Many people are under the impression that gardening is
gardening.  This misconception is a real problem for those trying to
supply the public with accurate garden information.

	Garden magazines, newspapers, TV ads, catalogs and garden books
and the internet are all hitting us with a barrage of gardening
information.  Much of this information is not intended for the
Montgomery County area.  There are garden writers located all over the
United States and there is no way the information they send out can be
right for all areas.  The conditions in St. Louis differ greatly from
New Orleans, Los Angeles, or even Conroe.  When reading gardening
information you need to be aware of these differences so you can take
the information for what it is worth.

	How do these differences in location affect the plants, planting
times and varieties of plants that we want to grow?  Montgomery County
is close enough to the Gulf of Mexico to affect our winter and rainfall.
We usually have a mild winter, a hot summer and very little spring or
fall.  This means we must grow plants that will tolerate the heat, but
need very little rest or cold during the winter.  Many plants, fruit and
flowering trees especially, require cold or chilling to set flower buds.
 This is the problem with any of the northern varieties. We just do not
get enough cold for a lot of the plants you may have grown in other
parts of the country. 

	Heat is a problem, too.  In case you have not noticed, summers
are hot here.  Many people from the west coast or central United States
say it is hot there too.  This is true, but in many parts of the country
the days are hot and the nights are cool.  This is not the case here. 
These cool nights help many plants through the summer. You can see there
are many factors affecting plant growth and all these contribute to the
garden writer's problems.  An article that is general enough for the
whole United States or even the state of Texas is of no use to the
gardener, while specific information presented to gardeners in the wrong
area is just as useless and misleading.

	You as a gardener will have to sift through and select your
information wisely, by relying on local writers, books written for this
area, local nurserymen and remember just because it is written in a
magazine or newspaper does not make it the gospel!

Don’t forget to send your garden questions to Plant Answers at
9020 FM 1484, Conroe TX 77303 or e-mail me at t-leroy@tamu.edu .
Educational programs of Texas Cooperative Extension are open to
all citizens without regard to race, color, sex, disability, age or
national origin.