Hello Gardener,
Welcome to Emerald Gardens Newsletter  Ornamental Grasses can make
a dramatic Fall display
 Fall is Ornamental Grass season and most all grasses are showiest in the FallAustin's climate is great for most ornamental grasses as well as a large assortment of native grasses. Most commonly seen in landscapes are the Maiden grasses, with many sizes and forms as well as colors they are one of the most used.Fountain grasses are very showy and begin blooming much earlier in the year. Fountain grasses come in the most different cultivars but can be less winter hardy.
Native grasses include different types of Muhly grass with Gulf Muhly being the most popular in the fall with its pinkish/purple haze. Native sedges are good clumping grasses for shaded or moist areas. Grasses are varied and durable plants for the landscape and always stand out with their showy plumes.
 Dig and Divide
November and December are the months to dig up divide and transplant all your root and bulb type plants. Clumping plants such as Agapanthus will benefit from being divided occasionally and any plant that multiplies will do better.
Replant your divisions with amended soil that will drain well and use plenty of bone meal or bulb fertilizer. After dormancy divide root clumping perennials such as Hostas or Daylilies.
Also good to plant are Ground Orchid, Crinums, Spider Lily, Liriope, Monkey grass, Rain Lily, Society Garlic, Ferns and ground covers.
 Cool Weather ColorMany gardeners will start to plant fall winter color as the weather cools. Most start with Snapdragons or Pansies and maybe mix in some Sweet Alyssum or violas. Flowering cabbage, kale and Swiss Chard have appeal with varied forms and colors. Fairly new to the color line up are the new Mustard varieties with several types being used in the color mix.
Ornamental Mustard brings bold leaf shapes and strong upright chocolate/mahogany and burgundy tones to the winter garden. Very fast growing and beautiful without blooms are a couple of reasons Mustard is a traffic stopper. Mix with strong colors using Snaps or Pansies like white or yellow and lavender
finish up with white Alyssum or Dustymiller.
Living Christmas Tree Choices
Decorating a living Christmas tree and planting it outdoors after the season can be very rewarding and great for the environment. Being educated about the type of living trees available and making the right choice will insure it continues to live for many years. Many marketed trees sold are grown in other parts of the country and shipped everywhere. Most living trees seen for sale are very poor landscape choices for our area and most will die quickly after being planted.
The best choice for a living tree is one that will thrive for years to come and remind you of Christmas every time you admire it.
Very well suited evergreen conifer like trees are, Arizona Cypress( best choice), Leyland Cypress,  Blue Point Juniper and most upright Junipers. Smaller scale trees would include trimmed Rosemary and Boxwoods and a few Hollies(acidified) or shaped medium sized Junipers.
Other non traditional tree choices would be Youpon holly(trimmed) and Japanese Yew (trimmed). Most Pine trees eventually will decline due to soil PH and hardness or repeated cases of Spider mites and should not be planted.
Take note theses pines are the most widely available living trees but are best planted in their native areas or kept as container plants.
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