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Questions and Answers:Q. I bought a live potted Christmas tree and I'm wondering how to take care of it after the holidays. What do I need to do so it will stay alive? A. As soon as possible plant in a sunny place in your yard. Most living Christmas trees are Eldarica Pines or Italian Stone Pines, and they like it dry, so be sure the spot is well drained. They are tolerant of drought and poor soils, so backfill with native soil. Merry Christmas. Q. When Is it time to plant my poppy seeds? A. December thur January in Texas. Scatter poppy seeds and plant nasturtium and sweet peas now. This is also a good time to plant tulip bulbs and bare rooted roses. Any wildflower seeds you've neglected to plant should be planted or scattered now depending on their germination requirements. Q. I have some light dormant oil that I bought to control scale on my euonymus and was told to apply in the winter. Is this a good time to apply? A. Dormant oil can be sprayed on camellias, hollies and euonymus now. You can also spray fruit trees from now until the end of January to control scale. Be sure to spray under the leaves. Q. I have a nice big compost pile but it's not heating up. What do I need to do to get it working? A. Be sure you are adding a layer of green matter between the brown stuff. As the green rots it will get the microbes in the pile working and heating up. Add moisture, but not to the point of keeping it soaked. You can cover with a tarp to add heat on a sunny cool day. Don't forget to turn the pile once it hit's the peak internal temperature of 160 degrees. A compost thermometer comes in handy because it has a long probe. Adding some dirt or a bag of organic fertilizer will help it along. Q. Will a hard freeze hurt my broccoli plants? A. A hard freeze of temperatures below 29 degrees for more than four hours can damage the broccoli heads if they are showing. Otherwise, broccoli is a great cool weather vegetable to grow. Q. How do I test old seed to see if it's still viable? A. Place a few seeds on a damp paper towel and put inside a sealed plastic bag. If the seed is still good you will see sprouts in 7-14 days. Keep towel moist, but not wet. Q. Where can I get more information on getting my soil tested? A. You should have your soil tested yearly. It's easy to do and inexpensive. Contact your local county extension office for collection bags and the correct forms. You can also go on-line. Do a search for "Texas soil samples" and pull up the correct forms from the Texas A&M website. Q. What are some low maintenance native Texas perennials that I can plant for some color in my yard. A. Blackfoot daisy, coneflower, copper canyon daisy, gaura, ironweed, Mexican petunia, Texas aster, Mexican mint marigold, lantana and Turk's cap have all done well for me and they attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Q. It's so dry lately. Should I be watering my yard? A. Yes, water your yard during dry spells, even in winter. Soil should be damp but not wet down to 6 inches below the surface. Test by digging down 6 inches anywhere in your yard. Watering in the early morning is best so the leaves can dry and you will avoid disease problems.
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