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Basics
Recommended Plants and Plant Selectors
- Newcomer’s Gardening Snapshot for El Paso County — Gardening in El Paso (includes plant hardiness & climate zones)
- Ornamental Plants for Far West Texas (Annuals, Perennials, Flowers, Shrubs, Trees, Succulents, Groundcovers, Grasses, Turf, Vines, including Natives, with Water Use)
- El Paso Desert Blooms Water Smart Landscaping Guide
- Earth-Kind® Plant Selector
- Recommended Southwestern Native Plants for the El Paso/Las Cruces Area (Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, Grasses and Succulents)
- Chihuahuan Desert Native Plant List
- Plant Selector -New Mexico Office of State Engineer (NMOSE) Plant List Database – (Includes bloom season. At page top select “South” region for the El Paso/Las Cruces area; results will open new window)
- Southwest Plant Selector (NMOSE Plant List Database)-Free App-Specifically for iPhone, iPod, and iPad
- TPG-Tree-list-Sept-2015
- Trees for High Desert Communities
- Texas Superstar® Plants – Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs, and Trees
- Xeriscape™ – Landscape Water Conservation (pg 8 starts “Outstanding Plants for Texas”; consider Regions 6 & 7)
- Pollinator Plant Recommendations for New Mexico (annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees; includes bloom season)
Accessible Gardening
- Creating an Accessible Garden
- Accessible Gardening Tips
- Keep On Gardening – Create Your Own Tools
- Accessible Gardening Tools
- Accessible Gardening Reading & Reference Resources
- Enjoy Gardening Benefits with Accessible Tools and Techniques – Gardening in El Paso
Garden Tools – Care and Maintenance
- Cleaning Garden Tools
- Disinfecting Your Garden Tools
- Proper Handling of Garden Tools
- Tools and Equipment (includes chain saw, lawn mower, sharpening tools, etc.)
Fitness for Gardeners
- Don’t Let The Dirt Hurt Stretches
- Gardening and Your Health: Protecting Your Knees and Back (Brochure)
Gardening Organizations
- Aggie Horticulture®
- AggieTurf
- Become a Texas Master Gardener
- El Paso Cactus and Rock Club
- El Paso Water Utilities TecH2O Center
- Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
- Native Plant Society of New Mexico (El Paso Chapter)
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in El Paso
- Texas Master Gardener℠ Association
- Texas Master Gardener℠ Program
- USDA Plants Database
- West Texas Urban Forestry Council
Gardening Publications and Links for Expanded Research
- Earth-Kind® Landscape Publications
- Earth-Kind® Principles and Practices for Urban Landscape (PDF Publications)
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Bookstore
- Texas A&M AgriLife Cooperative Extension Bookstore
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service Publications
- New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service Horticultural Publications
- New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service Publications and Videos
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Gardening and Landscaping
Landscape
Ornamental Grasses
- How to Landscape with Ornamental Grasses – Gardening in El Paso
- Ornamental Plants for Far West Texas (see native grasses in left column on page)
- Plant Selector-New Mexico Office of State Engineer Plant List Database – (at page top select “South” region; select Ornamental Grasses to see photos)
Ornamental Plants and Shrubs
- Ornamental Plants for Far West Texas (Annuals, Perennials, Flowers, Shrubs, Trees, Succulents, Groundcovers, Grasses, Turf, Vines, including Natives, with Water Use)
- Texas Superstar® Plants- Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs and Trees
- Have You Tried Growing These Popular Perennials? – Gardening in El Paso
- Create a Hummingbird and Butterfly Habitat
- Shade Tolerant Plants for Far West Texas
- Propagating Foliage and Flowering Plants
- Fertilizing Woody Ornamentals
- Pruning Shrubs in the Low and Mid-Elevation Deserts in Arizona
- Follow Proper Pruning Techniques-Shrubs, Trees, Vines, Groundcovers
- Low Desert Pruning Guide for Commonly Used Shrubs (includes Tips and Schedule)
- Pollinator Plant Recommendations for New Mexico (annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees; includes bloom season)
- Plant a Honey Bee Friendly Garden (includes native bees & bee-attracting plants)
- How to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden – Gardening in El Paso
- Get Winter Color in the Desert with These Four Plants – Gardening in El Paso
Roses
- Growing Roses (regional-appropriate advice on plant types, planting, location, irrigation, soil, fertilization, bush and climber winter pruning, dead-heading, insects) – (Click here for print-friendly PDF)
- Roses for the Desert
- Coming Up Roses: 12 Classic Beauties that Thrive in the Desert Southwest
- Best Roses for Arizona: Roses That Love Our Heat
- Earth-Kind® Roses
- Growing Tips for Earth-Kind® Roses
- Earth-Kind® Rose Cultivars
- Rose Culture, Propagation, How to Plant, and Antique Roses
- Landscaping with Old Garden Roses
- Rose Pruning Handout
- Pruning Climbing Roses—Prune yearly for healthier, more manageable growth and bigger, better flowers
- The Best Date to Start Pruning Roses in El Paso? – Gardening in El Paso
- A Guide to Rose Diseases and Their Management
- Why to Be on Alert for Rose Rosette Disease – Gardening in El Paso
- Early Detection of Rose Rosette Disease
- Rose Rosette (symptoms, control, reporting)
- Combating Rose Rosette | Facebook
- Rose Rosette Disease
- Winter Protection of Roses
Lawns
- Turfgrass Establishment for Texas
- Bermudagrass Lawn Management Calendar
- Maintaining Bermudagrass Lawn
- Fertilizing-Texas-Lawns
- Landscape Fertilizers: Selection, Handling, Application and Storage ….
