Fort Bend County Master Gardeners

06/10/2026

It's What is . . . ? Wednesday. Today's term is Green-spored Parasol (Chlorophyllum molybdites) The poisonous mushroom is common in the southeastern United States. It usually creates a "fairy ring":in lawns and grassy areas. Mature mushrooms have a large cap, a ring around their stem and greenish gills. They do well in warm climates and ofen appear after rainy periods. Learn more at https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/chlorophyllum-molybdites/common-name/green-spored-parasol/, https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/PP324/pdf and https://fungiatlas.com/chlorophyllum-molybdites/

06/09/2026

TREE LEAVES
From the Fort Bend County Master Gardeners Tree Team
By Stacey Earley, Texas Master Gardener and Advanced Tree Care Certified

Tree Irrigation Guide: Preparing for Summer
The Dog Days of Summer are on their way! How can we prepare our landscape trees for the high heat and humidity that is coming? There are some things you can do for your trees, but it differs a lot between those strong, existing trees that have been in the ground 3 years or more and those that are newly planted. Let’s take a look.
If you made new tree selections last year and followed best practices to get them in the ground during the dormant season (November through March when deciduous trees are bare of leaves), you’ve made a good start. Now, this first summer after planting is critical to the success of your young trees. To help us out, the Texas A&M Forest Service has published an important guide to watering newly planted trees.
Rules of Thumb. In the absence of rain, follow these guidelines:
Month 1 – water 3x/week
Month 2 – Water 2x/week
Month 3 – Water 1x/week
Months 4-12 water 1x-2x/month
Beyond 1 year – Water only in the absence of rain
How much water? Use 2-4 gallons of water for each inch of trunk diameter. Is your tree about 2 inches in diameter? Then start with 6 gallons for each watering. Have an existing tree of ten inch diameter? 30-40 gallons of water per watering is the target.
The key is to apply the water slowly so that it soaks into the soil rather than running off. More about how to do that next week, as Tree Leaves talks about slow-release irrigation methods for trees. See you then!

Learn more athttps://tfsweb.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Watering-Newly-Planted-Trees.pdf

06/08/2026

Are you interested in opportunities to garden in your community? There are 45+ community gardens in the Fort Bend Community & there are plans to have even more! With the help of the Fort Bend Community Task Force you can have access to free resources to help you get your community garden started! Please reach out if you have any questions to Gabrielle Butler, Fort Bend County Extension Educator (Community & School Gardens) at 281-633-7006/[email protected]

06/08/2026

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service County Extension Educator Gabrielle Butler will lead a June 17 workshop about "Native Plants of Texas" at the George Memorial Library. Butler, who is a Fort Bend County Extension Educator (Community & School Gardens) will begin the workshop at 10 a.m. in Room 2A. No registration is required. "Discover the diversity and beauty of Texas native plants. In this presentation, participants will explore a variety of species, from striking wildflowers and practical landscaping plants to native trees and even some poisonous plants you may encounter." The library is located at 1001 Golfview Drive in Richmond. Learn more about native plants at https://www.npsot.org/

Pictured is American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

06/07/2026

Here is this week's installment of Friend or Foe from the Fort Bend County Master Gardeners Help Desk! Do you have questions about your home landscape and plants? Contact the Help Desk at [email protected] or 281-341-7068. The Help Desk is manned Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon.
Learn more at https://fungiatlas.com/coprinopsis-atramentaria/ and https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/coprinopsis-atramentaria.php

06/06/2026

Looking for alternative methods of gardening? Check out the Soilless Gardening Workshop offered on June 9 at George Memorial Library.
The free workshop will be offered from 9-11 a.m. Registration is required. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soilless-gardening-workshop-tickets-1983332678431?aff=oddtdtcreator

"Soilless gardening is a modern cultivation method that replaces soil with nutrient solutions, enabling precise control, higher productivity, efficient resource use, and sustainable crop production. Learn how to grow fresh produce without traditional soil. Discover techniques like hydroponics cultivation which is ideal for urban spaces and home growers." The workshop will be led by Prairie View A&M University Extension Agent Abdul Hakeem. For information, contact him at 281-342-3034 or [email protected].

06/05/2026

Fort Bend County Master Gardeners will offer a free class June 13 on "Fall Garden Prep & Composting" The 90-minute class will begin at 9 a.m. at the Bud O'Shieles Community Center, 1330 Band Road.
Registration is required. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grow-your-own-fall-garden-prep-and-composting-tickets-1825895164589?aff=oddtdtcreator
People who register will receive a link to a recording of the class. The class is one of seven in the Grow Your Own Series offered by Fort Bend County Master Gardeners and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
"Making your own compost can be a fun and rewarding activity. There are many advantages to making compost, including a healthier garden and less yard waste going to a landfill. Learn how you can easily make your own compost using items from your kitchen, yard, and gardens." The class will be taught by Master Gardeners Clarence Gray, Sam Guardiola and Barkat Charania.
For more information, contact Brandy Rader at 281-342-3034 or [email protected]. or visit https://fbmg.org/grow-your-own-2026/

Fort Bend Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who assist the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

06/04/2026

Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella). It is a beautiful flower with a combination of red, orange and yellow that resembles brightly woven fabric. This flower is part of the sunflower family. They are also called firewheels or gaillardia. You can find them across much of the state along roadsides. They live in sandy soils and they can withstand the Texas summer heat and drought. Plants grow one to two and a half feet tall and bloom from April to July.
For more information about this plant please follow this link:
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/gaillardia/
https://www.npsot.org/posts/native-plant/gaillardia-pulchella/

06/03/2026

It's What is . . . ? Wednesday. Today's term is Green June beetle (Cotinis nitida) Adult beetles feed on decaying or ripe fruit. Larvae can be pests in lawns and feed on plant roots. Adults emerge in June and July after pupating in the spring from earthen cells. Learn more at https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/green-june-beetle/ and https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/118538-Cotinis-nitida

06/02/2026

Sowbug or Pillbug?
By Deborah Birge, Fort Bend County Master Gardener

We’ve all seen these small creatures. When threatened, they roll into a tight ball. As children we let them roll around in our palms. This behavior gave them their common name of roly polys.
If you look closely, you’ll see the creatures above are not the same. The one with the tail-like structures at their end is the sowbug, (family Porcellionidae). The “tail-less” variety is the pillbug, (family Armadillididae). Truth be told, these creatures are more closely related to lobsters, shrimp and crawfish than bugs in your garden bed. Sowbugs and pillbugs are terrestrial crustaceans. They even have gills. These soil-dwelling crustaceans are not insects or true bugs. They are soil-dwelling crustaceans in the order Isopoda (called isopods).
What makes them not-a-bug? Isopods have seven pairs of legs. They have a small head and six small abdominal segments. They have seven relatively large thoracic segments, each having a pair of legs. Adult insects, by contrast, have three pairs of legs.
Sowbugs and pillbugs feed primarily on decaying plant material and occur mostly hidden under organic litter or other debris on the ground and beneath low-growing plant parts. Their ability to thrive depends on wet bedding material and soil. They also chew fruit, succulent plant parts, seedlings, and vegetables that touch damp soil.
If pillbugs or sowbugs are a problem, try these suggestions:
1. Reduce the frequency of irrigation to an extent compatible with healthy plant growth.
2. Irrigate early in the day so surfaces are drier by evening.
3. Pull compost and mulch back from plants and building foundations.
4. Use raised beds or planting boxes and drip or furrow irrigation instead of sprinklers
For more information on sowbugs and pillbugs, see these links: https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/sowbugs-pillbugs/ and https://ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/pillbugs-and-sowbugs/ .tab=0