Yeah, it’s cold outside and it may seem like there’s absolutely nothing to do until April. Not necessarily, though. The last freeze date for Austin is generally around March 15th , but everybody and anybody can tell you story after story about having a beautiful weekend on March 7th, and an inch of snow the next weekend. So we could have up to two more months of cold. Plan your gardens, just don’t pack up your hoodies just yet. In any case, remember, this is Texas: We’re going to have some bitter cold weather in the winter, it’s going to be broiling hot in the summer, and in between we’ll have the kind of weather when no one can stay inside. So until it’s time to dig out the shorts again- actually, until it’s time for you to dig out the shorts again (I’m always jealous of folks that don’t burn to a brittle cinder with the least little bit of sun exposure) there’s still plenty you can do in the landscape.
Go hug a tree, Austin.
A lot of trees are bare right now, and it takes a little imagination to envision them full, lush, and green. But this is the time to plant them. Both trees and shrubs can be planted now for a spectacular spring show. Remember, this is Texas, so the ground doesn’t freeze. Plus we’ll have the odd 72 degree day here and there, so the roots will not only be protected from freezes, they’ll even get to do some growing occasionally. So prepare the soil, plant your trees (not too deep!) and commence with the most difficult part of the whole process: waiting.
There is a long list of evergreen shrubs, if you need something green throughout the winter. Evergreen Sumac is, as you might guess, evergreen. Agarita stays just as dark green and thorny as ever, even with icicles hanging from it. Southern Wax Myrtle beats the heck out of Ligustrum for an evergreen, tough shrub, as does Yaupon ‘Pride of Houston’. And then there are those shrubs that really shine during the winter.
Coralberry really grabs your attention with magenta-red berries along its bare stems.
The absolute champion of berries in the winter, though, is Possumhaw.
A 15 to 20 foot shrub or understory tree, Possumhaw can blend into the background for nine months of the year. But once the leaves fall off, it is impossible to not notice the bright orange berries, especially when everything around it is just dull grey and brown.
Roses, too, put on their own kind of show during the winter. Roses like ‘Knockout’ and ‘Martha Gonzales’ acquire a bronze tint to the leaves once the temperatures get into the thirties. Other roses, such as ‘Belinda’s Dream’ or ‘Carefree Beauty’ put on large orange hips as well.
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| Coralberry |
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| Coralberry berries |
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| Possumhaw |
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| Possumhaw berries |
And now for the zen part of the blog: even without leaves, the bare limbs of trees and shrubs have a beauty of their own. Burr Oak branches stand out starkly against the deep blue sky on these clear, cold days.
Go outside, take a walk around and look up. Appreciate the twisted and contorted shapes that you just can’t see April through October. You can make up a haiku about it. Or, if you’re like the staff here at Native Texas Nursery, you can take pictures of it. And if we dip down below freezing during the night, you can find all kinds of interesting shapes the next day.
Be warned, though, once you start snapping pictures of burly branches or Possumhaw berries, it can be difficult to stop.
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