Johnson County Master Gardeners - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

11/29/2025

Blooming perennials for the winter
By Joyce Block

The cold front that moved through this week caught a lot of people by surprise. The cold rain was a reminder of what could be happening in the next few weeks when winter really arrives. One thought I had was there are perennials and shrubs that bloom in the winter and we all need a bright spot of color on a dreary day.
Camellias are starting to appear in the garden centers and nurseries right now. There are two types of Camellias that available. Sasanqua is more winter hardy, while the Japonica has more varieties available in a double bloom. They are a broad leaf evergreen plant, and can grow from five feet up to fifteen feet. Their glossy green leaves make a beautiful backdrop for their rose shaped flowers. Pink, Red, White and bi-color are the color of the flowers. Camellias start blooming in the fall and continue into the winter.
Very low temperatures can damage Camellias. Frost damage can be avoided by planting them in a protected area or by planting them in a container.
Another type of winter blooming plant is the Lenten Rose, aka Hellebores.
Like Camellias, they are a broad leaf evergreen that love the shade. The blooms of the Lenten Rose come in colors of pink, green, white and bi colors. They bloom from now until Easter. Hellebores are a smaller plant and don’t grow much over 20 inches.
Both Camellias and Lenten rose love the shade, well-drained soil, and do not like too much water.

Lenten rose in bloom

Variety of colors of Camellias

Are you looking for a gift for the hard to buy for gardener? Why not give the gift of learning more about gardening. In person Master Gardener classes for Johnson, Somerville and Hood County will start in April of 2026. There is a cost of $ 165.00 for materials. The instructors are part of the Texas Agri-Life Extension service and Texas A & M University staff. This training also includes a field trip in late April to the oldest botanic garden in Texas, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. For an application and more information, contact your local Texas Agri-Life Extension office.

Be safe, be healthy and keep on Gardening!

Joyce Block has been a Master Gardener in Minnesota and Texas since 2000. She lives in Alvarado, TX.

11/29/2025

Christmas Trees- the decisions
By Joyce Block
Thanksgiving used to mark the start of the holiday season. Yes, we are correct in thinking that the Christmas merchandise is showing up faster and faster each year. But one Christmas item that doesn’t show up in the stores in October is a live or fresh cut Christmas tree.
I noticed this week that many retailers, both big box and the independent garden centers are getting their displays all set up and ready for the trees to come in. Though many places have had their artificial trees in place for a while, today, we’ll just talk about live trees.
People who grow live Christmas trees will usually plant two or three trees for everyone that has been cut down for a Christmas tree. It takes several years before a tree is ready for market. Many tree growing places are family operations and take sustainability seriously.
The most popular fresh cut trees are different types of Fir trees; Fraser, Noble, and Balsam. These trees are seen at many retail outlets and are very popular.
The Fraser Fir is the King of fresh cut Christmas trees. Outstanding green color, long needle retention, (up to six weeks), and soft needles. Many of these trees are grown in North Carolina and the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. It is also one of the higher priced trees due to its longevity. The way the trees branches are it makes it easy to place lights and ornaments on the tree.
Noble Firs are a relative to the Fraser. This tree has a stronger pine scent than some of the other fresh cut trees. It also has soft needles, great green color and good needle retention. This tree is usually priced a little lower than the Fraser fir, but is a great tree.
Balsam Fir has many of the same attributes as the other two firs. It will need more water than the other two firs in order to maintain its longevity.
In Johnson County we have several places to either chose and cut a Christmas tree or purchase a fresh cut tree. Besides the big box stores and the independent garden centers, we have several Christmas tree farms. Sunset Hill Tree Farm, Haynie’s Green Acres, Mainstay Farm Park and Angel Path are all located in Johnson County. They provided fresh cut trees and families can go out to their farms, and cut their own Christmas trees. Check out their websites for more details.
Other ways to bring a live tree in your home, without having a cut tree is to use a container grown tree. I noticed that they were outside of a few of the grocery stores the other day. These trees are grown in a container, most have a height of four to six feet, and can be planted in your yard when you’re done with it inside. Afghan Pine, Loblolly Pine, and the Japanese Black Pine, will do well in our part of Texas. Some people will use the native Cedar trees for a Christmas tree also.
If you would like an indoor plant, the Norfolk Island pine makes a very cute Christmas tree. Small ones in a four to six inch pot are available and look cute with miniature ornaments placed on them. Others come in a ten inch pot and stand about three to four feet tall. These trees need light weight ornaments on them, and only a strand or two of lights. They cannot take a lot of weight on their branches.
The only pine tree that I don’t recommend, this is based only on my experience in retail, is both the Scotch pine and White Spruce. One of the first Christmas trees I sold, many years ago was a White Spruce to some elderly sisters. The tree was returned the next day as it had lost all of the needles overnight. I’m still not sure what happened. I don’t like the Scotch pine as the needles are extremely prickly, and many growers of that tree will spray it green.
When you purchase your fresh cut tree, make sure that the retailer has made a fresh cut on it or you will need to make a fresh cut with a saw when you get the tree home. If you aren’t going to bring your tree in for decorating right away, place the tree in a cool location in a bucket of water. These two steps will help keep your tree fresh for the season.
After you bring the tree into your home, have the tree stand ready to go with some water in it. Once you have place the tree in the stand add more water. Check the tree daily to make sure it always has water. If you are using a tree that has been grown in a container, check it weekly and water the plant thoroughly. Live Christmas trees can dry out quickly in our home environments and lose their needles due to this.

