Ornamental cabbage: Katherine Carrington

Resources

Ornamental cabbage: Katherine Carrington

Winter’s a wonderful time to dress up our containers with ornamental cabbage and pansies. Katherine Carrington chose a knock-out color to set off her white pot.
ornamental cabbage Central Texas Gardener

categories:

tags:

Recent Episodes

Gardens of Texas: Pam Penick

Discover diverse, beautiful gardens and get the stories behind them with author Pam Penick. On tour: In a ground-level makeover, Sarah Nemec and Roice Nelson scrapped the lawnmower for contemporary style outdoor living and wildlife habitat. Daphne Richards shows off viewer garden photos, and on CTG rewind, Trisha Shirey and Ivy Lara plant garlic bulbs | watch episode →

Next Generation Gardeners: Texas Gardener magazine

Jay White of Texas Gardener magazine and host John Hart Asher reflect on where we’ve been as gardeners and where we’re headed. Young ecologists at Austin Youth River Watch plant for bats, pollinators, and birds. Daphne Richards reflects on garden perceptions and Heather Kendall picks citrus plants for cold hardiness.

December To Do List

Plant: ornamental & wildlife

Hardy perennials, shrubs
Trees
Roses (best time!)
Winter annuals, including calendula, snapdragon, pansy, viola, dusty miller, ornamental kale and cabbage, alyssum, stock, cyclamen, dusty miller, flowering kale and cabbage
Avoid planting cold tender plants like Pride of Barbardos, Esperanza, lantana, plumbago

Plant: herbs

Perennials thyme, oregano
Avoid planting rosemary
Cilantro transplants, parsley, dill, fennel , chervil, summer savory, borage, rue, chives
Be prepared to cover in case of deep freeze

Plant: food crops

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Vegetable Planting Guides (Central Texas) http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/home-landscape/edible-gardens/growing-vegetables/

Prune

Prune freeze damaged plants or not? Best to leave seeds on plants for birds and protect root system. If picky relatives coming, okay to prune
Avoid pruning shrubs right now unless you see damage
Do not prune oak trees unless you have damage: paint wound immediately
Okay to prune trees other than red oaks and live oaks

Divide/Move

Shrubs, roses, trees, evergreen spring-blooming perennials while dormant
Asters and other fall-bloomers which are dormant

Prep

Select spots where you want fruit trees, grapes, or berries to plant in January; for now, prep with compost
Mulch cold tender plants like gingers, Esperanza and semi-tropicals
Keep that row cover ready! Do not protect plants with plastic!

Lawn

Pluck out early weeds.

Other tasks

Rake leaves into beds to mulch over winter and return nutrients to the soil
Mow leaves on grass (if not raking to beds or compost) to break them down
Collect leaves from neighbors to add to compost pile!
Deeply water new plants; keep new seedlings moist but not drenched

[back to top]