Brazos County Master GardenersTexas AgriLife Extension Service

Get Plants Ready for Winter

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Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 12/09/2025

All images unless otherwise noted by Stephen Brueggerhoff

Late fall brings expected weather with daily temps fluctuating between mid-50 to 60-degrees and hovering around the low 50s to upper 40s at night. Our experience as Brazos Valley residents informs us that local weather can appear to turn to bitter cold on a dime, and that predicting frost events can sometimes be like chasing rabbits. Our first frost can occur at any time between early to late November, with prediction for a first freeze in early December. While absolutes are comforting, we must be flexible enough to use an average of climatic data to be ready and now is a great time to gather materials and make plans to protect our landscape plants from frost and freeze events.

Frost and Freeze Defined

An accurate term describing the first event is radiative frost. Radiated light is collected on plants and other surfaces from the sun, and heat is lost to the atmosphere at night under a clear sky with winds clocking in at less than 4 mph. On a clear night, heat is lost quickly and plant foliage has the potential to cool steadily to a freezing point before sunrise. Mix this with high dew point and the plant’s foliage releasing moisture as it cools. The condensate has the potential to cool to the freezing point and crystallize into frost. Short duration frost may not have a detrimental effect on the plants, but a thick frost formed during a strong radiative event has increased potential to damage the foliage. Advective freeze events occur with steep plunges in temps and wind speeds more than 4 mph. This event can cause ice crystals to form and pierce cell walls within vegetative tissue. Thawing allows fluid to leak out of damaged cells and causes a burned look to leaf and stems.

Covering for Frost and Freeze

Covered Landscaping for Freeze
Freeze protection

Our job prior to anticipated radiative frost or advective freezes is to trap as much heat as possible from the surrounding environment. We are slowing down heat loss just enough to prevent damage to plant tissue and with appropriate materials made of porous fabric like old bed sheets, blankets, burlap or frost cloth. The difference may be measured by a few degrees, but it will be enough to lessen the effect. Regardless of the material and as the ambient temp permits, uncover the plants during the day, allowing heat to accumulate, adequate oxygen exchange and increase sunlight exposure. Bringing containerized plants under a covered porch, combined with fabric covering may be enough protection for the plants during a radiative frost or short duration advective freeze.

A Few Degrees of Separation

PVC hoop frame
PVC hoop frame

It is always best to have a little bit of separation between the foliage and the material. Traditional methods include building a cold frame for protection of in-ground or low profile raised beds. These are literally miniature greenhouses, a wooden frame with a covered, hinged lid that can be opened during daylight hours. You can use bent PVC piping to create a hoop structure that will support the covering. The temp inside these structures generally remains 5 to 10 degrees above outside ambient temps.

You can also make a custom form out of chicken wire for low-growing, mounding plants, use an old tomato cage as a frame to hold up the fabric, or you may have to construct a frame out of wood and hog wire. The best method for covering shrubs or trees is to drape fabric material over the frame surrounding the plant and secure it at ground level to trap as much accumulated heat radiating from the ground as possible. Short end: no lollipop covering! You can also provide a little more insulation by thoroughly watering the soil ahead of these events, or even placing gallon jugs of water left out to warm under the plant coverings. For long duration advective freezes and with sensitive trees like most citrus, mound mulch about 6 to 10 inches at the base of the tree. You are covering the graft union to protect the business end of the tree for future resprouting if you lose the upper canopy. You can also wrap the trunk of newly established trees with a non-plastic insulation material from the ground up to lower branches.

Late Fall Planting, Bundle Up and Carry On

If available from local retail outlets, you can still transplant cool season ornamentals like pansies, snapdragons, dianthus and ornamental cabbage, as well as select woody shrubs and trees. Check out our Brazos County Master Gardener webpage txmg.org/brazos and choose the section How to Garden in Central Texas for lists of plants appropriate for seasonal gardening. You can also keep up with a list of 2026 education programs including our upcoming 2026 Texas Master Gardener training program. Bundle up, my friends, and as always, I look forward to seeing you in the garden.

Persimmon for a Fruitful Fall

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Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 10/28/2025

All images unless otherwise noted by Stephen Brueggerhoff

I am a recent convert to the delicious taste of persimmon. I have a tree in the front yard that I recently harvested the ripe fruit, offering a sweet and almost jelly-like flesh that was outstanding in taste and texture. I invite you to consider persimmon for your home orchard.

Persimmon Origins

Japanese Persimmon
Japanese persimmon ‘Hachiya’

While native varieties such as the American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) can be cultivated, varieties of Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki), sometimes called Asian persimmon or Kaki, are often used in space constricted urban orchards. These fruiting members of the hardwood ebony plant family are small trees that can be used both as an ornamental landscape feature as well as a food source. American persimmon can reach up to 40-feet, while Japanese persimmon varieties can be kept compact at 15-feet. They are deciduous, with dark green leaves turning brilliant colors of orange red to gold in the fall. The majority produces medium tomato-sized fruit that are more oblong than round, featuring vivid colors from cream-orange to deep red that complement bare branches in early winter.

