Gardening in Houston is a year-round passion, a rewarding dance with our unique subtropical climate. Unlike other parts of the country, our gardens don’t truly sleep, offering us the chance to cultivate something beautiful in every season. However, our long growing season, intense summer heat, and heavy clay soils require a specific strategy.
Knowing what to do and when to do it is the key to a landscape that doesn’t just survive, but thrives. As licensed horticulturists, we base our approach on the science of plant health and the rhythm of our local seasons. This month-by-month guide will serve as your roadmap to a healthier, more beautiful yard, from River Oaks to Memorial.
Late Winter: January & February
This is the time for planning and preparation, setting the stage for the explosive growth of spring.
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In the Vegetable Garden: The clock is ticking for cool-season crops. Direct-seed vegetables like beets, carrots, radishes, lettuce, and spinach. This is also the prime time to start seeds for warm-season favorites like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants indoors to get a head start.
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Flowers & Ornamentals: Pruning is the main event. Valentine’s Day (mid-February) is the traditional target date in Houston to prune roses and cut back ornamental grasses.
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Caution: Hold off on pruning spring-flowering shrubs like Azaleas and Indian Hawthorn—you’ll cut off the flower buds that are about to open. Wait until after they bloom.
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Lawn Care: The battle against summer weeds starts now. Applying a pre-emergent herbicide in February is critical to prevent crabgrass before the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees and seeds begin to germinate.
Horticulturist’s Tip: February can still bring hard freezes to Houston. Keep frost cloth handy and ensure your irrigation system is drained or insulated if temperatures are predicted to drop significantly below freezing.
Spring: March & April
As the weather warms, the garden truly comes to life. This is a busy season of planting, pruning, and feeding.
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In the Vegetable Garden: After the danger of the last frost has passed (typically mid-March for the Houston area), it’s time to move your tomato, pepper, and eggplant transplants into the garden. You can now also plant warm-season crops like corn, cucumbers, squash, and snap beans directly into the soil.
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Flowers & Ornamentals: Once your Azaleas have finished their spectacular display, it’s time to prune them. This ensures you aren’t sacrificing next year’s blooms. Plant summer-blooming bulbs like Cannas and Caladiums, and fill beds with heat-tolerant annuals such as Zinnias and Pentas.
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Lawn Care: Your St. Augustine or Zoysia lawn is waking up and hungry. Apply your first major fertilizer application around mid-April (Tax Day is an easy reminder) to fuel strong growth. Begin your regular mowing schedule, but never remove more than one-third of the grass blade at a time to avoid stressing the turf.
Summer: May, June & July
The theme for summer is maintenance and management. The goal is to help your landscape beat the heat and humidity.
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In the Vegetable Garden: Focus on heat-loving crops. This is the ideal time to plant okra, Southern peas, and sweet potato slips. Water deeply and consistently, especially for fruiting plants, to prevent stress.
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Flowers & Ornamentals: Keep your annuals and perennials looking fresh by “deadheading,” or removing spent flowers. This encourages the plant to produce more blooms instead of putting energy into seed production.
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Lawn Care: Adjust your mower to a higher setting. Taller grass helps shade the soil, which conserves moisture and suppresses weeds. Water your lawn deeply but infrequently—about 1 inch per week, delivered over two sessions in the early morning.
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Pest Watch: Keep an eye out for Chinch Bugs in St. Augustine grass. If you see patches of yellowing grass next to concrete driveways or curbs that don’t recover with water, it might be an infestation.
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Early Fall: August & September
As the intense heat begins to break, a second gardening season kicks off in Houston.
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In the Vegetable Garden: It’s time to plant your fall vegetable garden. Set out transplants of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower in late August/early September. You can also direct-seed fall crops of snap beans and cucumbers.
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Flowers & Ornamentals: This is the best time to divide and transplant overgrown perennials like Daylilies and Irises. Refresh tired-looking beds with fall bloomers like Chrysanthemums and Asters.
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Wildflowers: If you want a display of Texas Bluebonnets next spring, you must plant the seeds now (September through November). They need the winter months to establish their root systems.
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Lawn Care: Give your lawn its final major feeding with a fall-formulated fertilizer in late September or early October to help it store energy for winter. Be vigilant for “Brown Patch” fungus, which loves Houston’s cool, wet fall nights.
Late Fall & Winter: October, November & December
The pace slows, but there is still important work to be done to prepare for the mild winter and the spring ahead.
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In the Vegetable Garden: This is the prime season for leafy greens and root vegetables. Plant garlic, onions, shallots, carrots, spinach, and a variety of lettuces.
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Flowers & Ornamentals: Plant spring-flowering bulbs like Daffodils and Tulips. (Note: In Houston, Tulips usually require pre-chilling in your refrigerator for 6-8 weeks before planting in late December). Now is also the time to fill your beds with cool-season annuals like Pansies, Violas, and Cyclamen for color that will last through the winter.
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Lawn Care: Apply a light “winterizer” fertilizer if recommended by your soil test. Keep fallen leaves raked off the turf to prevent them from smothering the grass and causing disease—or mulch them into the lawn to return nutrients to the soil.
A thriving Houston landscape is a year-long endeavor, but with the right knowledge and a clear plan, it can be a source of immense satisfaction. If you’d rather leave the science and scheduling to the experts, contact Southwest Property Landscaping today. Our horticulturist-led team can create a customized plan to keep your property beautiful and healthy in every season.