Master Gardener Caryn Brewer, of Conroe, and intern Judy Warren, of Willis, admire one of the sale plants in the green house at the Agricultural Extension office in Conroe. The Montgomery County Master Gardeners are preparing for their Spring Plant Sale on March 20. Photo by David HopperBY KIM MORGAN
Chronicle correspondent

It's time to get down and dirty, even if you're still waiting to see which plants have survived the long, cold winter.

"Pretty soon people should start seeing some green on the things that have survived," said Judy Worthy, a member of the Montgomery County Master Gardener Association. "We don't really know yet for sure what we lost, but once we do know, people will be replacing those things."

Good timing, because the association's Spring Plant Sale is March 20.

"We're expecting a very busy sale," Worthy said. "People lost so much this winter."

Worthy said gardeners should plant more of the plants that did survive, which will most likely be plants native to the area.

A list of plants selected by master gardeners for "outstanding performance" in the Montgomery County area will be available online a few days before the sale at www.montgomerycountymastergardeners.org

Meanwhile, Worthy said it's a waiting game when it comes to perennials. Salvias, which are Texas-tough, usually make a comeback, she said.

Bromeliads are a tropical plant, and if the tips on yours turned black, "you'll be really lucky if they survive," Worthy said.

Some things are actually thriving.

"The weeds are lovely right now," Worthy said. "They're dark green and flourishing."

Worthy said it's not the temperature that's the problem so much as it's the length of time it remains cold.

"Normally you're looking at it being cold for three or four hours," Worthy said. "But this time, it just didn't warm up. Damage starts within 12 hours, easy."

Based on her pecan trees, Worthy predicts a cold March.

"They are seldom wrong," said Worthy, a Willis resident. "They won't bud out and leaf out until the danger has passed."

What you can do for now is start pruning to encourage new growth on existing plants such as rosebushes, and mulching and fertilizing to get the ground ready for new plants.

While it's best to wait a couple more weeks before planting plants, it's quite the opposite in the world of vegetable gardening, where it's better to be early than late.

"Our spring is short because we move so quickly into summer," said Tom LeRoy, county extension agent and horticulturist at Montgomery County Extension Office in Conroe. "Sometimes it's 90-degree weather in May. So if you don't start early, you get into those hot periods, and you end up with reduced quality and reduced yield."

Growers can plant things like tomatoes, corn, green beans and squash. While potatoes usually go in the ground mid-February, LeRoy said it's not too late to do it now.

Hold off until April for vegetables that resent colder weather, he said, such as okra, peppers and black-eyed peas.

LeRoy said it's always a good idea to be prepared for a cold snap by saving milk jugs to make hot caps, and keep a stash of frost blankets.

"But if something freaky does happen," LeRoy said, "you can always just replant."

Out at The Woodlands Community Garden, people are eager to put winter behind them.

Even with the recent addition of 30 new plots, there's still a waiting list, said Lynne Aldrich, manager of Environmental Services of The Woodlands Township.

"I've been out there and I've noticed gardeners have taken steps to protect things, although some people haven't planted yet for spring," Aldrich said. "I think we'll see a lot of action out there in the next few weeks."

Want to go?
What: Montgomery County Master Gardener Association's Spring Plant Sale
When: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. for a pre-sale information session; 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. for the sale, Saturday March 20
Where: County Extension Office, 9020 FM 1484, Conroe
For more information: www.montgomerycountymastergardeners.org

What to plant now: corn, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, squash

What to wait on: Okra, peppers, black-eyed peas