By Megan Wehring
HAYS COUNTY – Just in time for the fall planting season, the Hays County Master Gardeners Association (HCMGA) is slated to host its annual plant and tree sale next month.
Texas native and adapted plants and trees will be featured. These include perennials, ground covers, ornamental grasses, succulents, shrubs and spineless prickly pear.
“There is going to be a fairly broad selection of water-conserving [and] water-conscious plants,” said Connie Wierman, HCMGA president. “They thrive in this particular area. Everything that we are focusing on will work well in Hays County and most of them have low water requirements.”
While they sold a large number of native trees last year, the most popular category of sales have been native and adapted perennials, Wierman added. Perennials are plants that won’t succumb to the Texas summer heat, will survive droughts once established and still will provide colorful blooms and textures.
Experienced landscapers and gardeners would say that the best time for planting is between the months of October and March, Wierman said. October in Texas is still warm enough during the day to give plants time to build a strong root system before the spring.
“When you first put a plant in the ground,” Wierman said, “the plant needs to establish itself and build a good, strong root system. So you don’t want it to produce flowers immediately, you want it focused on its root system. If you plant it in the fall, that’s pretty much where all of the energies are going to go.”
The HCMGA will have an in-person inventory at the Kyle Public Library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9 and at the Dripping Springs Farmers Market from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
Online plant sales will open Oct. 4 and run through Oct. 12. Plants can be purchased online and picked up at one of the in-person sale locations: http:hcgma.square.site.
For more information about the HCMGA, please visit https://www.hayscountymastergardeners.org/.