Enjoy the start of the holiday season, and keep your live trees watered.
Joyce Block has been a Johnson county Master Gardener for over 15 years, and lives in Alvarado, TX.

11/26/2025

11/18/2025

Christmas Cactus or Thanksgiving Cactus

By Joyce Block

One question that gets asked often during the holiday season is how do I get Christmas Cactus to bloom or why isn’t my Christmas Cactus blooming. Many people have these as pass along plants, which are plants that are inherited from relatives. These types of Cacti can live for decades. I have heard stories of this plant belonging to someone’s Grandparents or Great-Grandparents. These types of Cacti are native to the tropical regions of the world, not the desert like many other types of Cacti.

There are three different types of plants that are called Christmas Cactus. There is Easter Cactus, (Rhipsalidopsis geeilneri), this plants blooms from March to May. If the Cactus was purchased in the fall or early winter, it is either a Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera
truncate) or Christmas Cactus, (Schlumbergera russelliana). There are slight differences between all three; the Thanksgiving & Easter Cactus have flattened leaves with spiny joints while a true Christmas Cactus has no spines on the joints of the leaves. The blooms can be white, red, pink, purple, orange, and bi- colors.

For success with your Holiday Cactus, keep the plant in indirect light, no direct sun; keep the plant moist, water the plant when it is dry to the touch on the soil’s surface. DO NOT let the plant sit in water; Keep the plant cool, temperatures should not exceed 70 degrees during the day and not below 55 degrees at night; Make sure that the soil is a good potting mix that drains well.

There are two different ways to re bloom the Holiday Cactus. One way is to keep the temperatures at 50 - 55 degrees F at night & not more than 65 degrees during the day. This process needs to start in October & November. The second technique also needs to start then.

This method entails keeping the plant in continuous, uninterrupted darkness for 14 hours a day. The temperatures need to be no lower than 60 degrees at night, with day temperatures not to be more than 65 degrees. On December 1st, the Holiday Cactus needs to be brought into a room with bright light to keep developing its flowers.

Another question that I have been asked is why the buds are dropping off my Holiday Cactus. Bud drop is caused by several factors: not enough water, too much water, changes in temperatures, or there is not enough light in the room for the plant.

Many of these cacti are now available at your local retailers.

Information for this article was from the John Henry Flowering & Foliage Plant Books I & II.

Joyce Block is a Johnson County Master Gardener, and lives in Alvarado, TX.

11/18/2025

Tonight's educational program was about the Junior Master Gardener program Gardening with Children. We participated in two activities from the children’s curriculum: crafting newspaper hats and carrot seed tapes for square foot gardening.

11/14/2025

November is the month your Christmas cactus quietly prepares for its winter show 🌸

To help it set buds, keep it in bright but indirect light, water lightly, and let the soil dry a bit between drinks.

Cool nights around 55–65°F (13–18°C) trigger blooming, so avoid moving it or pruning right now, it needs rest more than anything.

A little humidity will keep the leaves plump and healthy. Treat it gently this month, and it’ll reward you with blooms just in time for the holidays 💧✨

11/14/2025

not all “Christmas cacti” are the same. Some bloom for Thanksgiving, some for Easter…
each following its own quiet rhythm.

🌿 How to support them now
• Bright, gentle light — nothing harsh
• Cooler nights to trigger blooms
• Light watering, steady calm
• No repotting or root disturbance

📌 Let them rest, let them breathe, let them prepare.
December blooms aren’t rushed — they are earned through patience and kindness.

