Landscaping (Robstown: new house, buy, construction)

[changeofpace]

Now that we are getting closer to our move to Corpus, I have some questions on landscaping. In MN we plant shrubs and bushes all around the house next to the house to hide the foundation mostly, but also as an added insulation factor (evergreen bushes) during windy winter months. We dont generally have snake, spider or termite problems this far north. So, is it advisable to keep shrubery and flower beds away from the house in Corpus. How about the wooden fences (a Corpus thing I quess), keep shrubs away from them as well? Very few people have privacy fences around their entire back yards in MN. The privacy fences seem so confining and unfriendly to us.
Other than root problems to close to foundations, any particular trees good to stay away from or any trees you dont want close to your house? Ironically we have so much variety in shrubs, flowers, bushes and trees that grow nicely up here, seemed to be little variety as we drove around homes in Corpus. Any landscape suggestions would be appreciated.

[NOTAM]

alot of my fellow nurses who live in corpus like to plant avocado trees, bougainvillae, and hibiscus....
to keep snakes away, sprinkle your perimeter and yard with diatamaceous earth, sulfur. if you DONT have dogs, use mothballs.
i buy alot of Seven Dust and sprinkle the yard to keep ants and bugs away. i pour it heavily around base of house.
i only have cactus plants, and one huge 25 foot spanish yucca tree. dont have time for landscaping or taking care of flowers.

[changeofpace]

Thanks for the info.

[Trainwreck20]

The weather is great for growing things in CC, but the soil is not so versatile. There are many plants that can grow native there, but I don't think that it is typically a priority item in CC. If you plan on doing any gardening, raise beds/container gardening (where you brind in the soil) has great potential.

[Marlow]

It's great that you get to begin your landscaping from scratch with your new house. There are lots of resources to look at as you start to think about it. The first thing I would do is go the the botanical garden and see what all they're growing out there to start giving yourself ideas. They also have a very knowledgeable staff and printed resources for ideas of what to grow here. There is also a small demonstration xeriscape garden behind the museum of science and history that's worth a look. Texas A&M has an agricultural extension service in Robstown that has lots of resources as well. You can also contact the botanical garden and extension center online too, of course. There's also a native plant society, but I'm not sure how to get in touch with them. You can probably google and find them.

I suggest that you DON'T ask the local nurseries for advice. It's been my experience that they'll sell you anything without asking about where you're going to plant it, or the best time of year to plant, etc.

As far as growing things next to the house or fence, I don't think that is a problem. Despite the level of panic about critters on here, you're not going to have a snake, spider or termite problem. With new construction, you're liable to see a snake or spider, but you are not going to have to do much to control them.

Raised beds are a good idea. At the very least, you'll need to amend the soil because it's sticky gumbo clay. If your housing development is built on former crop land, that might present some of it's own issues. Cotton, in particular, depletes soil and you may need to add some other things. Despite the rainy summer we're having, planting things to withstand heat and drought is always a focus of landscaping around here.

Good luck with it.

[changeofpace]

Thanks to all for the replies.

[loves2read]

PLEASE--keep ALL raised beds, or earth to cover shrubs or general lawn dirt BELOW/AWAY from the foundation line of your house--whether you live in Corpus or anywhere

make sure the weep holes at bottom of brick facing where it meets the concrete foundation are allowed to stay open-- especially if you have a fake stucco exterior--NO DIRT should ever be allowed to cover the bottom of that exterior wall or even have like a porch or concrete splash block that would allow water to stand or splash up and keep the stucco-like exterior wet--

do not have so much dirt or add mulch in the flower beds that it will cover the line of concrete foundation--that is asking for trouble with trapped moisture behind the brick from heavy rains or poor drainage...encourages termites to tunnel from earth into brick weep holes

checking with A & M externsion is good idea--but check w/city about watering rules--the future may not be kind to grass lawns or heavily planted shrubs/trees....think about native plants and grass and trees--

think long term--plants grow and some mature fairly quickly--do not plant where you will have to remove in a few years--
maybe you can fill in w/annuals if you feel it is too bare but trees that are planted close to foundation will just grow and cause foundation or roof problems after several years...same w/shrubs that are too close--suggest you plant them beyond the drip line of the eaves/gutters...

people usually have privacy fences just for that reason--especially when house lots are narrow and close together and people have pools in their back yards...for pet owners, fences allow pets some freedom and keep them restrained...

there was something you could have applied during home construction that would really have discouraged termite incursions or other bugs--can't remember the name but it is sprayed on wood timbers of house framing and sometimes metal or plastic shields can be installed during early part of construction over plumbing/framing uprights...

if you have pets what you use for pest control needs to be safe for them or others who come into your premises--friends, children...

[changeofpace]

Thank you for the help. We actually looked at an all brick home that was 2 years old and the owners had caulked the weep holes to keep out bugs, LOL.
We also looked at a house about 5 years old, that the owners planted palm trees so close to the house that now the bottom of the trees are right up against the foundation. Some people dont know trees and shrubs grow. We looked at a few homes that the shrubs had grown and were crowding each other out. If you removed one shrub you would end up removing all of them, they were so close together and had grown so out of shape from being so tightly planted.

[changeofpace]

Even here in the north country, we never put woodchips or mulch around the house to plant shrubs or bushes in because they attract insects and never dry out (root rot). We use rock around the house. Curious as to why mulch is used around some houses in Corpus. Even if it is treated, I would guess insects eventually will be a problem in the mulch.

[Trainwreck20]

Don't know about CC in particular, but in central TX, if you do not use mulch, the soil will be bone dry in a matter of days in the summer. We have never had a bug problem in the mulch that I have every seen. Of course, bugs are everywhere in Texas, so they will be there whether you mulch or not.....