I am interested in the history of global plant distribution. Knowing where plants originated can help broaden our global cultural and culinary understanding of one another. According to a plant profile from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Japanese persimmon is native to a broad range of the Asian continent – from India and Myanmar to China and Korea and is widely cultivated in Japan. Kaki was brought to the U.S. from Japan in 1856 by Commodore Perry, more than likely attributed to the Perry Expedition and establishment of global trade with Japan. Commercial production increased in the 1930s in California and southeast U.S., and today most of the fruit sold in broad markets across the states are from California orchards.

Cultivating Asian Persimmon

Fortunately, persimmons can grow in a variety of soil types and success is dependant on the rootstock. Rootstock is defined as one variety or species of rooted tree that is top grafted with another species. For our eco-region, American persimmon is used as a rootstock for Japanese persimmon as it is more adaptable to regional soil profiles and resistant to soil-borne pathogens. Bare-root trees can be planted in January and February. Remove half of the top of the tree to a single trunk. Pruning in this fashion forces growth to develop a framework of branches based off a central leader. Containerized trees should be planted in early spring, from late February to early April and pruned to shape. Multiple plantings should be spaced twenty feet apart on center. Fruit develops on branches growing in the current season. As with most fruiting trees, you may begin to see fruit production within the first 3 years after establishment. Most Japanese persimmons produce seedless fruit, with exception of variety ‘Eureka.’ Some varieties, like ‘Fuyu,’ are self-fruitful. Fuyu can be used as a pollinator for all varieties grown in our area.

Astringent Versus Non-astringent Varieties

Japanese Persimmon Fuyu and Tamopan
Japanese Persimmon Fuyu and Tamopan

While persimmons are valued for their sweet taste and pleasant texture, varieties are listed as either astringent or non-astringent. Most persimmons are astringent and must be fully ripe and soft prior to eating to reduce an unpleasant palate pucker. Variety ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Izu’ are two non-astringent, medium-sized and self-fruitful varieties that perform well in our area. Fuyu fruit is flattened in appearance with a deep orange colored rind. Keep in mind that Fuyu can be affected by sustained seasonal freezing weather. Izu looks more rounded with lighter orange-yellow tones and is colder hardy than Fuyu. Variety ‘Tamopan’ is an astringent variety that produces large and flattened, orange-colored fruit. Tamopan has a distinctive ring constriction near the middle of the fruit, providing a wow factor for the effort of growing. This variety has a vigorous and upright growth habit, so my advice is to plant it as a single specimen in the home landscape. While we were not provided with a distinct varietal list of fruit trees planted at our newly purchased house, I determined by fruit shape, size, and color that I have an astringent variety ‘Hachiya’. I patiently waited until each fruit reached anticipated coloration at full ripeness, and then gently squeezed each fruit daily until I could find a little give for each that suggested ripeness for harvest. Japanese persimmon can make a great addition to your home landscape, a fruiting tree that can be kept pruned to height for smaller yards, has great seasonal value with vibrantly colored leaves and colorful fruits that can be left to ripen on the tree in the fall. Browse online on our Brazos County Master Gardener website, txmg.org/brazos for upcoming programs that will include 2026 Urban Orchard seminars.

Do you want to become a Texas Master Gardener? You can also find out more about our upcoming 2026 Texas Master Gardener training program from the BCMG website. I am delighted to tell you Dr. Garett Slater, Assistant Professor and Apiculture Extension Entomologist, will be joining me at Garden Success, my garden radio show this Thursday, November 27 at 12 pm on KAMU-FM 90.9. Dr. Slater directs the Texas Master Beekeeper program and will be talking about his efforts cultivating professional development for commercial and hobby beekeepers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends, and I’ll see you in the garden.

Pecan Season Is In Full Swing

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By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 11/11/2025

All images unless otherwise noted by Stephen Brueggerhoff

Pecan tree

Friends, relatives and neighbors have a personal connection with pecans, a highly nutritious and prized nut that is a treasured food in home life. Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) are indigenous to southern North America and northern Mexico, a staple food for ancestral Native Americans within the plant’s natural range and integrated into contemporary culture. Historically, pecan was not commercially grown until the 1880s and with the advent of improved varieties. Current statistics list the United States producing an estimated 80-percent of the world’s commercially grown pecans annually from New Mexico, Georgia, Arizona and Texas.

