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

12/26/2025

What happens to live Christmas trees after Christmas? Many are recycled into mulch. If you live in Cleburne, TX you can take your post Christmas tree to the Cleburne Transfer Station at their shredding site. They will dispose of it for you, turning it into useful mulch for the community. You can use your old tree as fire wood for cozy winter campfires. Just cut your tree up first. It is very flammable and lighting up the whole tree at once isn’t a good idea. You can slice tree cookies from the stem to use in art projects. Some like to make nesting habitats for wildlife on their property with the discarded trees. You may think about sinking the tree in a body of water to create habitats for fish. If you have an area on your land that has problems with erosion, Christmas trees can be used to stabilize the area. There are so many ways to put your old tree to use instead of sending it to a landfill. When we purchase trees from Texas tree farms we are supporting local businesses and bringing the smell of the outdoors into our homes for the Christmas season. It is a win-win. So, let’s make its disposal a win-win too.

12/20/2025

Don’t forget to clean your bird feeders. If the birds are not all over the feeder this time of year, there is a problem. And it is probably clogged or moldy feeders. It is a good idea to clean your feeders every 2 weeks. Use soapy water and a scrub brush to clean all surfaces then let them air dry. You can also use a 1:1 vinager/water solution to disinfect if you see mold. Conditions in and around feeders help spur sicknesses in birds ranging from conjunctivitis to avian pox.

12/18/2025

Want to know more about Texas native trees and still need CE hours? This is the video for you!

In this video, I’m walking you through some of the toughest, most beautiful Texas native trees you rarely see for sale—desert hackberry, Mexican plum, hog pl...

12/16/2025

Tonight was our Master Gardener Christmas Party. We enjoyed a meal catered by La Cima Mexican Restaurant, then awards were given and games were played. It was a fun evening!

12/08/2025

Attention JCMG’s: you are invited to our JC Master Gardeners’ Christmas Party. RSVP today. It is going to be so much fun!

12/08/2025

For those with their Pesticide Applicators License, sign up for the D8 Farm & Ranch Seminar that takes place on Dec. 11th. 8 CEUs offered in one day, including 3 General, 3 IPM and 2 Laws & Regs. $60 to attend, cash or check, pay at the door.

Event will be from 7:30 am - 4 pm at the Johnson County Extension Office (109 W Chambers St. Cleburne). AND Multiple locations across the district. Follow this link to see other locations:https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/D8-Farm-Ranch-Seminar_Jo-Co-1.pdf

Topics include: New World Screwworm, w**d management in pastures, TDA law updates, and more.

12/07/2025

Holiday plants from Amaryllis to Poinsettias
By Joyce Block
Your Christmas tree is up, but it just seems like something is missing. Maybe you need some blooming plants! There were a few new introductions this year, but there are still the tried and true available.
Amaryllis bulbs have a new look this year. It’s a waxed Amaryllis bulbs, the bulbs have wax applied over the bulb. This seals in the water that the bulb needs to bloom and you can place them anywhere in your home! And you don’t have it water the bulb, or have it in a container! Place them on your fireplace mantle, your furniture that has been decorated with fresh evergreen. One disadvantage, the bulbs will last only one season.
Another type of Amaryllis is the Amaryllis kits. This makes for a quick and easy gift for a gardener or a non-gardener. One of the kits includes a glass vase; small pebbles in the bottom with the Amaryllis bulb sitting on top of the pebbles. The traditional Amaryllis kit consists of; a flower pot; soil and the bulb. For the receiver of the gift it can be easy to grow. Take the empty pot and place the soil in the pot. If it is a compressed disc of soil, place the disc into the pot and fill it with water and let it set until the soil has filled the pot. The next step is to place the bulb into the soil and leave about 1/3 rd of the bulb exposed. Do not allow the soil to dry out and keep the plant in a well-lit area. The bulb grows quickly, with the bloom appearing first with the foliage appearing later. The amaryllis bulb blooms are red; pink; white; and many combinations of these colors.
Paper whites are another bulb plant that comes in a kit form. Paper whites are very fragrant. They resemble a white daffodil in the shape of the flower and the foliage. Like the Amaryllis, the Paper whites like to be on the dry side, water when the soil is dry to the touch.
Rosemary cones, which is a rosemary herb plant that has been pruned into a Christmas tree shape, is another gift plant. Rosemary loves the cooler weather. It is great to cook with, I have one in the herb bed and it appears as a hedge plant from a distance.
One of my favorite plants that show up this time of the year is a Norfolk Island Pine. It is a plant that is hardy in zone 9 or higher. I have seen them used in office buildings at a height of 20 feet. At the garden centers, they can be purchased in a small four inch pot at a height of eight inches. They are also available at a height of three to four feet. I’ve used one as a living Christmas tree for several years. Then it would be moved outside during the summer.
Of course the traditional plant for Christmas, the Poinsettia. A few poinsettias start to show up at garden centers a few weeks before Thanksgiving. With new breeding programs, there are many new colors. Peach and a light orange are just a few coming out on the market. There is a new white Poinsettia and a new pink one also this year. The traditional colors of red, pink, white and variations of these colors are available. Poinsettias like to be in indirect light and allowed to dry out between watering. Keep them away from heat sources. Native to the Mexico, poinsettias can be grown in south Texas year round. Many people will keep their poinsettias from year to year. To make the leaves, (bracts), change color, put the plant in an area where it will get 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of continuous darkness. This needs to start in September, and you will notice the change in the bracts about mid-October.
Be safe, be healthy and keep on gardening. Enjoy your holidays!

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

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.