And when that first flower opens in winter’s stillness…
it feels like hope. 💗✨

11/13/2025

Yesterday we finished the Fall semester with our Junior Master Gardeners at Lillian by reading the book, Tops and Bottoms. Then we tasted some tops and bottoms of vegetables and learned to identify plant parts. We are setting up some new beds on our garden sight for the Spring semester.

11/05/2025

Texas Arbor Day is this Friday, November 7th, so today at our Jr. Master Gardener meeting at Lillian Elementary, we focused on trees. The kids learned lots of facts about trees and why they are important. They also learned how to figure out the age of a tree by counting rings and dug into deer corn to discover plastic bugs that might live on trees. Don’t forget to plant a tree this Friday!

11/03/2025

11/03/2025

Event Details

Date: Friday, November 7th, 1-4 pm

Location: Johnson County Extension Office (109 W Chambers, Cleburne)

Cost: $10, cash or check, pay at the door

RSVP: call 817-556-6370 by Wednesday, Nov. 5th to RSVP.

Visit Johnson County Extension website for full speaker list and more details on the rest of the sessions in the series, or email cassie.mavis@ag.tamu.edu with any questions.

Backyard Poultry, Animal Handling Basics & Homesteading Tips
Don’t forget to RSVP for our third session of the Landowner Series next Friday, November 7th.

Talks include:

Backyard Poultry - Greg Archer, AgriLife Poultry Specialist

Animal Handling Basics - Dr. Clint Calvert, Alvarado Vet Clinic

Homesteading Tips - LeAnne Po***ck, Johnson County FCH Agent

Please call our office at 817-556-6370 to RSVP by Wednesday, 11/5.

10/25/2025

Why are the leaves turning colors?
By Joyce Block

Fall officially started on September 22. Fall leaf tours in the New England are wildly popular. In the northern part of the country, watching for peak color of the fall leaves is a daily event. Jumping into the car and driving along riverbanks, is a popular activity and a great time to take pictures.

In Texas, it seems like Fall takes its time and doesn’t arrive until after Halloween. That is when people notice that the leaves are changing and there is a slight briskness to the air.

Let’s start with a basic difference between trees, there are Deciduous trees and Evergreen trees. Deciduous trees, Maples, most Oaks, and Pecans, will have leaves that change color and the leaves will drop in the fall of the year. An exception to the Oaks is the Live Oak tree, they will drop their old leaves as the new leaves emerge in the spring. Then there are evergreen trees, firs, spruces, pines, yews, and cedars that keep their leaves all year long. Evergreen trees can be divided down to broadleaf evergreens, like Live Oak and narrow leaf, like the pines and spruces. Magnolias will also keep most of their leaves in the fall.

According to the USDA, as the nights become longer, and cooler the biochemical processes in the leaves start the change of the colors. The leaves of trees respond to the shortening days and less sunlight by closing of a layer of cells at the base of each leaf. The clogged veins trap sugars in the leaves, and once the separation is completed and totally sealed off, the leaf will fall.

Frost on the trees will affect the leaves by rupturing the cells and causing the leaves to die without changing color. To have spectacular fall color we need to have warm, sunny days and cool
nights. Drought stress will cause leaves to fall prematurely, which we have seen this year.

Leaves have various pigments in the leaves that cause the leaves to turn the correct color. Yellow, orange, and brown colors are produced by Carotenoids. Carotenoids are found in corn and
carrots. Burgundy, red and purple are water soluble colors that are called Anthocyanin. Chlorophyll is the basic green of all leaves that let the plants use sunlight to create sugars for food.

Oak trees, except for the Live Oaks, will turn red or brown, Maples will turn red or orange, and Chinese Pistache will turn yellow. This is due to chemical reactions in the leaves.

During the growing season most leaves contain chlorophyll and carotenoids. The anthocyanins are produced in the fall while there is bright light and excessive plant sugars. As the length of darkness increase, chlorophyll in the leaves is destroyed and the carotenoids and anthocyanin become present creating the fall colors.

At work, I have noticed the Maples and the Japanese Maples have started to change color. A small Chinese Pistachio in my yard is starting to change color, also. Though at the ranch in Grandview,
most of the pecans have dropped their leaves. It will take some time for the leaves to change color, but peak fall color usually occurs in the middle or late November.

Joyce Block has been a Master Gardener 2007 in Johnson County, Texas.