Cultivating Pecan Trees

Our personal connection with pecans is motivation for growing them at home. While they often become ornamental shade trees in time, they still require special annual maintenance for quality nut production. Be aware that grafted pecans can take up to seven years to bear nuts, and seedling trees much longer. If you plant a pecan tree into your yard, keep in mind you must give them room to grow. These stately trees naturally reach to 100-ft in height and spread 50-foot or more at maturity. A modest-sized lot in the city may provide enough space to grow a single pecan variety. For commercial production, establishing a pecan orchard takes focused planning that includes space consideration for maintenance and harvest. Planting densities can range from 12 to 48 trees per acre depending on spacing. Pecan trees can be planted from late November through February. Whether locating in the front yard or out in the pasture, ensure planting them in well-draining soil as they may fail if planted in soil that regularly becomes saturated. You can build up to 2-foot planting berms to compensate, but always best to locate them in a prime spot at the onset.

Pecan Varietal Choices

Pecan kernels
Pecan kernels

There is an estimate that over 500 varieties have been developed to date, with a handful of varieties that are appropriate for home or commercial production within our region and dependent on disease resistance, cultural and environmental conditions. Also consider their flowering structure when choosing a variety. Pecans are monoecious, meaning they produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant and, depending on the variety, from mid to late-spring. Male flowers are expressed on necklace-like catkins and pollen dispersal is by wind. Female flowers are produced at the tips of emerging shoots. Varieties are identified as Type I, those shedding pollen before the female flowers are receptive, and Type II varieties are shed after the female flowers are receptive. While some varieties are described as self-pollinating, it is always best to consider planting both types of trees in your orchard to enhance the chance of adequate cross-pollination. For example, Desirable is a Type I variety, producing a medium sized, soft-shell nut and ripening late October. You can increase production chances by pairing with a late pollen shedding variety like Kanza. Texas A&M Aggie Horticulture provides fact sheets that are an excellent source to identify pecan varieties that perform in our area, as well as planting and cultivation information. We offer professional advice for entrepreneurs considering commercial production, and Aggie Horticulture offers a world-renowned Pecan Orchard Management Short Course to provide an avenue of success growing pecans February 24 to 26, 2026.

Consider Entering a Pecan Show

Pecan Show Sample
Pecan show sample

You may be cultivating prized varieties on your property, gaining a reputation amongst pecan experts, aficionados as well as neighbors for being a source of the best pecans in your community. You can extend that pride and gain recognition by participating in a regional pecan show. The Extension offices in Austin County (Bellville) and Washington County (Brenham) annually host pecan shows, no entry fee for submission and open to the public and producers alike. Austin County is accepting submissions through December 1 and Washington County through mid-November. Take heart, Brazos County neighbors – you don’t have to be a resident of the listed counties to compete. Contact me via email at [email protected] to explore participating in their shows or check each counties’ website to submit prior to stated deadlines. Each county has similar rules for submission that include about 50 non-mixed varieties per entry. The competitions proceed with sorting and judging classic and new division, commercial division and native division. Each county hosts a public program soon after entry deadlines and identifies winning entries that are then sent to regional pecan shows for judging this coming January. All state regional winners will compete at the Texas Pecan Growers Annual Conference and Trade Show mid-July in San Marcos.

Enjoy Texas Pecans

Pecan harvest is in full swing, and fresh cracked and in shell pecans are available at local retail outlets. Except for November 28, The TAMU Pecan Orchard hosts a weekly pecan sale every Friday, from 8 am to 4 pm, at TAMU Research Park, 1500 Research Parkway, Lot 109 on campus until December 12. I encourage you to celebrate Pecan culture and bring attention to the diversity and health benefits of our native nut. Are you interested in learning more about pecans, fruits and vegetables, and best practices in horticulture and serving your neighbors with knowledge? I am accepting applications for the 2026 Texas Master Gardener Training program. We start the classes in January, have limited seating and would I would be delighted to help improve your gardening skills. Browse online to the Brazos County Master Gardener website, txmg.org/brazos, to find out more and contact me via email posted above. Enjoy your pecans, and I’ll see you in the garden.

Trees for Brazos County

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By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 10/28/2025

All images unless otherwise noted by Stephen Brueggerhoff

Redbud

Fall is the perfect time to plant trees in your yard. By planting trees and shrubs at this time of year, we are providing an opportunity for feeder roots to get established and the plants to settle in prior to winter dormancy. Tree selection is a personal choice, whether recalling fond memories of climbing a shade tree from childhood, or bragging rights for neighborhood enhancement. Your choice may include environmental benefits such as energy conservation, stormwater runoff reduction, and creating wildlife habitat. Whatever the reason, the practical part of all this requires attention to the available space to accommodate the tree of your choice on your property.