- Urban Turf Fertilizer Calculator (use with soil test results)
- The Fall Lawn Fertilizing Deadline Is Fast Approaching! — Gardening in El Paso
- Apply Fall Preemergence Herbicide to Avoid Spring Weeds
- Lawn Water Management
- Watering Tips for Lawns, Vegetable Gardens and Trees – Gardening in El Paso
- Watering the Lawn in Winter
- Powdery Mildew on Turf
- Weeds of Texas Turf (good photos for ID of weed)
- Weeds-Pest Notes Library (see weed management tips)
Cold Damage
- Hold Off Pruning Freeze-Damaged Plants
- After the Bleak Midwinter
- Care for Storm-Damaged Trees and Shrubs – Gardening in El Paso
Flowers
- Parson’s Archive Information about Flowering Plants
- Constructing Your Flower Bed
- Flowers – Annuals, Perennials, Planting, Landscaping, Problems
- Cut Flower Gardening
- Why Deadhead Our Flowers?
- Wildflower Growing Information with Photos and Links
- Wildflowers – Southwestern Mix
- Wildflowers in Bloom – Growing Info
- Fertilizing Foliage and Flowering Plants
- Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes, Tubers
- Flowering Bulbs
- Summer and Fall Flowering Bulbs for the Landscape
- Ornamental Plants for Far West Texas (Annuals, Perennials, Flowers, Shrubs, Trees, Succulents, Groundcovers, Grasses, Turf, Vines, including Natives, with Water Use)
- Prepare for Bulbs in the Landscape Now (includes additional information on forcing bulbs)
- Planting Spring-Flowering Bulbs Outdoors
- Growing and Caring for Amaryllis
- Growing and Caring for Poinsettia
- The Poinsettia Pages
- Poinsettias-Year After Year
- Poinsettias: The Challenge of Reblooming Is Fun, But Challenging
- Iris – Low Water Use Plant for Desert Southwest
- How to Grow Iris in El Paso – Gardening in El Paso
- Forcing Bulbs for Indoor Bloom
- Seasonal Color with Bulbs in El Paso – Gardening in El Paso
- Daffodil Narcissus – Low Water Use Plant for Desert Southwest
- Dividing Perennials
- Gardening with Perennials (common types, planting, transplanting, dividing, plant care; sections in Spanish)
- Have You Tried Growing These Popular Perennials? – Gardening in El Paso
Cacti and Succulents
- Cactus, Agave, Yucca and Ocotillo
- How to Care for Cacti in El Paso — Gardening in El Paso
- Growing Cactus
- How to Propagate Agaves and Cacti from Cuttings and Seed
- Propagating and Caring for Cactus
- How to Transplant a Cactus
- Pruning Cacti and Other Desert Succulents (note photo descriptions for the right & wrong way to prune example plants)
- PLANT answers Cactus Culture (includes succulents, photos and hardiness rating)
- Caring for Potted Succulents in Winter – Gardening in El Paso
- Cactus in the Garden and on Your Table — Gardening in El Paso
- Succulent Gardening – Dormancy Table
Trees
- Ornamental Plants for Far West Texas (Annuals, Perennials, Flowers, Shrubs, Trees, Succulents, Groundcovers, Grasses, Turf, Vines, including Natives, with Water Use)
- Texas Superstar® Plants- Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs and Trees
- Texas Tree Planning Guide: Planting, Pruning, and Care (text and video; Spanish version at page bottom of selected pages)
- Help-Your-Tree-Survive-in-El-Paso
- Watering Tips for Lawns, Vegetable Gardens and Trees
- TPG-Tree-list-Sept-2015
- Follow Proper Pruning Techniques-Shrubs, Trees, Vines, Groundcovers
- Trees for High Desert Communities
- What Tree is for Me? — Gardening in El Paso
- Fruit Trees for El Paso
- Training and Pruning Newly Planted Deciduous Fruit Trees
- Pollinator Plant Recommendations for New Mexico (annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees; includes bloom season)
- Plant a Honey Bee Friendly Garden (includes native bees & bee-attracting plants)
- How to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden – Gardening in El Paso
Earth-Kind®
Earth-Kind® Practices
- Earth-Kind® Home Page-Aggie Horticulture
- 10 Ways to Make Your Landscape Earth-Kind®
- Earth-Kind® Principles and Practices for Urban Landscape (PDF Publications)
- Earth-Kind® Landscape Publications
- Planning the Earth-Kind® Home Landscape
- Earth-Kind® Plant Selector
