert Museum Palo Verde
The Desert Museum Palo Verde is a stunning tree that will attract eyes to your landscape due to its multi trunk grow, layered shade, and beautiful yellow flowers. This beautiful tree is a hybrid of different older Palo Verde species that brings our the best qualities in each. Back to the trunk, its blue-green color provides a great contrast to its yellow flowers and the layered shade provides two great benefits, as the tree looks light in your yard while providing sunlight to any shrubs you'd like to plant below the massive umbrella shaped canopy. This tree is a fast grower and requires minimal water once established.
Shumard Red Oak
Shumard Red Oak trees are a popular tree native to the Texas region. This tree is popular for many reasons; it is a fast grower, sprouts a large canopy, and grows attractive foliage. This tree benefits all landscapes by working as a privacy hedge, blocking noise from traffic. Most importantly, its foliage changes with the seasons; allowing the sun to add heat to your home in the winter by dropping its leaves and growing its leaves back just in time for the summer blocking out the warm sun and adding cooler temperatures.
chinese PISTACHE
It's never too early to be thinking ahead, and if you're looking for fall colors the Chinese Pistache is one of the best. This fast growing tree that provides piercing beauty to any landscape, and in the fall its foliage turns a bright red and orange. Throughout the rest of the year, the tree produces a large canopy of shade while displaying showy and attractive dark green leaves during the summer. The Chinese Pistache is drought and cold tolerant and can grow in the full sun. Due to the Chinese Pistache's size, the tree is ideal when planted in an area where shade is needed.
pindo palm
One of the unique palms on this list, the Pindo Palm features a unique silver - blue color and its fronds curve back toward the trunk. The Pindo Palm is both bold hardy and drought tolerant. It requires minimal pruning and its unique color makes them a great addition for any tropical landscape around a pool. Landscape lighting with upward spotlights creates a fantastic night time effect as well.
piru queen palm
The Piru Queen Palm is specifically designed for our climate. They are custom grown at our farms to be extra hardy in heat and cold. These palms have distinctive appearances compared to other palms that you will see and their thicker trunks and fuller crowns make these stand out when compared to the rest. Plant the Piru Queen Palm wherever you want to add tropical flair. These palms are great planted in groups to help provide shade and are awesome in tight planting locations.
date palm
Our Resort Style Date Palm Trees are the ultimate palms for large landscape design. There are plenty of reasons you see Resort Style Date Palm Trees at most upscale resorts and shopping centers: They look amazing, they’re extremely hardy to cold and heat, and they provide a cool umbrella of shade wherever they’re planted. Resort Style Date Palm Trees provide excellent shade with practically no litter, so they really enhance the tropical appeal of pool areas and other landscape features.
mexican fan palm
Mexican Fan Palms have stout trunks and wide reaching, straight fronds that have instant presence in any landscape. Our cigar-cut Mexican Fan Palms give a smooth texture around the trunk that highlights the deep green and unique colors of this palm tree. Mexican Fan Palms are used in a variety of landscape settings, often planted in straight lines of matching height around walkways, or oddly planted in various heights for a natural feeling landscape.