VOLUME 20, ISSUE 14 • April 4, 2024

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Is there anything else in the news besides the solar eclipse? Not that I've heard. Soon, rain or shine, Monday will be behind us and we'll be able to concentrate on spring gardening.

Sunflower 'Solar Eclipse'
Photo Thompson and Morgan Seed Co.

In this issue…
Fun topics:
• Phalaenopsis orchid's encore appearance
• This weekend's tasks
• Steve Huddleston gives us rusty blackhaw viburnum
• Dratted old dodder, and
• You bring the Q's and I'll bring my best A's.

NEIL SPERRY'S LONE STAR GARDENING
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Photo: Coleus is a long-proven performer in Texas gardens.

Gardening This Weekend

Check! Check! Check! That's the sound of you accomplishing all your gardening endeavors over the next seven days. After all, this is the best possible time for horticulture in Texas. I'll help you get your list started.

Photo: Coleus plants are colorful for months. Plant them in pots or beds now.

Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum
Steve Huddleston

Steve Huddleston shines the spotlight on rusty blackhaw viburnum – one of Texas' most beautiful native shrubs or small trees.

Photo: Rusty blackhaws are blooming right now.

Phalaenopsis replay

No flower makes my wife any happier than a phalaenopsis orchid blooming in her kitchen or sunroom. When it blooms year after year, that's even better. This is one that started to open several days ago for its second performance. I'll explain how it's all happened.

Photo: Phalaenopsis orchids are America's most popular flowering potted plants.

Invader into the garden or wildscape

Perhaps you've been out for a stroll and you've come across a spot where it looked like someone spilled a pot of spaghetti. That's what most of us though the first time we saw dodder, a native Texas plant with some strange habits. Let me tell you about it.

Photo: I came across this dodder when we visited Alpine several Aprils ago.

Q&A
Ask Neil

This week we bring you a creepy Virginian, a frazzled agave, a worry that doesn't need to exist, and the best groundcover to use beneath our state tree. And more. Take a look.

And, in closing…

That's it for an unusual edition of e-gardens. I hope you've enjoyed it, and I hope you'll tell our advertisers. Tell your friends, too. Help me get the word out.

One closing invitation. A longtime good friend asked if I could possibly help her. She and her husband adopted a dog from a shelter several months ago. But Leo needs more space than their condominium in Prosper affords. This boy likes to run like the wind. Please click to read what Susan has written.

Happy gardening!

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