Plant: Tomatoes for your fall garden, very early in month in North Texas, mid-month in South Texas. Peppers two weeks later. Warm-season turf. Buy fresh sod and plant it immediately into well-prepared soil. Water morning, evening for first two weeks. Crape myrtles while in full flower to ensure color. Buy varieties that grow to mature height you need. Complete information at www.crapemyrtletrails.org.

Prune: Spring and early-summer perennials to remove dried flower stalks, seedheads. Trees and shrubs to remove erratic or dead branches. Growing tips of coleus, copper plants, chrysanthemums, impatiens, begonias, Mexican bush sage and blackberries to keep plants compact. Mow turf at recommended height. Tall grass quickly becomes weak grass.

Fertilize: Woody plants in clay soils with all-nitrogen fertilizer; in sandy soils with high-nitrogen food. Patio pots and hanging baskets with water-soluble, high-N fertilizer. Acid-loving plants in alkaline soils with iron/sulfur additive.

On the Lookout: Chinch bugs attack hottest portions of St. Augustine, causing grass to be dry even after irrigation. Look for small, black insects with white diamond-shaped patches on their backs at perimeter of dying area. Use labeled turf insecticide. Leafrollers tying leaves of vinca groundcover, cannas, pyracanthas and others together. Apply systemic insecticide. Scale insects on euonymus, hollies, camellias, other plants. Use same systemic insecticide. Lace bugs turn leaves of azaleas, Boston ivy, pyracanthas, Texas sage, bur oaks, chinquapin oaks and cotoneasters tan. You'll see black, waxy dots on the backs of the leaves. Use systemic insecticide. Cotton root rot may cause mature plants in alkaline soils to die very suddenly. Many types of plants are susceptible. Use resistant types, and use generous amounts of organic matter at planting to lower soil's pH. Gray leaf spot (oval to diamond-shaped gray lesions on blades, runners) causes St. Augustine blades to wither. Lawn takes on overall yellowed appearance. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers until September. Turf fungicide may help somewhat. Nutsedge (nutgrass) in turf can be controlled with Image or Sedgehammer. Follow label directions regarding timing and applications. Dallisgrass and other weedy grasses. Control in bermuda only with MSMA spray.