A season-by-season care calendar for a North Texas landscape, storms and freezes included

The year at a glance

A North Texas landscape stays healthy when each season gets its own job: late winter for structural pruning and planning, spring for irrigation start-up, mulch and color, summer for disciplined deep watering within city rules, fall for planting and resetting the beds, and winter for freeze protection. Storms can arrive in any season, so the calendar also needs a plan for checking trees before and after severe weather. The single most important habit is adjusting irrigation every season instead of leaving one schedule all year.

We at Southern Botanical run residential maintenance on 52-week plans, so this calendar is close to how our account managers think about a property through the year. Use it as a checklist for your own yard, or as a way to judge whether your current service is doing what it should.

Late winter: structure, pruning and planning

With leaves off most deciduous trees, late winter is the best time to see structure. Walk the property and look for dead wood, crossing branches, weak forks and limbs over the roof. This is also when we plan the year: which beds need renovating, which plants failed last summer and why, and whether any larger project should be designed now so it can be built in a favorable season.

Oaks need special care with timing. The Texas A&M Forest Service advises that from February through June oak trees should not be pruned or wounded, to prevent the spread of oak wilt, and that wounds on oaks should be painted at any time of year. That makes midwinter, before February, the practical window for any oak pruning that cannot wait. Our full guide on protecting oaks from oak wilt explains why.

• Structural pruning of non-oak shade trees and ornamental trees.
• Oak pruning finished before February, with every cut painted.
• Suckers and rubbing branches removed from crape myrtles, without topping.
• A plan for bed renovations, replacements and any larger project.

Spring: wake-up, sprinkler start-up and color

As growth starts, the irrigation system needs a full check. Run every zone, fix broken heads and leaks, confirm the rain and freeze sensor works, and set a spring schedule rather than reusing last summer's. We cover what owners can safely handle themselves in our guide to DIY sprinkler repairs. Check mulch depth before adding more, pull mulch back from trunks, and edge the beds.

Spring is also when seasonal color goes in and when lawns begin their growing season, so mowing height and frequency matter again. Watch new leaves on oaks and other large trees as they emerge; problems are easiest to spot when foliage is fresh. And keep an eye on the forecast, because spring is when severe storms with high winds and hail are most familiar here.

The first heavy spring rains are also the best drainage test of the year. Walk the property during or right after one. Note where water stands in beds or lawn for more than a day, where it runs toward the foundation, and where mulch or soil washes out onto walks. Those spots rarely fix themselves, and standing water in clay soil stresses roots quickly once the heat arrives.

Summer: water discipline in the heat

Summer is about getting water to roots efficiently and within the rules. The City of Dallas, in its 2025 notice, limited sprinkler watering to twice a week on assigned days and banned sprinkler and hose-end watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from April 1 to October 31, while allowing hand watering, soaker hoses and drip irrigation at any time. Other cities have their own schedules, so check yours. Within those limits, deep and infrequent cycles, run early in the morning and split so water soaks into clay, serve plants far better than daily sprinkles.

Walk the property after the sprinklers run at least once a month to catch dry spots, misdirected heads and leaks before plants show stress. Keep heavy pruning to a minimum in the heat, raise mowing height on lawns, and watch for insects and disease, which take advantage of stressed plants. If the same areas burn out every August, it may be time to rethink what grows there; see lawn, planting beds or synthetic turf.

When a storm comes through

Severe weather can come in any season, and the International Society of Arboriculture's advice is straightforward. Before storms, an ISA Certified Arborist can help by training young trees, identifying weak branches, trunks and roots, removing dead or defective limbs, correcting past damage such as topping, and installing lightning protection on high-value trees.

After a storm, safety first. The ISA warns that broken limbs hanging overhead or trees resting on other trees and roofs can still move, that limbs under tension can react unexpectedly when cut, and that damaged trees may be in contact with electrical wires. Stay clear, call the utility for anything near lines, and resist the urge to start cleanup with a chainsaw yourself. The ISA also recommends checking trees that look undamaged, especially large ones near people or property, for cracks, hanging branches and soil heaving.

If a limb came down on the house, the roof may need attention as well; what to do after hail and storm damage to a roof covers that side. Our emergency weather service handles debris removal, fallen tree clearance, ice mitigation and damage assessment for severe storms, high winds, flooding and snow and ice events.

• Stay away from hanging limbs, leaning trees and anything touching power lines.
• Photograph damage before cleanup begins.
• Have large trees near the house assessed, even if they look fine.
• Leave cutting and climbing to a professional arborist.

Fall: the planting window and the reset

Fall is the best time of year to plant trees and shrubs in North Texas. Cooler air reduces stress on new plants while soil stays warm enough for roots to establish before winter, giving them a head start on their first summer. It is also when we renovate tired beds, replace plants that failed, install cool-season color and seasonal displays, and, where it suits the lawn, schedule aeration and top dressing.

Irrigation needs another adjustment as temperatures drop; a summer schedule left running into November wastes water and keeps beds too wet. Leaves need regular removal from lawns and beds so they do not smother turf. If you plan a larger project, fall and winter are good seasons to design it so construction can be scheduled thoughtfully.

Seasonal color without starting over each time

Seasonal color is what makes a maintained property look cared for rather than merely mowed, and it works best as a planned rotation rather than a scramble before a party. Our seasonal enhancements run through the year, from spring blooms and summer color to autumn pumpkin displays and winter festive accents, designed for each property and the owner's taste.

The practical point is to plan color beds that can be refreshed without disturbing the permanent planting around them. Put rotating color in a few high-visibility spots near the entry, the terrace and the pool, keep the soil in those beds well prepared, and make sure their irrigation can be adjusted separately, since new plantings need more water for their first weeks than established shrubs nearby.

Winter freezes: plants, pipes and the irrigation system

Hard freezes are rarer here than in the north, but they are hard on landscapes and irrigation systems that are not ready for them. Dallas requires automatic sprinkler systems to have rain and freeze sensors, according to the city's 2025 notice, and a working freeze sensor keeps the system from running on icy mornings. Before a hard freeze, protect exposed backflow assemblies and above-ground piping, water beds a day or two ahead if the soil is dry, and cover tender plants with frost cloth that reaches the ground.

After a freeze, be patient. Plants that look dead in January often push new growth from the base or lower stems in spring, so wait until growth resumes to see what actually needs to be cut back or replaced. If the backflow device or a pipe cracked, call a licensed professional rather than improvising a repair.

The yearly checklist

If you only keep one list on the refrigerator, make it this one.

• An annual tree inspection by an ISA Certified Arborist, plus a check after any severe storm.
• Oak pruning only outside February through June, with every cut painted.
• Irrigation checked and rescheduled in spring, summer, fall and before freezes.
• Mulch kept at a modest depth and pulled back from every trunk.
• Seasonal color and plant replacements planned, not reactive.
• Drainage checked after the first heavy rains of the year.
• Freeze sensor, backflow protection and frost cloth ready before winter.

Handing the calendar to one team

Keeping up with all of this on a large property is a job in itself, and it is where most landscapes slip: not from lack of effort, but because nobody owns the calendar. Our 52-week maintenance plans cover weekly lawn and bed care, seasonal flowers and displays, proactive plant health care, irrigation management with a smart controller and monthly inspections, and free arborist evaluations, with a dedicated account manager on site weekly who sends updates on completed, scheduled and forecasted work.

To see what your property would need through the year, start with a free consultation: a local expert contacts you within 24 hours to schedule a 30-minute site visit. Much of our residential work is on large, established properties in and north of Dallas.

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