The best time to trim your oaks is right now, plus what to ask a tree trimmer and where to grab a free tree on Nov 14.
Green Thumb Realty Co. @ThatGardeningRealtor · San Antonio, Texas
Vol. 12 November 2026
Illuminate getting set up at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.
November 2026
TREE SEASON IS HERE. PLANT SMART. TRIM SMART.
Hey neighbors
The cool season crew has officially moved in. The cabbages at Greenies Urban Farm are heading up, and the dinosaur kale in the raised beds looks like it wandered out of a movie. This week is mostly about trees, though. We’re in the middle of San Antonio’s tree planting season, right now is the best stretch of the year to trim your oaks, and the City is giving away free trees next Saturday.
Cabbages heading up at Greenies Urban Farm, home base for my Master Gardener classes.
In this issue
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How to keep oak wilt out of your yard
•
What to ask before you hire a tree trimmer
•
What happens to the trees when new homes go up
•
Free trees and free tree talks this month
Master Gardener Intern
Now Is the Time to Trim Your Oaks
A watercolor I painted with the Wednesday dementia friendly gardening group at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.
Our trees class was one of my favorites so far. Trees take years to grow up, they don’t get to move, and what happens to one can end up affecting the ones down the street. Nowhere is that clearer than with oak wilt.
Oak wilt is a deadly fungal disease that clogs the system an oak uses to move water. All oaks can get it, some more than others, and there’s no known cure. It spreads two ways. Above ground, fungal mats form under the bark of infected red oaks, mostly in spring, and their fruity smell draws in tiny sap feeding beetles that carry the spores to fresh cuts on healthy oaks. Below ground, it moves through connected roots, which is how it can take out a whole group of live oaks.
Our instructor made a point that stuck with me: a tree’s roots aren’t a mirror image of its canopy. They run shallow and spread out wide, out searching for water. So here’s what we can all do:
Paint every cut, right away Any paint works. Our instructor’s tip was the cheapest can of flat black you can find. San Antonio’s oak wilt ordinance says cuts and wounds on oaks have to be painted within 30 minutes.
Trim in late fall or winter Skip trimming oaks from February through June, when the beetles and fungal mats are most active. The Texas A&M Forest Service says late fall is the best time to prune oaks, which makes right now the window.
Don’t stack oak firewood Fungal mats can form on fresh firewood cut from diseased red oaks, so that wood should be chipped or buried, not stacked by the back fence.
Before you hire
Who Gets to Climb Your Tree?
This time of year the tree trimmers start knocking on doors. In San Antonio, anyone you pay to prune, treat, or remove trees has to hold a city Tree Maintenance License. To get one, they need at least $300,000 in general liability insurance and a class that covers oak wilt, and they agree to paint every oak wound they make. So before anybody climbs your tree, ask to see the license and proof of insurance. You can also look them up on the City’s Find a Contractor page.
Doing it yourself? If you live in a finished home, you don’t need a city permit to prune or remove trees on your own property. Our instructor’s rule of thumb still applies for bigger projects around the house, though: assume you need a permit until somebody tells you otherwise.
And that gray fuzz in so many San Antonio trees? Ball moss isn’t a parasite. It’s an epiphyte in the bromeliad family, the same family as the pineapple, and it pulls what it needs from the air. It’ll hang on to a power line just as happily as a branch. It usually shows up on dead or dying limbs deep inside a shady canopy, so think of it as a sign there’s dead wood to clean out, not the thing hurting your tree.
Try This Today
Walk your yard this weekend and look over your oaks. Fresh cuts or broken limbs? Paint them today. Need real trimming done? Get it on the calendar before February.
Sources: Master Gardener class on trees, October 15, 2026; Texas A&M Forest Service at texasoakwilt.org; City of San Antonio Development Services tree ordinance fact sheet and Tree Maintenance License requirements.
Fall Garden
The Cool Season Crew Moved In
The raised beds on Wednesday were a good reminder that fall gardening pays you back a little at a time. Long, crinkled leaves on the dinosaur kale, marigolds between the plants, and a broccoli head starting to fill out.
Lacinato kale, also called dinosaur kale, with marigolds between the plants.
A broccoli head taking shape, with the scarecrow still on duty.
Kale: start with the outside leaves Those long outer leaves are the ones to pick first. Leave the center growing so the plant can keep sending out fresh greens.
Broccoli: watch the head, not the calendar Let the forming head fill out, then cut it while it is firm and the little florets are still tight and green, before any yellow shows. Leave the plant in place for smaller side shoots later.
You could make or lose thousands on the trees when you buy or sell a home. Healthy, established trees are an asset. A tree that needs major work can be a real expense. Let’s walk the yard together and know what we’re looking at before you sign. Reply to this email or call me at 210 214 2673.
New slabs on freshly graded lots. Notice what’s missing?
This one came straight out of tree class. When land gets developed in San Antonio, the builder can’t just scrape it clean and walk away. The City’s tree ordinance counts trees 6 inches across or bigger as significant and 24 inches or bigger as heritage trees. Developers have to survey them, then preserve trees, plant new ones, or pay into the City’s Tree Mitigation Fund, and new home lots get at least two newly planted trees.
Here’s my favorite part: the free trees at the City’s adoption events, like Día del Árbol next Saturday, are paid for with money from that mitigation fund. Our instructor also pointed out that the trees that do get saved usually end up around the outside edges of a subdivision, because the inside gets graded for streets and drainage. If you’re shopping new construction, that’s worth knowing:
Ask about the trees on your lot Which ones were kept, which ones were planted, and what kind they are, so you know what you are taking care of.