- About Earth-Kind® Roses
- Growing Tips for Earth-Kind® Roses
- Earth-Kind® Rose Cultivars
- Master Gardener Online Earth-Kind® Training (CEU Eligible)
- Environmental Stewardship through Earth-Kind® Landscaping – Gardening in El Paso
- Earth-Kind®-Composting
Soils and Fertilization
- Testing Your Soil-How to Collect and Send Samples
- Improving Soils: Crucial to Long-Term Success…
- Landscape Fertilizers: Selection, Handling, Application and Storage ….
- Fertilizing Texas Lawns
- Urban Turf Fertilizer Calculator (use with soil test results)
- The Fall Lawn Fertilizing Deadline Is Fast Approaching! — Gardening in El Paso
- Fertilizing Woody Ornamentals
- How to Improve Your Soil – Gardening in El Paso
- Soil Preparation – Easy Gardening Series
Drip Irrigation
- Low Volume Irrigation
- Irrigation Systems for Earth-Kind® Landscapes
- Efficient Use of Water in the Garden and Landscape
- Easy Steps for Drip Irrigation – Gardening in El Paso
- Composting and Vermicomposting
- Composting in the Home Garden
- Earth-Kind® Composting
- Compost, Clippings and Winter Protection of Plants
- Worms Can Recycle Your Garbage
- Vermiculture: Worm Composting
- Keyhole Gardening – The Composting Method (Brochure, pg 1 of 2)
- Keyhole Gardening – The Composting Method (Brochure, pg 2 of 2)
Houseplants
- Light, Temperature and Humidity
- Media, Repotting and Containers
- How to Make a Holiday Planter with Greenery
- Growing and Caring for Poinsettia
- The Poinsettia Pages
- Poinsettias-Year After Year
- Poinsettias: The Challenge of Reblooming Is Fun, But Challenging
- Helping Your Holiday Gift Plants Keep on Giving – Gardening in El Paso
- Interiorscape Plants Picture Page – Common Name Index
- Interiorscape Plants Image Gallery (photos with scientific names)
- House Plants from Texas Master Gardener Handbook (see Index of Plant Uses at page bottom; includes special care info for seasonal plants)
- Houseplants – Selection, Care, Types, and Propagation (click page link for Spanish version: Plantas para Interiores)
- Forcing Bulbs for Indoor Bloom
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits
- Fruit and Nut Fact Sheets
- Fruit Trees for El Paso – Gardening in El Paso
- Pomegranate-Cultivars
- Pomegranate-Propagation
- Pomegranates (Texas Fruit and Nut Series)
Vegetables
- Vegetable Planting Calendar for El Paso
- Vegetable Varieties for El Paso County
- Vegetables – Easy Gardening Series (scroll down for Spanish)
- Everything Texans Ask About Gardening
- Getting Your Vegetable Beds Ready for Spring – Gardening in El Paso
- The Secret to Growing Tomatoes in El Paso – Gardening in El Paso
- Tomato Problem Solver
- Plant a Honey Bee Friendly Garden (includes native bees & bee-attracting plants)
- Cool Season Gardening Is Easy After the Heat of Summer — Gardening in El Paso
- Fall Vegetable Gardening Guide (for tables, use Texas Gardening Region III as El Paso is in USDA Hardiness Zone 8)
- How to Care for Cool Weather Vegetables – Gardening in El Paso
- Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide
- Watering Tips for Lawns, Vegetable Gardens and Trees
Gardening with Hoop Houses, Row Covers, and Cold Frames
- Row Cover Vegetable Production Techniques
- How to Install a Floating Row Cover
- Row Covers – Community Horticulture Fact Sheet
- Row Covers – WSU Extension C187
- Our Raised Bed Hoop House and How to Build It – Gardening in El Paso
- The Raised Bed Hoop House-El Paso, TX_printable PDF
- The Raised Bed Hoop House–El Paso, TX (slideshow)
- Hoop House Construction for New Mexico: 12-ft. X 40-ft. Hoop House
- Constructing a Cold Frame Hoop House for the Backyard Gardener
- Hotbeds and Cold Frames
- The Cold Frame Handbook
- The Cold Frame Manual
- Making a Cloche
- How to Build Your Own Raised Bed Cloche
- Extending the Garden Season-Classic Cold Frames & Cloches; Easy Low Tunnels
Insects and Diseases (Integrated Pest Management or IPM)
- BugBook
- Insects in the City
- Southwest Bugs
- Field Guide to Common Texas Insects (includes Life Cycle & Pest Status)
- What Is IPM (Integrated Pest Management)?
