Announcements!

Upcoming 2021 Plant Sale

Our 2021 Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale is becoming a Parker County tradition. It will be Friday afternoon, April 9th, AND Saturday morning, April 10th, at the Parker County office of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Weatherford, 604 N. Main Street.

Friday: 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. / Saturday: 8 a.m. to noon - rain or shine.

Every spring, our Master Gardeners update the list of plants that are proven winners for the area. There will be a tremendous selection of perennials, herbs, vegetable plants, annuals, shrubs, and roses available to help get spring gardening off to a great start or to find replacements for any plants lost in the February Artic Blast.The Real Dirt 2021 03

Many of the plant varieties are native or adaptive to Parker County and are drought-tolerant. Some are ideal for butterfly gardens and can provide a waystation for migrating Monarchs and other butterflies. Some of the plants come from local nurseries, but most are grown by Master Gardeners in gardens in Parker County or propagated in our own greenhouse. Master Gardeners will be on hand with information and answers to your questions as well as to assist with your plant selection.

Proceeds from this annual sale go toward providing horticultural education to the citizens of Parker County and promoting sound horticultural practices in everyday gardening.

Master Gardeners are volunteers for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service who have completed at least 50 hours of horticulture training and served a full year of internship with the local Extension office. 

 Download our Plant Sale Flyer here

  • Can I be Firewise and keep my trees?

    How can I be Firewise and keep my trees?

    Preparing your property for fire does not mean removing all your trees. There are many things you can do to make your home resistant from embers or fires that may involve simply removing overhanging branches or limbing trees up from the ground.

    Remember that healthy, well-maintained trees on your property will provide many benefits and not necessarily pose a major risk for wildfire spread. Your site-specific risk depends on the species and arrangement of the trees. Contact Parker county Master Gardener office to get the name of our Firewise specialist or contact the Texas A&M Forest Service for additional information on creating a safer landscape. Also, in our Best Trees for Parker county section of the website trees to determine the best drought tolerant and most Firewise trees.

     

     

  • Is There a List of Native Shrubs and Trees For Parker County?

    Please discuss native plants for Parker County. 

    For best results, we recommend that you use plants that are native to our area, or have been proven to be adaptable to the soils and climate of Parker County. These plants will thrive with a reasonable amount of care, and will survive our worst conditions even with minimal attention.

  • Recommed Fast Growing Trees

    We are building a house on property that has no trees. Can you recommend some fast growing trees that will shade the house?

    There are important questions to consider before you start selecting trees. First, consider why there are no trees on the property. It may be that the land was cleared for pasture or farming, but it is also possible that conditions are not favorable for tree growth.

  • Removing a Limb from a Tree

    What is the best way to deal with broken tree branches from icy weather?

    It is best to allow the damaged tree to thaw before attempting to work with it as your efforts may produce more damage. Do not attempt to remove ice by striking the branches. Trees are fairly brittle in winter; and with the added rigidity of the ice, you will break more branches than you will save.

    The primary factor in your decision for dealing with the tree is safety. Is the tree damaged to the point that removing the limb is a hazardous task? If so, then you should consider hiring a Certified Arborist to help with the situation. Is it a tree that, by nature has weak branches? If the answers are yes, then the best decision may be to remove the tree.