Houston gardeners: I need your help!! (Dallas, Spring: sales, house, neighborhood)

[CAHomeschoolMom]

So, we will be living in a house facing North bordering the Woodlands. The area around our home is not wooded. I love to garden, and would really like to have a flower garden for cut flowers, as well as a fruit tree or two and mabye a raised bed for veggies and herbs in the backyard. So here's what I am hoping to grow...I was hoping some folks on here could give me their experiences with how these things do in N. Houston.

I want to grow:

roses...I especially love hybrid teas. Is this the impossible dream there??

Gardenias...I was hoping to put a bush or two in the front yard if it meets with association approval .

Hydrangeas....if we have a shadier spot, I would love to have a bush or two of hydrangeas. Is it too hot for them there?

Citrus...maybe a lemon and an orange....how successful have you seen this happen there? and, how about an apple tree?

Avocado tree?

Sunflowers and sweet peas .

Tomatoes, zucchini, and other fun veggies.

I am so eager to hear the scoop on gardening in Houston. I would be grateful for any info and experiences any of you would be willing to share. Thank you!

[trbstang]

A good place to start is with our very own weekend Gardenline radio program. Randy Lemmon has all kinds of info and books specifically on Gulf Coast gardening. Randy Lemmon

I've had roses, gardenias (no real luck, but I was not real involved with them), my grandfather had gobs of hydrangias on the north side of his house. We now have a lemon tree and an orange of some sort my grandfather planted for us. The oranges are as big as grapefruit and super juicy. Wish I knew the type, I always get asked. There are some varities of avocados that will grow here. I want to plan one soon. And regular veggies do well. Some of them you can get two plantings during the growing season down here.

In the late winter/early spring they have fruit tree sales where the garden groups sell all kinds of trees specifically for this area. Randy Lemmon always talks about it.

Good luck!

[Svensk08]

Gardening in this part of Texas is different than gardening anywhere else. Before you do any planning, visit several locally-owned plant nurseries -- NOT the gardening departments of BigBox stores. Most carry a selection of books written specifically for our area that will give you an idea of what works and what doesn't. Usually, nurseries have staff who are happy to share their knowledge. Gardening expert Randy Lemmon's gardening website is a good source of information as well..

There are several micro-climates in and around Houston. Communities closer to the Gulf are warmer and less likely to have freezing weather than Spring, the Woodlands, Tomball, etc. The good news is that our fall gardening season is almost here -- if you hurry, you might even get a crop of tomatoes before the first frost!

[CAHomeschoolMom]

Great and very helpful advice from both of you! Thanks! I will check out Randy Lemmon's site.

[MNCold]

I don't know about other things on your list but citrus trees grow well here. I have two lemon trees that have sooo many fruits. We had to trim several of them off as the trees couldn't handle the weight.

[EasilyAmused]

A lot of the area around the woodlands was forest, aka fungus. You need to have your soil anaylized. I couldnt grow anything up there unless I raised beds with enriched soil. Even though most of the has been stripped of trees, the soil is still spore filled.

Never had an ounce of trouble, other than heat, in the close on areas

[crone]

Before buying anything, get yourself up to the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham for roses that do well in the humidity. Also, the Chronicle has good garden writers for Houston area.

When we first moved home to Houston, I planted 2 dozen rose bushes. Within a few years, they were all dead.

It is hit or miss around here. Hydrangeas grow well in some spots, some will die 3 feet away. My neighbor's are beautiful. Mine in exact same conditions 100 feet away from hers, died. We had huge Rosemary bushes in Dallas, it is difficult to keep it alive here for a year.

Be prepared to do a lot of testing and learning. My raised beds do well with veggies and herbs. We supply the neighborhood with basil, mint and some flowers.

[txdemo]

I highly recommend Buchanan's Native Plants on 11th St. in the Heights. You can get great advice there from people that really know their stuff.

Citrus trees do well in Houston. You should plant in pairs so that that they pollinate. I have a hydrangea that does really well in a huge pot. Gardenias are pretty picky about location and water but if you find the right combo they can thrive. Summer veggies do well in raised gardens - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants.

Sunflowers will grow anywhere.

[CAHomeschoolMom]

Originally Posted by crone

Before buying anything, get yourself up to the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham for roses that do well in the humidity. Also, the Chronicle has good garden writers for Houston area.

When we first moved home to Houston, I planted 2 dozen rose bushes. Within a few years, they were all dead.

It is hit or miss around here. Hydrangeas grow well in some spots, some will die 3 feet away. My neighbor's are beautiful. Mine in exact same conditions 100 feet away from hers, died. We had huge Rosemary bushes in Dallas, it is difficult to keep it alive here for a year.

Be prepared to do a lot of testing and learning. My raised beds do well with veggies and herbs. We supply the neighborhood with basil, mint and some flowers.

Wow....24 dead rosebushes?! That's awful! Thanks for the tip on the Antique RoseEmporium. I'll look that up. Bummer about the rosemary, but it's good to hear that your basil and mint are thriving.

[CAHomeschoolMom]

Originally Posted by txdemo

I highly recommend Buchanan's Native Plants on 11th St. in the Heights. You can get great advice there from people that really know their stuff.

Citrus trees do well in Houston. You should plant in pairs so that that they pollinate. I have a hydrangea that does really well in a huge pot. Gardenias are pretty picky about location and water but if you find the right combo they can thrive. Summer veggies do well in raised gardens - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants.

Sunflowers will grow anywhere.

Thanks! Will look up Buchanan's Native Plants, too.

Question about planting the citrus in pairs....we are not going to have a ton of room to plant a bunch of trees...we were thinking one lemon, one orange and maybe an apple. Do the two trees have to be the same kind?