Garden Checklist (for all Southern states except Florida and Texas)
Texas Garden Checklist

Christmas Cactus
This tropical succulent is a holiday favorite for its brightly colored flowers of red, magenta, pink, white, salmon, or orange. While it is flowering, keep the plant indoors in a well-lit location away from heating vents and fireplaces. Water thoroughly only when the top half of the soil in the pot feels dry. The plant can be placed outdoors in spring, but keep it in a shaded or partially shaded location. To make your Christmas cactus flower again next year, in late September, place it in a location where it receives no artificial light at night. If night temperatures are 65 degrees or lower, flowerbuds will form. Once buds develop, you can bring the plant indoors for flowering.

Entire State

• Annuals--Fertilize pansies, petunias, snapdragons, and other winter annuals with a product such as Scotts All Purpose Flower and Vegetable Slow Release Plant Food 10-10-10 or Osmocote 19-6-12. Water two or three times a week if it doesn't rain.
• Trees--Now through February is the best time to plant trees. To help ensure success, dig the hole about twice as wide as the root-ball of the tree but not any deeper than the height of the root-ball. After you place the tree in the hole, it should be about an inch above the surrounding soil level. Apply water directly to the root-ball every three to four days, watering until it is thoroughly wet to help roots establish in the surrounding soil. See "Storm damage" at right for trees that can withstand hurricane winds.

North and Central

• Flowering shrub--Common camellias (Camellia japonica) are beginning to bloom; add them to your yard now. Container-grown plants transition more easily into the garden. Camellias prefer moist, well-drained soil that is high in organic matter. Selections such as 'Debutante,' 'Kramer's Supreme,' and 'Nuccio's Pearl' will brighten your landscape during winter.
• Storm damage--Now, after the recent hurricanes, is a good time to evaluate the trees in your landscape. Those with narrow, V-shaped joints between multiple trunks or between major branches are particularly susceptible to breakage during storms, so you may want to do some major pruning or even removal. If you're replacing trees, some natives that seem to tolerate hurricane-force winds well are live oak, sand live oak, cabbage palm, and Southern magnolia. Less wind resistant are laurel oak, Southern red cedar, sweet gum, red maple, and silver maple.

Central and South

• Vegetables and herbs--Sow seeds of beets, carrots, mustard, kale, kohlrabi, and radishes. Sow seeds or set out plants of broccoli, cabbage, collards, and onions. Plant herbs such as chives, coriander, dill, garlic, and sage.