- Landscape Integrated Pest Management (IPM – includes Turfgrass and Ornamentals)
- UC IPM Pest Notes Library (garden insects, household pests, weeds, plant diseases, and pesticides)
- Pests of Foliage and Flowering Plants
- Managing Insects and Related Pests of Roses
- Why to Be on Alert for Rose Rosette Disease – Gardening in El Paso
- Early Detection of Rose Rosette Disease
- Rose Rosette (symptoms, control, reporting)
- Facebook | Combating Rose Rosette
- Rose Rosette Disease
- Pesticide Introduction and Safety
- Protecting Honey Bees from Pesticides
- Pocket Guide to the Native Bees of New Mexico (includes host plant names)
- Earth-Wise Guide to Beneficial Insects (photos + least toxic products)
- Good Bug? Bad Bug?
- Backyard Beneficial Insects in New Mexico
- Pocket Guide to the Beneficial Insects of New Mexico
- Landscape IPM — Beneficial Insects
- Make the Best of Beneficial Insects
- Buzz Off! Prevent Mosquitos to Reduce Disease – Gardening in El Paso
- Mosquito Control
- DIY Backyard Mosquito Control
- Mosquito Safari – Find Mosquitos (Interactive), Learn Symptoms & Mosquito Control
- Mosquito Borne Diseases in Texas
- What Texans Need to Know about Zika Virus (Spanish version link)
- Zika Precautions for Women
- El Virus Zika
- Leafmining Insects
- Elm Leaf Beetles
- Aphids (Wisconsin Master Gardener Series)
- Aphids & Their Relatives
- Spider Mites
- Thrips
Propagation
- Pomegranate-Propagation
- Back to Basics: How to Start Seeds Indoors
- Timely Tips on Starting Seedlings at Home (vegetables and flowering annuals)
- Starting a Garden from Seeds — Gardening in El Paso
- Propagation – A Variety of Techniques
- Propagating Foliage and Flowering Plants
- Air Layering for Difficult to Root Plants
- Propagation Resources – Grafting
- Rose Propagation From Cuttings
- Whip Grafting
- How to Propagate Agaves and Cacti from Cuttings and Seed
Rainwater Harvesting, WaterWise and Xeriscape
Rainwater Harvesting
- Rainwater Harvesting
- Rainwater Harvesting – Gardening in El Paso
- Installing A Drip Irrigation System to a Rain Barrel (Video)
- The Texas Rainwater Harvesting Manual
- A Waterwise Guide to Rainwater Harvesting
- A Waterwise Guide to Rainwater Harvesting (Spanish version)
- El Paso Desert Blooms Water Smart Landscaping Guide
- Efficient Use of Water in the Garden and Landscape
- What Is a WaterWise Texas Landscape?
- Lawns Don’t Waste Water, People Do!
- Lawn Water Management
- Ornamental Plants for Far West Texas (Annuals, Perennials, Flowers, Shrubs, Trees, Succulents, Groundcovers, Grasses, Turf, Vines, including Natives, with Water Use)
- Watering Trees and Shrubs: Simple Techniques for Efficient Landscape Watering
- Watering Tips for Lawns, Vegetable Gardens and Trees – Gardening in El Paso
Xeriscape™
- Earth-Kind® Home Page-Aggie Horticulture
- Earth-Kind® Drought Preparedness
- Xeriscape™ – Landscape Water Conservation (pg 8 starts “Outstanding Plants for Texas”; consider Regions 6 & 7)
- Why Native Plants? – Gardening in El Paso
- Environmental Stewardship through Earth-Kind® Landscaping – Gardening in El Paso
- How to Have an Attractive Grassless Yard – Gardening in El Paso