Watch the grading Grading that sends water toward the foundation is one of the common problems inspectors find in new San Antonio builds. That is one reason I always recommend a pre drywall and a final inspection.
Call me before the model home Most builders want your agent registered on your very first visit to the community, so give me a call before you walk in.
Sources: City of San Antonio Development Services tree ordinance fact sheet and Information Bulletin 211; Master Gardener class on trees, October 15, 2026. This is general info, not legal advice.
Right Plant, Right Place
Pick a Tree That Will Grow Up Here
If you’re grabbing a free tree on November 14, or buying one this winter, here’s what stuck with me from our class outing to another garden. The first rule was blunt: fast growing trees tend to be fast dying trees. The second was simple: buy from a reputable source, and pick something that can actually reach maturity here. A few that came up:
Mexican white oak Also sold as Monterrey oak. It is a Texas Superstar shade tree that handles heat, wind, and dry spells, stays mostly green through our mild winters, and has leaves that change shape from tree to tree. That is where its Latin name, polymorpha, comes from.
Lacey oak A Hill Country native from the limestone of the Edwards Plateau, with blue gray leaves that stand out from everything around it. It grows slowly to around 40 feet.
Texas or Mexican redbud Both handle our alkaline soil. The Mexican variety has smaller, glossy, wavy leaves, takes heat and drought even better, and stays around 10 to 15 feet.
One more nice thing about those two oaks: they’re in the white oak group. The fungal mats that start new oak wilt spots form on infected red oaks, not on white oaks or live oaks.
Try This Today
Before you pick up a tree, stand where you want to plant it and look up. Power lines, the roofline, and the foundation all matter. Picture the tree at full size, not the size it is in the bucket. Call 811 before you dig, and make the hole two to three times as wide as the root ball.
Sources: Master Gardener class outing, October 22, 2026, and trees class, October 15, 2026; Texas A&M AgriLife Texas Superstar; Texas Tree Selector; Native Plant Society of Texas; Texas A&M Forest Service.
Caught My Eye
A Few Things Blooming This Week
Purple hyacinth bean flowers and glossy purple pods.
Purple and green oxalis after the rain.
The Christmas cactus got an early start.
Queen of the Night, still open at breakfast.
Oxalis, also called purple shamrock, folds its leaves up at night like it’s calling it a day. It’s also one of my favorite snacks in the garden. I enjoy a leaf now and then: crisp, fresh, and a little sour.
Those glossy purple pods are hyacinth beans. The planting also has passion flower vines and lima beans. Pretty on a fence, but the dried beans aren’t safe to eat raw.
We still have a few plants at LRH3 if you’d like to stop by and stock up. Thank you to everyone who keeps the Little Red House growing by sharing a cutting, a seed, or a planter. That’s what makes this work.
Fanick’s Nursery, Holmgreen Rd A free talk on selecting, planting, and caring for trees. Seminar details
Thursday, November 12 · 6 to 8 PM
Windcrest Light-Up Tree Lighting
Corner of Jim Seal and Crestway Join the neighborhood for the tree lighting. Event details
Friday, November 13 · Noon
Lunch and Learn: Poinsettias
Greenies Urban Farm David Rodriguez shares how to keep your poinsettias looking good. Free. Talk details
Saturday, November 14 · 10 AM to 1 PM
Día del Árbol
Mission Marquee Plaza, 3100 Roosevelt Ave More than 1,000 free trees, first come, first served. Event details
Saturday, November 14 · 10 AM
Texas Tough Trees with David Rodriguez
Rainbow Gardens, Bandera Rd A free talk on trees that can handle our Texas climate. Talk details
Saturday, November 21 · 9 AM to 1 PM
Farmers and Artisans Holiday Market
Mission Marquee Plaza, 3100 Roosevelt Ave Another chance to pick up a free shade or ornamental tree. Free tree details
Saturday, November 21 · 10 AM
Tree Planting 101 with David Rodriguez
The Garden Center, Bandera Rd A free talk to help you get your new tree off to a good start. Nursery event updates
Orders through November 24
BCMG Poinsettia Sale
Pickup December 2 or 3 at Greenies Urban Farm Poinsettias and other seasonal color support scholarships and garden education. Sale details
Planting a tree this fall? Tell me what you picked, with a photo if you’ve got one. A few might make a future issue.
Sources: City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation event pages, Bexar County Master Gardeners at bexarmg.org, and the City of Windcrest calendar.
Coming Up
Next Week: Make More Plants for Free
Those orange dots under a fern frond are clusters of spores. Yes, you can grow ferns from them.
Next Week
Propagation, from my latest Master Gardener class: why garden soil and compost don’t belong in a seed tray, the fridge trick that convinces seeds winter already came, and an easy way to root lantana and Turk’s cap without taking a single cutting.
Got a question about your yard, or about buying or selling, that you’ve been nervous to ask? Hit reply and ask it. I read every one, and the best ones become a future issue.
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Hi, I’m Chris, your neighbor and @ThatGardeningRealtor.
Most days you’ll find me elbow deep in the garden, connecting neighbors with good local vendors, or scouting the next cool spot worth telling everyone about.
Whether it’s a stubborn plant or a big move, I’m always glad to help figure it out. Buying, selling, or relocating to San Antonio, just reach out.
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