Tree Size Dictates Attention to Spacing

Compare a tree species height and spread at maturity with a measurement from the area of your yard that you wish to place a tree. If you want a large shade tree, keep in mind that you will need adequate space between other trees and structures to accommodate their growth. On average and depending on the species, a large tree at maturity will require spacing measured approximately 50-ft from center of the trunk to any adjacent object. The footprint required for a large tree is 180 square feet, equivalent to a 12 by 15-ft space. Keep in mind that tree growth rate is influenced by local environmental conditions such as soil texture, annual precipitation, and stressors like foot traffic around the tree. You may consider the more common Post oak (Quercus stellata), a slow growing and drought tolerant tree attaining 50-foot tall. American elm (Ulmus americana) is fast-growing, known to grow annually 3 to 5-feet and reaching a height approximately 90-feet at maturity and with a vase-shaped canopy.

Redbud and Desert Willow – Small Trees for Small Spaces

Redbud 'Oklahoma'
Redbud ‘Oklahoma’

A smaller tree may be a better choice for your yard. The definition of the height for small trees is those reaching up to 20 feet and only require a 60 square-foot planting area. There are small stature trees that provide interest with unique characteristics such as leaf shape and color, and some with flowers that draw our eye and entice pollinators. One such tree for consideration is Redbud (Cercis canadensis), a small stature native that hits all the marks. These beauties can reach 30 feet, are sparse-branched and produce heart-shaped leaves. A profuse number of blooms develop prior to spring leaf emergence along the branches rather than at the ends of stems, a phenomenon called cauliflory. They also provide an outstanding nectar resource for insects in early spring. Redbud will bear flowers by the fourth year after transplant.

There are three Redbud species naturally distributed in our state. Eastern redbud (C. canadensis var. canadensis) is found from the Atlantic coast towards central Texas and is more commonly available from nurseries. The Texas redbud (C. canadensis var. texensis) ranges from Oklahoma through central Texas and into northern Mexico, and Mexican redbud (C. canadensis var. mexicana) is determined to be distributed west of the Pecos River down into northern Mexico. There is a Texas redbud selection named ‘Oklahoma’ that performs quite well in our region. This species was discovered in the Arbuckle mountains of Oklahoma in 1964 and released to the public soon thereafter. ‘Oklahoma’ redbud is more compact in growth and perfect for small spaces, topping at maturity with an estimated 18 feet. The flowers are a deeper magenta color than the Eastern redbud, and the foliage retains species characteristics of thick and wavy waxy leaves, making this selection a bit more drought tolerant.

Desert willow
Desert willow

Another potential is Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), topping out at 25 feet. The plant resembles a willow tree with long, linear leaves expressed along flexible but upright branches and with an open canopy. The most attractive feature is large lavender tubular flowers emerging at the end of the stems from May through June and sporadically throughout summer. The plant is drought tolerant and performs best in well-draining, porous soil. This tree is best used in a raised area of your landscape; ensure that the tree is not set in an area where the soil remains saturated. Commit what we call a percolation test to determine that the planting area has adequate drainage. To perform a perc test, dig a hole 2 to 3-ft deep by 1-ft wide and fill the hole with water. If it takes longer than 24 hours to drain, choose another location in your yard or another appropriate species. Texas A&M Forest Service offers an outstanding resource Texas Tree Planting Guide from website: texastreeplanting.tamu.edu. The service offers a tree selector search engine, as well as guides for tree planting and care. Establish your legacy by planting the right tree in the right place in your yard.

Celebrate Texas Arbor Day

Celebrate the benefits and beauty of trees on Texas Arbor Day and look for local events to share your time in the woods with family and friends. Brazos County Master Gardeners, and yours truly, collaborate with Texas A&M Forest Service colleagues and offer seasonal programs exploring best practices for maintaining and choosing appropriate trees for our area. I am delighted to tell you Dr. Stephanie Adams, Assistant Professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service tree and landscape plant health specialist, will be joining me at Garden Success, my live call-in garden radio show this Thursday, October 30 at 12 pm on KAMU-FM 90.9. You can keep up with next ongoing garden-related events from our Brazos County Master Gardener website: txmg.org/brazos. Tree cheers to you, look up and on the bright side and I’ll see you in the garden.

Brazos County Master Gardeners at Fall Fest

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Come celebrate the arrival of fall in The Gardens at TX A&M University! Brazos County Master Gardeners have booth at the celebration with activities for kids and info for adults. Enjoy fall refreshments as you stroll through The Gardens and visit our various educational demonstrations and activity tables. Folks of all ages can make fall inspired crafts, learn about fall crops and vegetables, and much more. Come out for a gourd time in The Gardens! We will have a Sensory Free/Quiet Zone during the Fall Festival for anyone who may want or need a quieter environment at any point during the event.

FREE event and family friendly. For more information including parking and event schedule – https://gardens.tamu.edu/gardens-fall-festival/